Physician Assistants
What Physician Assistants Do
Provide healthcare services typically performed by a physician, under the supervision of a physician. Conduct complete physicals, provide treatment, and counsel patients. May, in some cases, prescribe medication. Must graduate from an accredited educational program for physician assistants.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
- Self-employed
- 1.5%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 5 of 5Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience.
- Education
- Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
- Job training
- Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Medicine and Dentistryimportance 5.0/5
- Biologyimportance 4.8/5
- English Languageimportance 4.6/5
- Psychologyimportance 4.6/5
- Therapy and Counselingimportance 4.5/5
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.2/5
- Education and Trainingimportance 4.0/5
- Sociology and Anthropologyimportance 3.6/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams5.0/5
- E-Mail5.0/5
- Contact With Others4.9/5
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.8/5
- Telephone Conversations4.8/5
- Freedom to Make Decisions4.7/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- General Internal Medicine Physicians98% skill match
- Neurologists98% skill match
- Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary98% skill match
- Occupational Therapists98% skill match
- Nurse Midwives98% skill match
- Medical Dosimetrists98% skill match
- Family Medicine Physicians98% skill match
- Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary97% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 4.0/5
- Service Orientationimportance 4.0/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 4.0/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.9/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.3/5
- Persuasionimportance 3.3/5
- Systems Evaluationimportance 3.3/5
- Time Managementimportance 3.3/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
- ChartWare EMR
- Electronic medical record EMR software
- Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS
- Medical condition coding software
- Medical procedure coding software
- Patient management software
- Patient records software for personal digital assistants PDAs
- Teleconferencing software
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Attention to Detail
- Dependability
- Integrity
- Cooperation
- Cautiousness
- Self-Control
- Stress Tolerance
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- SocialHigh
- InvestigativeMedium
- ConventionalMedium
- RealisticMedium
- EnterprisingLow
- ArtisticLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where physician assistants make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Ithaca, NY4.62× national avg
- 2Rochester, MN3.73× national avg
- 3Ann Arbor, MI3.53× national avg
- 4Altoona, PA3.12× national avg
- 5Williamsport, PA2.94× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Nurse PractitionersLateral Move
- Family Medicine PhysiciansLateral Move
- General Internal Medicine PhysiciansLateral Move
- Pediatricians, GeneralLateral Move
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Medical Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiation Therapist
- Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale (Fort Lauderdale, FL)grads earn ~$61,608
- Santa Rosa Junior College (Santa Rosa, CA)
- Victor Valley College (Victorville, CA)grads earn ~$119,604
- Meridian Institute of Surgical Assisting (Nashville, TN)grads earn ~$79,119
- Smith Chason College (Los Angeles, CA)grads earn ~$64,611