Career
Physician assistants
Diagnose and treat patients as part of a medical team.
$135,880
Median pay
+21.1%
Job growth, 2025–35
11,500
Openings a year
Master's degree
Typical education
6 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on people & care, then ideas & analysis?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Make tentative diagnoses and decisions about management and treatment of patients.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Writing.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
6 years of education after high school (master's degree), for a median of $135,880 a year and 11,500 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Allied Health ProfessionsSee the degree →
- Physician AssistantCIP 51.0912
- Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship Program, GeneralCIP 60.0901
- Combined Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship ProgramCIP 60.0902
- Acute Care Medicine Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship ProgramCIP 60.0903
- Acute Care Surgery Physician Assistant Residency/Fellowship ProgramCIP 60.0904
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Emergency Medicine Physicians$335,550 · +3.2%
- Family Medicine Physicians$244,180 · +3.3%
- Pediatric Surgeons$559,030 · +2.0%
- Cardiologists$496,010 · +4.8%
- Nurse Practitioners$132,300 · +41.0%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.