Physician Assistant
Health Science
Examine, diagnose, and treat patients alongside physicians.
Why it matters here: Specialty practices across the DMV compete for PAs.
Labor Market — DMV Region
Sourced from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS releases (DMV metro and nationwide) plus MD, VA, and D.C. workforce agencies.
Local cost of living is why DMV pay often differs from the national median.
- DMV & state figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — OEWS wage & employment estimates and Employment Projections, with OEWS area pay relatives for the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria metro, Maryland, D.C., and Northern Virginia · View source
- Occupation profiles & skills: O*NET OnLine (U.S. Department of Labor) · onetonline.org
All salary figures are published estimates for groups of workers, not offers or guarantees for any individual role.
Education & Career Pathways
Multiple ways to get here — pick the one that fits your life.
Career Progression
How you can grow — with expected salary at each step.
- Entry-level Physician AssistantLearning the role, supervised work, building core skills.$120,990
- Physician Assistant (experienced)Independent work, mentoring newer team members.$145,250
- Senior / Lead Physician AssistantOwning projects, specialization, higher responsibility.$168,950
- Manager or specialist trackSupervising a team or moving into a high-demand specialty.$202,740
Skills Required
What you'll actually do — and how you'll be judged.
Clinic or hospital service, team-based, some call
Where you work
Depends entirely on specialty: a surgical service, an emergency department, a dermatology clinic. PAs move between specialties over a career.
Hours and schedule
Clinic PAs keep weekday hours; hospital and ER PAs work shifts, nights and call rotations.
Pace and pressure
Fast in hospital settings, structured in clinic; you often see the higher-volume, lower-complexity share of the schedule.
Who you work with
Practice is collaborative with a supervising physician, and you'll present cases the way residents do.
Physical demands
Varies by specialty — long standing in surgery, mostly seated in clinic.
What people wear
White coat or scrubs by setting.
Remote reality
Mostly in person, with telehealth in primary care and psychiatry.
Workplace culture: what's normal here
- Asking for a second opinion on a case is a sign of competence here, not weakness.
- Procedural skills are learned by supervised repetition, so new PAs get coached hands-on for months.
- Switching specialties mid-career is normal and respected.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook — Work Environment, with regional detail for the DMV.
Official data behind this career
Federal statistics for DMV Region, translated into plain language.
Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV metro area
Source: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 2019–2023 5-year estimates (tables DP03, DP02, DP05)
- The DMV functions as one labor market: workers routinely cross state lines to get to work.
- The largest employment destinations are D.C., Fairfax County and Montgomery County.
Top places these workers go to work
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — BEA regional GDP and personal income, most recent published year
Private-sector payroll data from ADP. It is a supplemental near-real-time indicator and does not replace BLS government employment statistics.
Source: ADP National Employment Report — Most recent monthly ADP National Employment Report
- 1U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OOH, OEWS, Employment Projections, CES) — Primary source for occupation wages, outlook, projected openings, education and training.
- 2U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey — Primary source for income, educational attainment, labor force and demographic context by place.
- 3Census LEHD (LODES / OnTheMap) — Primary source for where workers live versus where they work, and local workforce flows.
- 4U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Primary source for regional GDP, industry contribution, compensation and personal income.
- 5ADP National Employment Report — Supplemental near-real-time private-sector employment and pay indicator. Not a replacement for BLS.
Figures describe groups of workers, not any one person. Where an official figure is not published for a category, this page says “Data unavailable for this category.” rather than estimating.
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