Physician Assistants
US occupation · SOC 29-1071
Job titles people report: Cardiology Physician Assistant, Certified Physician Assistant (PA-C), Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant (Emergency Medicine PA), Family Practice Physician Assistant, Orthopaedic Physician Assistant, Orthopedic Physician Assistant, Physician Assistant (PA), Physician's Assistant, Surgical Critical Care Physician Assistant (Surgical Critical Care PA), Surgical Physician Assistant (Surgical PA)
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $135,880
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $120,670 – $163,980
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 162,150
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- +21.1%
- Growing at twice the all-jobs rate or more (7%+)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 11,500
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- Master's degree
- 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
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.
Main tasks
- Make tentative diagnoses and decisions about management and treatment of patients.
- Interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal.
- Prescribe therapy or medication with physician approval.
- Obtain, compile, and record patient medical data, including health history, progress notes, and results of physical examination.
- Examine patients to obtain information about their physical condition.
- Administer or order diagnostic tests, such as x-ray, electrocardiogram, and laboratory tests.
- Instruct and counsel patients about prescribed therapeutic regimens, normal growth and development, family planning, emotional problems of daily living, and health maintenance.
- Perform therapeutic procedures, such as injections, immunizations, suturing and wound care, and infection management.
More specific O*NET® occupations under this one: Anesthesiologist Assistants.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- Master's degree
- O*NET Job Zone 5
- Extensive preparation
- 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).
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Social: helping, teaching and caring for people
- Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 22 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.
Health & Nursing
- Physician Assistant
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Health & Nursing at the Major step.
Where many students take health & nursing
- Western Governors UniversitySalt Lake City, UT · 26% of degrees · 155,088 undergraduates
- Grand Canyon UniversityPhoenix, AZ · 33% of degrees · 73,371 undergraduates
- Southern New Hampshire UniversityManchester, NH · 8% of degrees · 163,164 undergraduates
- The University of Texas at ArlingtonArlington, TX · 36% of degrees · 32,294 undergraduates
- University of Central FloridaOrlando, FL · 13% of degrees · 59,146 undergraduates
- University of South FloridaTampa, FL · 17% of degrees · 37,207 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Other fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.
Health Professions Residency/Fellowship Programs
- Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program, General
- Combined Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Acute Care Medicine Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Acute Care Surgery Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Cardiology Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Cardiothoracic Surgery Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Critical Care Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Critical Care and Trauma Surgery Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
13 more programmes
- Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- ENT Surgery Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Family Medicine Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Geriatrics Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Hematology-Oncology Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Hepatobiliary Surgery Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Hospitalist Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Neurosurgery Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Orthopedic Surgery Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Pediatric Surgery Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Transplant Surgery Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Urology Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program
- Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program, Other
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Emergency Medicine Physicians
$335,550 median · +3.2% projected
- Family Medicine Physicians
$244,180 median · +3.3% projected
- Pediatric Surgeons
$559,030 median · +2% projected
- Cardiologists
$496,010 median · +4.8% projected
- Nurse Practitioners
$132,300 median · +41% projected
- Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric
$358,550 median · +4% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 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. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk