I saw you were looking for some more positive comments and wanted to throw mine in.

I just wanted to let you know I participate in a military spouse forum and there are milspouses that feel being an MA is a great job for them. Not because of the pay, or anything like that, but because MAs are everywhere - some places you can find a job more easily than others of course. And with our active duty spouses deployed or working odd, long hours, or out of town frequently for training, the hours for an MA tend to be better when trying to deal with kids, school, childcare, and activities. And military spouses get used to moving and having to find new jobs (and also learn to be patient while stationed places, like overseas, where volunteering or working a service job is the only option) so I would think the whole job search thing, while still frustrating, is something they are used to.

There is a big push right now to encourage military spouses to learn medical transcription but its not for everyone - just like I have been hearing for years about how nursing and teaching are great for military spouses - sure, but not for everyone - and nursing is actually not the best because finding an overnight sitter is not cheap or easy when you work 11-7 and your spouse is deployed or otherwise out of town. So, like someone in the other forum said, MA is a great option. So many milspouses are forced to "start over" again every time they move and I can tell you I have known many who were qualified to do much higher jobs but ended up working at Sams Club etc... MA gives you identifiable skills that are needed many places, and is a broad field.

I guess it all depends on what you are looking for whether being an MA is a great choice or not.

My only beef is that the cost of training (and the training itself) varies from place to place. Where I live now its about $9-10K for training, available only at a private proprietary school, and where I lived before, it was a program through a state vocational college and the cost was very very low. If only more community colleges would establish a program, the proprietary schools would have some competition.... I live near a medium-large city and there would definitely be jobs for the grads if the community college started a program. I have asked, but nothing has come of it.

The hours are great for an MA! I just got my LPN and was a MA for 14 years. I worked 9-5 until I had kids. I then got a job working nights and weekends part-time, which has been ideal with my school schedule as well. I was making over $15 an hour when I got my LPN, so the pay has been pretty good. I loved being an MA and my experience has helped tremendouly as I progress forward in the healthcare field. :)
Thanks Dee for the positive input!

Your Professional Title/Credentials: LPN

Are You Still In School? yes

Are You Working? yes

Ditto!!! And thanks for helping me to turn the focus back into a more positive direction.

Yes, some of the tuitions are outrageous. I paid $16,000 at Porter & Chester Institute in Massachusetts, where the STCC community college program cost only 3,000 or 4,000 back then.

Only difference was that Porter & Chester had an excellent reputation in the community (very high graduating student placement success rate) and the program was geared toward the AAMA's CMA, where the community college, which also has an excellent reputation, qualified their students for the RMA.

Employers, at that time, preferred the CMA. This has changed somewhat now. I am always checking the medical assistant's credentials where ever I, or a family member, has a doctor's appointment, and I am beginning to see a lot more RMA in the doctor's offices. The hospitals still prefer the CMA.

But so far, I haven't come across anybody that didn't have one or the other credential. It is big here in this area, and I am glad to see it that way.

Your Professional Title/Credentials: Website Owner/Site Admin