Healthcare
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.
Median salary (BLS)
$66,800
10th–90th percentile (BLS)
$40k – $108k
Job outlook
+5% (faster than average)
AI exposure
Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $93,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.
Plan a path to Surgical Assistants
Education
Typical entry: Associate degree
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Junior Surgical Assistants
Entry / Junior
$39,690
~2 yrs to advance
Surgical Assistants
Established
$66,800
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Surgical Assistants
Senior
$87,205
Key skills
A typical 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.
- •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.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Healthcare
Explore all- Johns Hopkins University7% admit · $93,000 grad pay
- Harvard University4% admit · $119,000 grad pay
- University of Michigan18% admit · $87,000 grad pay
- Duke University6% admit · $105,000 grad pay
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill19% admit · $73,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.