Also called: Medical Secretary, Medical Receptionist, Medical Office Assistant, Front Desk Coordinator (Clinic)
Runs the front desk of a doctor's office or clinic: checking patients in, scheduling, handling insurance and keeping records in order.
You check in 40 patients, scan insurance cards and collect copays. Between calls you reschedule appointments, send a referral to a specialist, and sort out a billing question so the doctor's day keeps moving.
BLS OEWS May 2025 median for medical secretaries and administrative assistants ($45,930); 10th and 90th estimated.
Certificate, about 1 year after high school. High school diploma; many take a short medical office certificate (a few months to a year), and some offices train on the job.
Ways in: Certification, On-the-job training, 2-year college. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Medical Office Administration, Health Information Technology, Medical Assisting (certificate).
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years). BLS projects +5%, 2025-35; about 979,000 jobs.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. AI phone agents, online check-in and auto-scheduling cut routine desk work; calming patients and untangling insurance stay human.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply for front desk or patient service jobs at clinics and doctors' offices; most want 18+ and good computer skills
Classes: Health science CTE class, Computer applications, Spanish.
Official data: O*NET occupation 43-6013.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.