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The differences between public health assistants and medical assistant externships can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a public health assistant and a medical assistant externship. Additionally, a public health assistant has an average salary of $38,433, which is higher than the $35,460 average annual salary of a medical assistant externship.
The top three skills for a public health assistant include NYC, school health and patients. The most important skills for a medical assistant externship are patients, vital signs, and EKG.
| Public Health Assistant | Medical Assistant Externship | |
| Yearly salary | $38,433 | $35,460 |
| Hourly rate | $18.48 | $17.05 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 105,104 | 172,671 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Diploma, 31% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Public Health Assistants will require good communication, teamwork, initiative, interpersonal, problem-solving, and analytical skills for this career choice, as well as a strong work ethic and the ability to be flexible and adaptable. Applicants can expect a payout of around $34K per year in this career choice, which will also require a diploma or GED, plus a master's degree in public health, after which they will be required to improve individual and societal health by monitoring healthy lifestyles, as well as practice preventative measures for injuries and disease and controlling infectious diseases. Their health concerns range from small communities to the entire planet.
Medical assistant externs are medical school students who took the opportunity to get on-the-job training at a medical facility, usually a hospital. They spend a set amount of time in the facility. Medical assistant externs do job shadowing. They join their mentors, who are usually doctors or other health professionals, in their daily activities. Unlike usual on-the-job trainees, medical assistant externs do not really work on administrative activities. Instead, they are given the opportunity to truly be exposed to the actual work in a medical facility. They experience talking to patients and their families, performing basic medical tasks under the supervision of a doctor, and interpreting laboratory results with their mentors.
Public health assistants and medical assistant externships have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Public Health Assistant | Medical Assistant Externship | |
| Average salary | $38,433 | $35,460 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $54,000 | Between $23,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | - |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | - |
| Best paying company | Emory Healthcare | - |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | - |
There are a few differences between a public health assistant and a medical assistant externship in terms of educational background:
| Public Health Assistant | Medical Assistant Externship | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Diploma, 31% |
| Most common major | Public Health | Medical Assisting Services |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between public health assistants' and medical assistant externships' demographics:
| Public Health Assistant | Medical Assistant Externship | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 21.6% Female, 78.4% | Male, 15.3% Female, 84.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 24.1% Asian, 9.3% White, 50.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 24.9% Asian, 9.3% White, 50.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |