What Is the Average Salary for a Physician Assistant?
A physician assistant is the main person who helps a doctor provide patients with preventative, therapeutic and diagnostic health care. A physician assistant works under the supervision of a licensed physician and earns an average of $86,214 per year, according to American Academy of Physician Assistants.
Overall Average Salary for a Physician Assistant Career
A physician assistant is a lucrative career if you consider that it made the list of best careers for 2009 as established by U.S. News and World Report. Someone who wants to become a physician assistant can start with being certified and then applying for a job in a health care institution. As an entry level employee, he will earn $74,153 as a starting salary, according to the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA), www.paeaonline.org. The average annual salaries vary according to the number of years of experience:
Less Than One Year: $69,381
One to Four Years: $71,688
Five to Nine Years: $79,826
Ten to 19 Years: $82,765
20 or More Years: $86,276
A physician assistant’s wage may also vary depending on the location. State laws and standards of living vary so it’s possible that a high paying physician assistant job in some parts of the country may not be as lucrative in other states. Still, this job is a good alternative to various other jobs that allows you to earn only a third of what you could earn as a physician assistant .
Location plays a big role when it comes to wage. The average salary for Physician Assistants in Michigan in early 2009 was $83,970, while the New Hampshire Job Notes, www.nh.gov, tells us that a Physician Assistant’s average pay as $30.32 per hour.
Physician Assistants who are employed in a metropolitan area for patients with no health care receive a different amount compared to those working in rural areas. Some physician assistants earn more by focusing on a specific branch of health care. Additional training will affect salary drastically. For instance, emergency room assignments can earn you $65,779, while family practice, surgery, orthopedics and pediatrics would give a salary of $76,847, $80,000, $88,312 and $85,000, respectively.