Medical Assisting is a rip-off! I work at a school that trains them!

I'm working in a school that teaches medical assistants, and I would just like to warn some of you deciding between LPN and MA about this career.

1) If you're not bilingual, you're not going to get a job. Here in Texas, MA is an almost completely Hispanic job because the demographics demand Spanish-speakers. Almost all of the people who don't speak Spanish had a horrible time finding MA jobs, or even had to come back and get a nursing assistant license.

2) Schools can charge as much as they darn please, as it's a relatively new job with a high demand (at least here in Texas) and a big hype (Wear the scrubs in just 8 months, and you don't even have to wipe butts!). At my job, the full bill comes out to about $9000 for 8-9 months of schooling. This bill supplies tuition, scrubs, books, testing fees, etc, which slightly justifies the price tag. Also, financial aid is often available. However, I'm paying about $700/semester at a local community college for my ADN, which can yield so much more than an MA license.

3) If you decide to go back to school, the credits probably won't transfer. Most institutions that offer MA are private and the applied courses are taught by faculty who just happen to have a few years of experience in each subject. This doesn't mean that you won't learn, but it does mean that you're going to have to start from scratch if you decide to go back to school. A word of advice is to take the prereqs elsewhere, like a community college. It will take longer (at my school, courses are compacted into 1-month modules which makes the program lightning-fast), but the credits will actually be worth something. At my school, we'll take money off the tuition bill if you have credits to transfer.

4) Some of the places are sleazy or questionable. The school where I work is a nice place, state accredited and run by a shrewd businesswoman. However, on multiple occasions, we've gotten medical assistant transfer students who showed up at the old school one day, and it had closed down with no warning or anything.

5) It's harder to transfer from state to state, and some places might not even need MAs.

6) You're mostly limited to doctors' offices, which limits the field and you might not get benefits unless you're working for a big hospital or a chain of clinics or something.

Don't get me wrong; my school has had a lot of successful students that have found good careers. However, the reality is nothing like the hype. If your prospects look good in the area, go for it! However, I just want to warn people about the reality before they blow several thousands of dollars.