Tips On How To Increase Your Physician Assistant Salary
These days the economic recession is continuing to get worse. In order to be successful, it is important to choose a secure career with high income potential. A career in the medical industry is one of the safest career path to take. Job growth in the medical field is continually growing despite the economy. One of the best career choice to make right now is to become a physician assistant. A physician assistant is similar to a doctor in that they can practice medicine with certain restrictions and under the supervision of a doctor.
In addition, the physician assistant salary is very attractive. For seasoned physician assistants and graduates, job opportunities are abundant in this career field as an increase of up to 40% is expected according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the United States, the mean physician assistant salary is at $65,000 per year. But, like most jobs, there are many factors that will affect your physician assistant salary. The most influential factor is how much experience you have. The physician assistant salary of a new graduate is $60,000 to $75,000 per year compared to a physician assistant with ten years experience can make $75,000 to 95,000 per year.
Specialization can affect your salary, as it involves acquiring new skills. The top paying specialties are Cardiovascular, Emergency Medicine and Dermatology which all round out to about $100,000 per year. Public Health and Endocrinology are the lowest paying field of specialization with an average salary of about $80,000 per year.
The state and city you live in can also affect your rate of pay. If you live in New York City, Los Angeles and Houston, you are fortunate as they are some of the highest paying cities for physician assistants to work. In contrast, you can expect lower pay as you move towards rural areas such as Kansas as such areas are not overly commercialized. The higher pay is primarily to accommodate for the higher cost of living in those areas. Rural areas have a smaller job market and are more competitive in landing a good job.
The types of facility that you work in is another important factor that will affect your salary. Physician assistants working at private clinics tend to receive a higher salary than those working at a hospital. For example, the mean salary for those working in large medical practices is over $100,000 per year and in contrast, the mean salary for those working in hospitals is around $90,000 per year. How specialized is the doctor that you work with will influence your salary. The lowest pay is with obstetrics and pediatrics at $65,000 per year and the highest pay is with trauma and emergency medicine at $80,000.
There are several ways for you to maximize your physician assistant salary. Obtaining the most updated and recent certification for your degree as a physician assistant is the most simplest way to command a higher rate of pay. Your education is very important in determining what your salary cap will be. The amount of clinical experience you have is another thing that will increase your salary.
Filed under General by on Jan 28th, 2012. 