A physician assistant diagnoses and treats patients under the supervision of a physician or surgeon. These professionals are trained and licensed to provide these services and, in some cases, are primary health care providers in accordance with each state's laws regarding medical practices. In May 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported income for physician assistants.
Job Requirements
Physician assistants are required to obtain a license to practice professionally. To qualify for a license, most states require attending an accredited program administered by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant. In most cases, this requires a bachelor's degree and at least two years of training to obtain a master's degree. Once a physician assistant obtains the appropriate education, she must pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination to obtain a state-administered license.
Salary
According to the BLS, median annual wages were $84,420. Approximately 76,900 physician assistants were employed in the United States in May 2009. Median hourly wages were $40.50 per hour.
Percentiles
Salary varies based on experience, the cost of living in a specific metropolitan area and employer types. The 25th percentile of physician assistants earned median annual wages of $71,160 or $34.21 per hour. The 75th percentile earned annual median wages of $99,540 or $47.86 per hour. The 90th percentile earned $115,080 per year or $55.33 per hour.
Industries
These professionals can work in a variety of health care industries, including outpatient care centers, hospitals, physicians' offices and specialty hospitals. The highest levels of employment were in physicians' offices, where annual mean wages were $84,720 or $40.73 per hour. General hospitals paid annual mean wages of $86,850 or $41.76 per hour, and specialty hospitals paid annual mean wages of $90,040 for $42.72 per hour.
Geography
Among the BLS' metropolitan divisions, the highest concentration of physician assistants was in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where annual mean wages were $89,650. The top-paying metropolitan area was Chattanooga, Tennessee/Georgia, where annual mean wages were $142,220. In Ann Arbor, Michigan, annual mean wages were $88,350, and in Ocala, Florida, annual mean wages were $112,420.
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