How much does a surgical assistant make?

The median pay is $32.11 per hour — roughly $67,000 a year, with the real range running from about $19.08/hr (10th percentile) to $51.74/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What does a surgical assistant actually do all day?

Verify the identity of patient or operative site. Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures. Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field.

Health Care

Surgical Assistants

Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons. May, in accordance with state laws, help surgeons to make incisions and close surgical sites, manipulate or remove tissues, implant surgical devices or drains, suction the surgical site, place catheters, clamp or cauterize vessels or tissue, and apply dressings to surgical site.

What it pays
Surgical Assistants earn a median of $32.11/hr — about $67,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $19.08/hr; the top 10% earn $51.74/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)

What you'd actually do

Verify the identity of patient or operative site.
Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures.
Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field.
Coordinate or participate in the positioning of patients, using body stabilizing equipment or protective padding to provide appropriate exposure for the procedure or to protect against nerve damage or circulation impairment.
Maintain an unobstructed operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment.
Prepare and apply sterile wound dressings.

How you get there

Typical entry-level education: Post-secondary certificate. Overall preparation: medium preparation (Job Zone 3 of 5).

The feel of the work

The work is mostly indoors; you're around people constantly. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)

Working for yourself

About 8.6% of surgical assistants are self-employed.

Who it tends to fit

This work tends to fit people who are hands-on, organized and detail-focused and people-focused.

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Quick questions

How much does a surgical assistant make?: The median pay is $32.11 per hour — roughly $67,000 a year, with the real range running from about $19.08/hr (10th percentile) to $51.74/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Do you need a degree to be a surgical assistant?: The typical entry-level education is: Post-secondary certificate. Overall preparation level: medium preparation (Job Zone 3 of 5).
What does a surgical assistant actually do all day?: Verify the identity of patient or operative site. Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures. Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.

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