Finding out how much your future occupation will pay is an important part of life and goal planning. Physician assistants may not earn quite as much as doctors in the United States, but they still make pretty good money overall. If you’re on your way toward making a career as a physician assistant, here’s all the information you need to know about what you can expect to be paid over the course of your career.
Average Physician Assistants’ Salary
The average physician assistants’ salary is around $94,350 per year or about $45.36 per hour. This figure represents the salaries for all physician assistants regardless of the number of years experience or the type of workplace. Entry-level physician assistants should not expect to immediately make $94,350 per year. Instead, they should look at the average as a representation of a mid-life point in their career.
Entry-Level Expectations
The lowest paid 10% of all physician assistants make around $62,030 per year or about $29.82 an hour. This figure is more representative of the salary entry-level physician assistants should expect to make. Location still plays a roll in all salary, however, so some entry-level physician assistants will make quite a bit more money than the lowest 10% if they live in a highly populated area.
Physician Assistant Job Opportunities
The great news for prospective physician assistants is that there is a stellar job growth for the field over the next 10 years. The average rate of growth for all occupations in the United States is an 11% increase, and the job growth for health diagnosing and treating practitioners is a 20% increase over the next 10 years. The best part is that the rate of growth for physician assistants is a 38% increase by 2022.
Comparison to Similar Occupations
Physician assistants’ salary ties with nurse practitioners as the second highest average salary in the medical field. Medical doctors, of course, make almost double the salary of both physician assistants and nurse practitioners. Nurses, occupational and physical therapists, and speech pathologists all make less money on average than physician assistants.
Industries/Type of Work Environment
A physician assistant certified to work in specialty care practices and outpatient care practices has the highest annual salary. A physician assistant certified to work in hospitals or at universities is likely to make less than those working in private practices.
Location
The top paying states for physician assistants are Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, and Washington. States with the highest physician assistant employment levels are New York, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
