There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a registered dental assistant. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.28 an hour? That's $38,030 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 11% and produce 38,700 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many registered dental assistants have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed detail oriented, dexterity and interpersonal skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a registered dental assistant, we found that a lot of resumes listed 14.8% of registered dental assistants included cpr, while 11.1% of resumes included dental procedures, and 10.7% of resumes included rda. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the registered dental assistant job title. But what industry to start with? Most registered dental assistants actually find jobs in the health care and professional industries.
If you're interested in becoming a registered dental assistant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 16.6% of registered dental assistants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.8% of registered dental assistants have master's degrees. Even though some registered dental assistants have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a registered dental assistant. When we researched the most common majors for a registered dental assistant, we found that they most commonly earn associate degree degrees or bachelor's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on registered dental assistant resumes include high school diploma degrees or diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a registered dental assistant. In fact, many registered dental assistant jobs require experience in a role such as dental assistant. Meanwhile, many registered dental assistants also have previous career experience in roles such as cashier or sales associate.
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In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of dental hygienist you might progress to a role such as clinical instructor eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title clinical manager.
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Registered Dental Assistant. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Registered Dental Assistant Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Registered Dental Assistant resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationThe skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 14.8% of registered dental assistants listed cpr on their resume, but soft skills such as detail oriented and dexterity are important as well.
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a registered dental assistant. The best states for people in this position are Oregon, Rhode Island, Alaska, and Massachusetts. Registered dental assistants make the most in Oregon with an average salary of $45,699. Whereas in Rhode Island and Alaska, they would average $44,458 and $44,012, respectively. While registered dental assistants would only make an average of $43,094 in Massachusetts, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Oregon
$45,699
Avg. Salary
2. Alaska
$44,013
Avg. Salary
3. Minnesota
$42,675
Avg. Salary