Salary Range for Physician Assistants and the Amount You Should Expect Upon Employment

If you are considering a career as a physician assistant you may be curious as to where the physician's assistant salaries fall.

Physician's assistant salaries can range anywhere from $51,000 up to $125,000 a year in certain specialty offices.

According to a major online site that details salary ranges for all major professions (salary.com), a physician assistant can earn in the U.S. on average makes $89,819 a year. This number is from March of 2011 for Atlanta, GA.

There are some factors that yield higher physician assistant salaries. So think about what type of environment you prefer to work.

Do you want to work in one of the following?

-Surgical, Emergency Room, high stress situations

-Specialty medical practice (dermatology, OB-GYN, etc.)

-Health Clinic

If you work in a health clinic you are not going to make as much for instance if you are working in a surgical environment.

How much will you make straight out of a physicians assistant program?

More than likely you will be able to start your career making around $75,000 your first year as a physicians assistant. But again you will make less if you begin your career working in a health clinic.

If you look at the latest government statistics from research completed for physician assistants there are some interesting points:

Physician Assistants Salary

Medical and Surgical Hospitals: $84,550

Outpatient Care Centers $84,390

Physicians office(family practice) $80,440

Federal Government $78,200

Universities and Professional schools $74,200

You can see that there is some variation in where you end up working and how much your salary will be as a physician assistant.

Now this information from the Bureau of Labor statistics is very interesting.

What Industry Employs the Most Physicians Assistants?

Industry Employment
Offices of Physicians 42,440
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 18,330
Outpatient Care Centers 6,370
Federal 2,220
Universities, and Professional Schools 1,710

Let me break this down a little more. If you wanted to make the most amount of money possible what city should you investigate you career as a physicians assistant.



In Chattanooga, TN you can expect to make the most at $63.38/hour. Next on the list is Lake County-Kenosha County, IL at $58.30 per hourly mean wage. Las Vegas, NV averages about $54.55/hour and Ocala, FL pays an hourly mean rate of $54.05 for a physician's assistant



Physician Assistant Salary Summary:

It appears that the need for Physician Assistants in the near future is great. A PA can make a good living and do many things that a physician can accomplish without the higher wage a physician requires. The job outlook is bright and the pay is excellent.

If you are a physicians assistant or aspiring to work in that capacity, it is important to understand where the jobs are and where you can be the most in demand.