LPN or Medical Assistant

Juwon · Oct 12, 2011

Even more, not trying to center around money, but i have never known of a medical assistant to clear over six figures a year, but i do know LPNs who have done so, usually average 60 to 70 thousand a year though. Medical assistants pay usually suck and if you are raising little ones, money is something that needs to be considered. In ny area medical assistants start around $3 more per hour than the going minimal wage and doesn't slow nearly the flexibility of working two jobs like you can as a nurse.

tila.12 · Oct 12, 2011

Absolutely agree with everything this poster mentioned. As another MA working towards becoming a LPN, I will agree that being a nurse is a far better option. If you ever choose to continue your nursing education you can do so since there are many different degree levels (ADN, BSN, MSN, DNP, etc). However once a MA, always a MA. And those credits or course you took to become a MA might not transfer (been there, done that, now starting from scratch). I also have a toddler, and yes the hours of a doctors office are nice, but I work with a RN and a LPN and the pay difference is HUGE. In our office setting the only difference between our duties is that they can give injections and I can not (MA's can not give injections in NY state). However I do understand that their training far exceeds mine and they are obviously deserving of their higher salary. My point is that if you want to work in an office setting, be a nurse, and get the pay. Because at the end of the day you will be way more educated than an MA, and bringing home the paycheck to prove it. Good luck to you!

I am an MA working towards becoming an RN. I would recommend that you go straight for RN, but if that's not an option, LVN would be best.
First, LVNs advance more easily. There are more options available and it is possible to get in a fast track to RN program.
Also the pay is better. Depending on where you work, you may or may not have the same duties as an LVN, but the pay is going to be low. I have worked at a large clinic where LVNs, MAs, and an RN worked. At that place, the nurses got the nicer job descriptions and more money. I have also worked at a small clinic where only MAs were employed and we did everything. I got a lot of experience, but still was paid as an MA. Now, I work at a hospital as a PCT. There are very few LVNs there, as they are being phased out at many hospitals. However, there is one on my floor, and she is a nurse with a few limitations in what she is allowed to do, and I am a tech.
Furthermore, if you think that the market is flooded with nurses, the situation is far worse for MAs. As far as I know, only 2 other MAs in my class are working in the medical field at all! It's not just my class, either. At the small clinic I worked in, we always had MA externs around. When they graduated, they generally didn't get jobs. These vocational schools churn out as many MAs as they can, charging more money than many nursing programs, while lying about what a shortage there is, how you will be able to work anywhere, and how great the money will be. Because it's such a short program, a lot of people are drawn to it
Sorry this has been such a long post, but I feel strongly about the topic. :) If you want a quality education, go for a nursing degree. Usually your MA courses don't transfer anywhere, so if you want a nursing degree later, you start from scratch. Your opportunities as an MA are usually limited to doctor's offices. I was lucky to get a hospital job. MAs aren't really trained for that. Also, while MAs can be perfectly intelligent people, you just don't learn the assessment and critical thinking skills that you get in nursing school. I have heard some pretty scary things said to patients by MAs over the years. Not because they are dumb, but because they are often encouraged by the doctors employing them to basically be nurses for rock-bottom prices, and an MA program doesn't prepare you for that. It's just not fair to you, the patients, or the more qualified people who could do the job.

peppapig123 · Oct 13, 2011

Even more, not trying to center around money, but i have never known of a medical assistant to clear over six figures a year, but i do know LPNs who have done so, usually average 60 to 70 thousand a year though. Medical assistants pay usually suck and if you are raising little ones, money is something that needs to be considered. In ny area medical assistants start around $3 more per hour than the going minimal wage and doesn't slow nearly the flexibility of working two jobs like you can as a nurse.

I wanted to mention pay but I didn't want everyone to think I was only looking for a career that makes a lot...I'm not, but pay is still an important factor. My friend is going to school to be a MA. She told me about a convo she had with one while visiting the doctor, and she told her she makes as much as an LPN...but the thing is, she'd been an MA for 20 years o_O

I see so many commercials about MA programs, that claim they make great money, and now they have a better life for their kids...but really, how far does $28,00 a year go?

kehros · Mar 29, 2016

It's been a while since this conversation was opened up again. I was looking around the internet and found some new articles written on the subject. I figured i'd leave them here in case another curious fellow stumbles onto this discussion.

LPN vs Medical Assistant | Remington College

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Mar 30, 2016

It's been a while since this conversation was opened up again. I was looking around the internet and found some new articles written on the subject. I figured i'd leave them here in case another curious fellow stumbles onto this discussion.
LPN vs Medical Assistant | Remington College

The linked 'article' is a roundabout advertisement for a pricey investor-owned school. Anyhow, per posting history, the original poster enrolled in a medical assistant program but eventually dropped out.

MedChica · Mar 30, 2016

Which is a better career for a young parent...with a young child? This is a nursing website...so I know most of you will probably say LPN...but I don't really know anyone in the medical field so this is the only place I could think of for an opinion on this. Thanks in advance for replying :)
Oh, and can you tell me the duties of an LPN? Googling things just isn't the same as asking someone that's actually in the field. I know what medical assistants do...it seems like I spend a lot of time in the doctors office o_O

The nurse route.

-- Flexibility in work schedule. PT/PRN/FLEX or full time? Evenings, weekends, days, nightshift? 4 hrs, here. 8 hours, there. A double or 16 or splitshift....

-- Pay is way better. MAs earn, like, $13/hr in Texas and I'm being generous. LPN pay varies, honestly. Average is $19 but this figure's dragged down by the low clinic and hospital wages.

-- Mobility. There actually is mobility at the LPN level. Most people just shy away from LTC/SNF management, myself included. A/DON is an attainable goal if youre experienced and into that sorta thing.

What do LPNs do? Uh, everything? (Lol) I honestly dont know how to answer that question.

rayshettabrown · Apr 7, 2016

Was a MA 1st,enjoyed it.worked in Doctors office and good experience. The pay was ok too...decided later to become a lpn now making $26.96 a hr I couldn't work in Oncology at Kaiser Permanente without my LPN skills...I flush ports,Start IVs,Injections,Non-chemos..my next step is getting my RN...truly enjoyed being a MA,it helped me to get my LPN.