What are some pros and cons about medical assistants?

Pros: Not a difficult program to complete. It's considered entry-level Allied Health (it is NOT nursing) and most MAs work in either a physician's practice (doctor's office) or in an Urgent Care Clinic type of setting. Cons: For the time spent earning an Associate Degree in Medical Assisting, you could have earned one in Radiologic Technology (X-ray Tech), Medical Imaging (CT Scan/MRI/Nuclear Med), Respiratory Therapy, or Nursing. All of those professions start off at a salary higher than mosts MAs will ever make. Most MA programs, especially those at over-priced career schools) are targeted at non-traditional students and tend to take advantage of them wanting a better job by making false promises about employment and salary. Currently, most all areas in the US are over-saturated with Medical Assistants (contrary to the misinformed people that write yahoo news stories about job projections). Pay is between $10-16 an hour, depending on where in the US you live, type of practice, and amount of professional experience you have. Have you looked into what the job market in your area like for MAs? Are there community colleges, for-profit "career institutes" (like Everest) , vo-tech schools, and welfare-to-work programs that are churning out new grads every 9-12 months? If so, you might need to evaluate how many qualified applicants there are for each job that's available. You're really going to have to "stand out" if you are in an area that's saturated with MAs but lacking in available positions (most cities/regions have way more MAs than jobs for MAs). Next, determine if what the going rate for MAs in your area is compatible with what your lifestyle and debt load is. MAs make around $10-16 an hour (depending on experience, type of practice, location in the US, etc). Do you want to go through an over-priced career institute and end up owing 16K+ in student loans? You shouldn't pay more than 3K for a certificate program and no more than 7K for an Associate Degree program. Check out what your local community college has instead of a "private school". How about if you plan to have children or already have very young ones? MAs generally work during the week, so what about child care? Is half of your MA paycheck going to go for daycare? Just some things to think over before you enroll in any program Spend some time going over those factors before you sign up for any classes!