Throughline

Healthcare

Medical Assistant in the United States

64 postings read · sampled 2026-10-01 · source ats · 11 employers · largest 20% of it

What employers actually ask for

Credentials named in the 64 postings we read, ranked by how many mentioned each one.

What it costs

Exam and application fees plus typical self-study hours. Almost nobody needs every credential on this list — start with the top line.

Most-asked-for, on its own
$70BLS / CPR Certification · ~5 hrs
asked for in 23 of 64 postings — 36%
If you earned all 2 of them
$320
fees checked 2026-08
85 hrs
85 hours — about 9 weeks at 10 hrs/wk

Lower signal for this role

Credentials that barely appeared in this sample. That is not a claim they are worthless — plenty are valuable for a different job, a different city, or a promotion later. It is a claim that employers here mostly did not ask.

What the official taxonomy says

O*NET surveys people already doing this job. That describes who got hired over a long window, not what employers are asking for now — where it disagrees with the counts above, the counts are the more current answer.

Education levels O*NET lists for this job
  • Post-secondary certificate
  • High school diploma or equivalent
  • Some college, no degree

Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

O*NET 31-9092.00 · pulled 2026-10-01 · O*NET publishes the levels but no shares for this occupation, so they are shown in its order without percentages

What it pays

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. A different survey from the postings above, so the two do not share a sample.

$36,050
10th percentile
$45,690
median
$59,310
90th percentile

Every credential above costs $320 — about 2 days' pay at the median.

Who was hiring

Employers with at least one matching posting in this sample.

Luminis Health · One Medical · Clover Health · Quest Diagnostics · Comprehensive Mobile Care · Tia · BAYADA Home Health Care · Sollis Health · Integrated Resources Inc · Oscar Health · Wynn Resorts

Next

  • Roast and Resolve — Now aim your résumé at this target. Free roast, paid rewrite.
  • Synap — Two-minute daily lessons to drill the skills underneath the credential.