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Boston Career Explorer

Healthcare Support

Medical Assistants

Perform administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of a physician. Administrative duties may include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes. Clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and administering medications as directed by physician.

Also called: Certified Medical Assistant (CMA), Chiropractor Assistant, Clinical Medical Assistant, Doctor's Assistant, Health Assistant, Ophthalmic Assistant

Compare with my current job (Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service)
Median pay in Greater Boston
$50,740
$24.39/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
10,750
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+9.0%
2,190 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
Postsecondary nondegree award

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$46,070$47,950$50,740$59,160$62,500

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height.
  • Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies.
  • Record patients' medical history, vital statistics, or information such as test results in medical records.
  • Explain treatment procedures, medications, diets, or physicians' instructions to patients.
  • Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean.
  • Collect blood, tissue, or other laboratory specimens, log the specimens, and prepare them for testing.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Moderate exposure44 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 51
  • Language-model AIOE 52
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 30

Observed AI use today: Some (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for this job is moderate, and observed AI use is some. AI tools may help with the record keeping, such as medical histories and test results, and with drafting patient information. Taking vital signs, preparing exam rooms, sterilizing instruments, and talking with patients in person still need people.

Likely to change

  • Recording medical history and test results
  • Drafting patient information and instructions

Still relies on people

  • Taking vital signs and weighing patients
  • Explaining care and comforting patients in person

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

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Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

6 programs near Boston

Related occupations

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