Quick answer:Physician assistant programs are ARC-PA accredited, master’s-level and built around in-person clinical rotations - this is not an online credential. PAs earn a median $135,880 with employment projected to change by 20.4% through 2034 (BLS OEWS, May 2025; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). The prerequisite that shapes everything is documented direct patient-care hours, which is why the path suits people already working in health care.
Physician Assistant Programs at a Glance
Metric
Detail
Source
Median annual wage
$135,880
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Wage range
$99,380 (10th pct) - $190,280 (90th pct)
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Employment
162,150 physician assistants
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Projected change (2024-34)
20.4%, about 12,000 openings per year
BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34
Typical credential
Master’s, roughly three years after a bachelor’s
Program catalogs
Accreditation
ARC-PA, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant
ARC-PA
License
State licensure, following the PANCE examination through NCCPA
Most degree pages on this site describe how much of a program can be done at a distance. This one has to start by saying: very little of it.
ARC-PA accreditation requires supervised clinical practice experience across multiple specialties, and those rotations happen in hospitals and clinics with a preceptor beside you. No accredited program delivers that remotely, and a program advertising a fully-online PA credential is telling you something important about itself.
Some programs deliver the didactic year in a hybrid format, and that flexibility is real. But the clinical year is in person, full time, and geographically fixed to wherever your rotations are assigned. Plan for that rather than around it.
The Wage Ladder, and Why the Hours Requirement Shapes It
Nearly every PA program requires documented direct patient-care hours. That single requirement is why this credential belongs on a site about skilled work: the people best positioned to apply are already doing the hands-on jobs.
Rung
SOC
Median
10th pct
90th pct
Employment
Projected change
Emergency medical technicians
29-2042
$44,470
$34,130
$62,500
180,510
+5.1%
Medical assistants
31-9092
$45,690
$36,050
$59,310
817,870
+12.5%
Surgical technologists
29-2055
$64,650
$45,940
$96,940
117,460
+4.5%
Physician assistants
29-1071
$135,880
$99,380
$190,280
162,150
+20.4%
Wages and employment: BLS OEWS, May 2025. Projections: BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34.
The 10th percentile column is the one to read. A physician assistant at the bottom decile earns $99,380 - more than a surgical technologist at the 90th percentile, and roughly double the median EMT or medical assistant wage. There is no comparable gap anywhere else on this site.
The feeder occupations are also enormous: 817,870 medical assistants and 180,510 EMTs. This is not a narrow door in terms of who is eligible to try, and each of those roles has its own page here - medical assistant, paramedic and surgical technologist.
What the Path Actually Looks Like
Stage
What it is
Typical timing
Bachelor’s degree
Required by nearly all programs, with specific science prerequisites
Four years, or already held
Direct patient-care hours
Documented hands-on care, not observation
Accumulated while working
ARC-PA accredited program
Didactic year plus supervised clinical rotations
About three years
PANCE examination
The national certifying examination, administered through NCCPA
After graduation
State licence
Issued by the state medical or PA board
Ongoing renewal
Two things about that table are worth emphasising.
The science prerequisites are specific and vary by program. Anatomy, physiology, microbiology, chemistry and statistics appear on most lists, often with recency limits. Check each program’s list before assuming coursework from years ago still counts.
The hours requirement rewards patience over speed. Applicants who present a strong hours record from genuine clinical work compete better than those who assembled the minimum quickly. If you are already in an allied-health role, that is an advantage you are accruing right now.
PA vs Nurse Practitioner
These two roles overlap substantially in practice, and the choice is usually decided by where you are starting from rather than where you want to end up.
Nurse practitioner requires an RN licence first, then a graduate nursing degree. If you already hold an RN, that route is normally shorter and you can often work as an RN throughout. See online nurse practitioner programs.
Physician assistant admits from any bachelor’s plus patient-care hours, and the training model is generalist rather than nursing-based. For an EMT, paramedic, medical assistant or surgical technologist with no nursing credential, PA is frequently the more direct path.
Neither is better. They are different doors into similar rooms, and the one you should use depends on which key you already hold. If neither fits, online nursing degrees covers the RN route and online health sciences degree covers finishing a bachelor’s on top of an allied-health credential you already have.
Is PA School Worth It?
The case for is as strong as any on this site: a median of $135,880, a 10th percentile of $99,380, 20.4 percent projected change, about 12,000 openings a year, and feeder occupations employing nearly a million people between them (BLS OEWS, May 2025; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34).
The case against is the shape of the commitment. PA school is full time, in person, and roughly three years at master’s level after a bachelor’s. Working through it is generally not possible in the way it is for an online business or IT degree. Admission is competitive, prerequisites are specific, and the patient-care hours take time to accumulate. If you need a shorter route from an allied-health role, online health sciences degree or online respiratory therapy programs are less demanding steps.
Is college worth it covers the general tradeoff. Individual outcomes may vary.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do physician assistants make?
The national median annual wage for physician assistants is $135,880 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The bottom 10 percent earn $99,380 or less and the top 10 percent earn $190,280 or more, across employment of 162,150 nationally. Even the 10th percentile sits above the median of most occupations covered on this site.
Can you do a physician assistant program online?
Not really, and be sceptical of any that claims otherwise. ARC-PA accredited programs are built around supervised clinical rotations that must happen in person, across multiple specialties and over many months. Some programs deliver didactic coursework in a hybrid format, but the clinical year is on-site by definition. This is one of the least online-friendly credentials on this site.
What are PA program prerequisites?
Nearly all programs require a bachelor's degree, specific science coursework, and documented direct patient-care hours. That hours requirement is the reason this path suits people already working in health care - EMTs, paramedics, medical assistants, surgical technologists and nursing staff accumulate them on the job. Requirements vary by program, so check each one directly.
How many patient-care hours do PA programs require?
It varies widely by program, and no single number applies. What is consistent is that the hours must be direct patient care rather than observation, and that competitive applicants usually exceed the stated minimum. Confirm the requirement and what counts with each program before you rely on your hours qualifying.
Is physician assistant a growing career?
Strongly. BLS projects physician assistant employment to change by 20.4% from 2024 to 2034, with about 12,000 openings per year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). That is one of the highest growth rates of any occupation covered here, on a base of 162,150 jobs.
How long is PA school?
The program itself is typically about three years at master's level, following a bachelor's. Added to the patient-care hours most applicants accumulate first, the realistic total from a starting allied-health role is several years. Individual outcomes may vary.
PA or nurse practitioner?
Both are advanced clinical roles with similar scope in many settings. The routes differ: NP requires an RN licence and nursing degrees first, while PA admits from any bachelor's plus patient-care hours. If you already hold an RN, the NP route is usually shorter. If you are an EMT, medical assistant or surgical technologist, PA is often the more direct path.
Is this realistic from an EMT or medical assistant role?
It is the classic route, and the wage argument is stark: EMTs earn a median $44,470, medical assistants $45,690 and surgical technologists $64,650, against $135,880 for physician assistants (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The catch is that PA school is a full-time, in-person, master's-level commitment. Individual outcomes may vary.
Colleges Offering This Degree
How we rank schools – graduation rate, graduate earnings, cost and retention.
Advertising plays no part.
This page lists 10 schools, closest group first, then ordered by
BOC Score with the highest at the top.
10 of them carry a score.
LOCAL RANK
Location / proximity to this page
Defines the local group
Graduation rate how often students finish
30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry whether it paid off
25%
Average net price what students actually pay after aid; lower ranks higher
20%
Retention rate how many come back for year two
15%
Fully online availability whether you can study while working
10%
Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal
about the institution rather than about this subject.
Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from
this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 - Physician Assistants (SOC 29-1071), Emergency Medical Technicians (SOC 29-2042), Surgical Technologists (SOC 29-2055), Medical Assistants (SOC 31-9092)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2024-34
ARC-PA, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant
NCCPA, the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants
About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.
