Dental assistant salary ranges can show you just how financially rewarding being a dental assistant can be. However, there is no set salary range for the dental assistant job position since the compensation given to such employees tend to differ based on many factors. It is natural for anyone to thoroughly consider the financial rewards of a job proposition before jumping in. The dental assistant job is quite demanding, so you must make sure you are properly compensated for it. Before getting a job, get an idea of how much dental assistants make where you’re from, and do some research about what factors affect the dental assistant salary ranges.
To give you a headstart, here are some of the factors that are included in the equation when dental assistant salaries are computed. If you know these factors, then you may get some insights as to how you can improve your value as a dental assistant.
Calculating Dental Assistant Salary Ranges: What’s Included in the Equation?
- Education and training background
- State or city
- Size of organization
- Extent of responsibilities
1. Education and training background
The most important factor that affects how much you will be valuated as a dental assistant if your own education and training background. Not all dental assistants are required to have formal education and training for the job. Although some community colleges and technical schools may offer short courses on how to be best equipped as dental assistants, most assistants these days only learn while on the job.
However, there is one reason for you to get some sort of formal education or at least a training program to become a dental assistant. Such training can give you higher rates when you apply for an assistant job. Whether the work they do is the same or not, dental assistant salary ranges differ for those who have training and those who don’t.
If you do not have any type of formal training, you can also try racking up experiences in the said field. This can boost your rates but this may take longer.
2. State or city
Your state or city will also factor into the equation. Some states have higher dental assistant salary ranges than other states. Some cities also provide higher salaries than other cities in the same state. States with the highest dental assistant salaries are Illinois and Virginia. Cities with the highest salaries are New York and Las Vegas.
3. Size of organization
The size of the organization a dental assistant joins will definitely have a say in the amount the dental assistant will earn. Dental assistants can get jobs in independent dental clinics, larger dental practices, hospitals, school clinics, company clinics, and so on. The larger the organization, the higher your possible rates will be.
4. Extent of responsibilities
The size of the organization you work in will also affect the extent of your responsibilities. Usually this offsets the effect of the organization size on the salary of a dental assistant. For example, if a dental assistant works in a large organization, he or she may have better salary. But if the organization has several dental assistants and the work is divided among them, then each assistant’s salary will not be especially high.
Dental Assistant Salary Ranges: Working Part-time or Full-time?
The length of time you spend working as a dental assistant will also naturally affect your salary. Dental assistant jobs nowadays are available as part-time jobs. A lot of people take such jobs to earn extra money. There are separate dental assistant salary ranges for part-time assistants and for full-time assistants.
Full-time assistants can now earn up to $40,000 maximum in a year, while the more common rate is around $30,000 in a year. The maximum rate is usually only given to dental assistants with formal training and several years of experience in the field. Full-time dental assistants, however, get more benefits and compensation perks than part-time assistants. Full-time assistants can get paid sick leaves, paid holidays, paid vacations, and so on. Some also get pension plans and free dental or health insurance. Part-time assistants are paid by the hour. Salaries range between $12 and $20 depending on the factors discussed above.
These are the different dental assistant salary ranges for dental assistants and the factors that affect them.