Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$45,930

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$38,570 – $50,580

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

961,610

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

+4.8%

At or above the all-jobs rate (3.5% to under 7%)

Openings a year (projected)

89,200

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Perform secretarial duties using specific knowledge of medical terminology and hospital, clinic, or laboratory procedures. Duties may include scheduling appointments, billing patients, and compiling and recording medical charts, reports, and correspondence.

Main tasks

• Answer telephones and direct calls to appropriate staff.
• Schedule and confirm patient diagnostic appointments, surgeries, or medical consultations.
• Complete insurance or other claim forms.
• Greet visitors, ascertain purpose of visit, and direct them to appropriate staff.
• Transmit correspondence or medical records by mail, e-mail, or fax.
• Maintain medical records, technical library, or correspondence files.
• Receive and route messages or documents, such as laboratory results, to appropriate staff.
• Interview patients to complete documents, case histories, or forms, such as intake or insurance forms.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

High school diploma or equivalent

Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 1–2

Little to some preparation

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 7 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Receptionists and Information Clerks

  $38,010 median · -1.7% projected

• Medical Records Specialists

  $51,140 median · +7.8% projected

• Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive

  $47,540 median · -6% projected

• Office Clerks, General

  $45,010 median · -6% projected

• Medical Assistants

  $45,690 median · +12.9% projected

• Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants

  $76,590 median · 0% projected