7 Tips: How to Get a MA Job Without a Certification

By the time I applied to medical school, I had over 5000 hours of clinical experience, most of which I earned as a medical assistant (MA). After posting about this experience, I got a ton of questions about how I was able to get a medical assistant position without a certification. For those that don’t know, you are able to go the medical assistant school to earn a certification. This training can be more or less around nine months and cost anywhere from $2000 to upwards of $7000. Most programs will have didactic training modules, hands-on practice, as well as an externship.

Now, if being a medical assistant as a career is your goal, then these are great programs. Allied Health schools often have great relationships with potential employers and doing well at your externship location can also lead to a job offer at the end of the program. You will also be qualified and more competitive for a lot more job opportunities that you would be without a certification. With that, you are more likely to be employable at larger institutions which can also trend towards a higher hourly rate and better benefits.

If you are trying to work as a medical assistant to gain clinical experience prior to going back to school within a few years, then I don’t recommend investing into programs like these. The journey to medical school is already costly enough, you can definitely save here. I was employed at two different clinics prior to matriculating into medical school without a certification. Here’s 7 tips to help you land your medical assistant job:

1. Start Your Job Search on Indeed.com.

So many employers use Indeed to recruit for their workplace. You’ll see both small clinics and large hospital systems share their job postings on this site in addition to their own website. Usually you can find what other people have said about their time in this position and how they like working at a given medical practice as well. You’ll also get a very concise preview of job responsibilities and benefits. Indeed also makes it super easy to apply to multiple jobs at once. When I applied for medical assistant positions, I sent upwards of 40 applications. You need to cast a far net because 1). There are a lot of applicants and 2) sometimes job listings are left up on Indeed and the employer is no longer actively searching. The more jobs you apply for, the greater likelihood that you will get your application in front of a hiring manager who is looking to fill the position.

2. Apply to Jobs that Say “MA Certification Preferred/Recommended”

Usually the job posting will have a list of required qualifications and then recommended or preferred qualifications. If a “MA Certification” is listed under the latter of these two categories, definitely apply! Relative to other health professions, formal medical assistant training is new so many clinics may have uncertified medical assistants or find value in training their staff in-house. Which brings me to my next point…

3. Look for Positions that Say “On-the-Job Training Provided”

This is a no brainer. If they are willing to train you, they probably don’t care whether or not you have a medical assistant certification. They likely have a certain workflow that they want you to be accustomed to in order to complete specific tasks. Medical assistant school teaches you a variety of skills but not all of them will be used at every specialty practice. For example, most orthopedic clinics don’t care if you know how to draw blood because they don’t need you to. They will however need you to upload diagnostic imaging to a patient chart, where they will teach you how to do that with their electronic medical records system.

4. Seek Out Private Practices and Small Clinics over Large Hospital or Healthcare Systems

Most big hospitals (think Massachusetts General Hospital or university-affiliated hospitals like Stanford, Tufts, NYU Langone, etc.) and large healthcare systems (think Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, etc.) will look for certified professionals. You will have better luck applying to small private practices and clinics. They tend to be more flexible and willing to train you on-the-job. 

5. Type “Pre-Med Opportunities” or “Medical Gap Year” in the Search Bar

There are some healthcare providers that love to work with pre-med students and will advertise medical assistant positions like this. Many physicians who used to have more formal teaching roles love to mentor pre-med students. You will probably be able to shadow too in these positions and get different opportunities than you might in a standard MA position. These jobs also know that you will likely only be there for about a year and are willing to train you even with that in mind (for all you pre-meds that don’t know about the job world, employers don’t like to have a high turnover of staff, so this is really nice that they have these expectations in advance). 

6. Always Write a Cover Letter

I mean you should do this for any and every job you apply for but especially jobs that you are not formally qualified for. Write a cover letter detailing why you are seeking employment at that practice and why your previous experiences will set you up for success in that position. That second part is key. You need to vouch for yourself that your experience will translate into being advantageous for your future job functions.

7. Follow Up

If you find a position that you really like and don’t hear back from the human resources department or hiring manager within a week, feel free to follow up. This can be a phone call or an email. Just mention that you were following up on a job listing that you saw online, were wondering if the position has been filled yet, and if there would be the opportunity for you to interview. Now you may think that this is being assertive which it is, but it’s not distasteful. Hiring is one of the responsibilities that most managers do not enjoy. With the internet, it’s so easy to get hundreds of applications for a job and sifting through them can be quite a task. By reaching out, you may just get your application on the top of the list and they may want to interview you so they can fill the position quickly!

So there you have it! My 7 tips to getting a MA job without a certification. While there are definitely more jobs available for certified medical assistants, that shouldn’t deter you from searching for a position. If you cast a wide net and are assertive in the process, you can find a position. If you have any additional tips or questions about this process, feel free to leave them in the comments below!