Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between billing/administrative assistants and medical assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a billing/administrative assistant, becoming a medical assistant takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a billing/administrative assistant has an average salary of $37,934, which is higher than the $34,900 average annual salary of a medical assistant.
The top three skills for a billing/administrative assistant include patients, data entry and customer service. The most important skills for a medical assistant are patients, vital signs, and patient care.
| Billing/Administrative Assistant | Medical Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $37,934 | $34,900 |
| Hourly rate | $18.24 | $16.78 |
| Growth rate | -8% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 59,505 | 189,915 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 33% | Associate Degree, 24% |
| Average age | 50 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
A billing/administrative assistant handles various administrative support and billing-related tasks. Their duties usually consist of preparing billing data, overseeing client accounts, and balancing bills. They may also manage calls and correspondence, process documents, organize files and schedules, arrange appointments and meetings, maintain records, and prepare reports and presentations. In some companies, they may also coordinate with internal and external parties, procure supplies, and run errands as necessary. Moreover, a billing/administrative assistant maintains a clear communication line with fellow administrative staff, working together to ensure an efficient workflow.
Medical assistants provide support to medical practitioners in both administrative and clerical tasks. They keep and update the patient's medical records, administer medicines under the supervision of a physician, assist during medical examinations, prepare medical samples for laboratory testing, manage the schedule of appointments, and assist the patients with their bills and in filling out needed forms, such as insurance-related documents. Medical assistants should have good communication skills and analytical skills, be organized, and be flexible. They should also have knowledge of how to operate some medical equipment such as x-ray machines.
Billing/administrative assistants and medical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Billing/Administrative Assistant | Medical Assistant | |
| Average salary | $37,934 | $34,900 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $59,000 | Between $27,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | East Brunswick, NJ | Vancouver, WA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Haystack Information Discovery | Columbia University in the City of New York |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a billing/administrative assistant and a medical assistant in terms of educational background:
| Billing/Administrative Assistant | Medical Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 33% | Associate Degree, 24% |
| Most common major | Business | Medical Assisting Services |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between billing/administrative assistants' and medical assistants' demographics:
| Billing/Administrative Assistant | Medical Assistant | |
| Average age | 50 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 7.8% Female, 92.2% | Male, 10.4% Female, 89.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 25.7% Asian, 8.8% White, 49.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |