I am saddend by all the negitive posts I see. I have been an MA for 30 years, emergency trained, which switched to working in an office for 15 years of that 30. I have taught at the private college level for the last 3 years. We carry duel accreditation and we put out students who know their stuff. They consistantly get hired right out of externship. While I agree the market is currently saturated we are forgetting we have 50 million baby boomers retiring in one large group and we will be needed more then ever. I being one of those who will be retiring....well....maybe....lol

Your Professional Title/Credentials: CMA/CET

Are You Still In School? No

Are You Working? Yes

I am 53 years old. I just finished my program classroom part. It was 10 weeks front office and 10 weeks back office. I also passed by national certification for MA through NCCT and will be taking my NCCT for phlebotomy so I can get certified and licensed her in California. I will also be starting my externship for 2 weeks for phlebotomy at a Kaiser hospital and then 4 weeks for medical assistant at a medical group.

I have been in the medical field for over 25 years but that was on the admin side doing patient registration and ER admitting, plus customer service. I have heard that being over 50, some places prefer more mature people then those in their 20's. I was also 11 years active duty Air Force and 11 years Reserves in Medical Administration so that background will help get a job.

The bad part here in Southern California is that a lot of offices want you to also speak Spanish which I do not.

Your Professional Title/Credentials: National Certification for MA through NCCT

Are You Still In School? just finished and will be starting 2 week externship for phlebotomy and then 4 week for MA at a medical group

Are You Working? no

I have currently graduated and my school dropped the internship program, so it is hard to get into one without the schools help. I asked what I should do and they said to volunteer at a hospital, which I am already doing and I do not feel like it is giving me the experience I will need to get hired.

Your Professional Title/Credentials: cetified Medical assistant

Are You Still In School? no

Are You Working? no

Did you try doing an externship at a local doctor's office? Some offices may be willing to let you do a small externship so you can gain experience.

When you apply for jobs, are you getting any interviews at all? If not, it could be your resume. If you're getting interviews, then it could be that you're not what they're looking for (not enough experience), or you don't interview well.

It only takes 1 place to say yes. If you can get that to happen, stay with them as long as you can to get the necessary experience so you can find something better. I lasted at my first CMA job for 10 months before landing a better one, and my first job was horrible.

Your Professional Title/Credentials: CMA

Are You Still In School? No - graduated in Nov. 2013

Are You Working? Yes