Medical assistant jobs in New Jersey

Roughly 20,330 people hold medical assistant jobs in New Jersey. That works out to 4.7 out of every 1,000 jobs across the state. Among the 50 states and Washington, DC, New Jersey places 11th for the size of this workforce, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The state labor agency predicts around 3,380 openings each year. That covers newly created positions as well as jobs people leave for any reason. Just 8 states anticipate a higher number of yearly openings, which puts New Jersey 9th out of 51 on that list. The figures come from state projections.

Looking ahead, the agency expects the job count to start at 23,050 in 2024 and reach 27,120 by 2034. That works out to 17.7% growth, stronger than the 12.5% forecast for the country overall. New Jersey ranks 17 of 51 for projected growth.

Median pay here is $47,210 per year. To put that in plain terms, half of the state's medical assistants earn above that figure, while the other half earn below it. Nationally, the median is $45,690, so New Jersey pays a bit more. That puts the state in 17th place out of 51 for pay.

For the middle half of medical assistants, yearly earnings run from $42,150 to $49,920. Most paychecks land inside that fairly tight range. The top tenth receives $58,070 or more each year. These numbers come from the BLS wage tables.

Most of these jobs are found in the large metro regions that span state borders. Here, a metro area means a central city and the surrounding towns that share one labor market. That means New York-area numbers include northern New Jersey, while Philadelphia-area numbers include Camden and southern New Jersey.

The metro area anchored by New York tops the pay list, with a median of $48,370, and it also employs far more people than anywhere else. Pay in the smaller New Jersey areas stays close together, landing between roughly $45,400 and $45,950 a year. Figures come from BLS metro data.

Yes, though only under certain rules. According to the state's Board of Medical Examiners, injections and blood draws are allowed only when a certified medical assistant completed an accredited program and keeps a current national credential. An accredited program has been reviewed and approved by an outside organization. A national credential is the certificate you receive after passing a national exam following your program.

The supervising physician carries responsibilities too. They need to record your practical training, give a written order for every injection or blood draw, and stay on site during the procedure. Several types of injections are prohibited regardless of credentials. Allergy, anesthetic, controlled, experimental and chemotherapy injections all fall under that restriction, per the Board's rule.

X-rays fall under a different set of rules. Performing them requires a state Department of Environmental Protection license; a limited chest license is one example.

Your training location shapes what you may do later, since the injection rule depends on it. The form on this page sends your details to a single accredited school, giving you a chance to ask how that program prepares students for the national exam.

This page lists 31 New Jersey schools whose medical assistant graduates are reported to the federal education survey. Among them, 15 offer programs accredited by CAAHEP or ABHES. These 2 organizations review medical assistant programs. You can see the details in College Navigator.

That difference carries extra weight in New Jersey. A graduate of an accredited program who goes on to hold a national credential may give injections and draw blood here, provided a physician documents their hands-on training, issues a written order for each task and remains on the premises while they work. Each of the 15 accredited programs therefore keeps every option open.

Nationwide, two pricing patterns appear. Career schools that quote the full program price report a median of $17,257, covering tuition, fees and books. For public colleges, the median tuition-and-fee figure is $4,346 for one year of full-time study. The source is federal data. Career school programs take 9 months at the median, and most students finish within 7 to 9 months.

A "Request information" form sits just below the program table on this page. Choose 1 accredited program from the list, then share your name, email, phone, ZIP code and your preferred start date.

Only that 1 school receives your request, so the reply comes from the people who run the program rather than from a stranger. If you are weighing 2 or 3 schools, file a separate request with each one, then line their answers up next to each other.