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Medical Office Assistant/Specialist

What Medical Office Assistant/Specialist Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Medical Office Assistant/Specialist emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Medical Office Assistant/Specialist graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Medical Office Assistant/Specialist emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.
• Personnel and Human Resources — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.0 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a Medical Office Assistant/Specialist program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Service Orientation — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.1 / 7.
• Time Management — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 2.9 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Medical Office Assistant/Specialist careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Speech Recognition — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.1 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Medical Office Assistant/Specialist graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Working with Computers	4.5 / 7
Processing Information	4.4 / 7
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public	4.3 / 7
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Performing Administrative Activities	4.1 / 7
Assisting and Caring for Others	4.1 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.0 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Medical Office Assistant/Specialist professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Amazing Charts	Medical software	—
Database software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Microsys MicroMD	Medical software	—
Microsoft Exchange	Electronic mail software	—
CPSI CPSI System	Medical software	—
Addressing software	Word processing software	—
Epic Systems	Medical software	—
Graphics software	Graphics or photo imaging software	—
McKesson Lytec	Medical software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Medical Office Assistant/Specialist graduates include:

• Medical Front Desk Specialist
• Medical Administrative Specialist
• Guest Service Representative
• Front Desk Agent
• Clinic Receptionist
• Medical Secretary
• Ward Clerk
• Verification Specialist
• Front Desk Receptionist
• Administrative Support Specialist
• Medical Records Clerk
• Dental Receptionist
• Unit Support Representative
• Physician Office Specialist
• Intake Coordinator

What Can You Do With a Medical Office Assistant/Specialist Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Medical Office Assistant/Specialist commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants	6.9%	$61,212	$52,136–$70,287

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Medical Office Assistant/Specialist graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	47.6%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	26.0%
Postsecondary certificate	19.9%
Less than a high school diploma	5.3%
Some college courses	1.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

How Much Do Medical Office Assistant/Specialist Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Medical Office Assistant/Specialist graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$36,041
4 years	$36,054
5 years	$40,847

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $40,847 — roughly 13% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Medical Office Assistant/Specialist Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Medical Office Assistant/Specialist. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	13	3
Bachelor’s	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Medical Office Assistant/Specialist Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Medical Office Assistant/Specialist graduates earn a median of $36,054 four years after completion — about 5% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Health and Medical Administrative Services	90,166
Health/Health Care Administration/Management	28,347
Medical Insurance Specialist/Medical Biller	11,963
Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician	11,828
Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder	10,171
Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary	7,771
Hospital and Health Care Facilities Administration/Management	3,494
Health and Medical Administrative Services, Other	3,168
Medical Office Management/Administration	2,900
Health Information/Medical Records Administration/Administrator	2,781
Medical/Health Management and Clinical Assistant/Specialist	1,195
Medical Reception/Receptionist	844

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.