How To Become An Anesthesia Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is an anesthesia assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an anesthesia assistant. For example, did you know that they make an average of $134.01 an hour? That's $278,742 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 28% and produce 38,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreAnesthesia AssistantUS Average

Salary

10.0

Avg. Salary $278,742

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.2

Growth Rate 28%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.36%

Asian 8.80%

Black or African American 5.90%

Hispanic or Latino 12.94%

Unknown 3.87%

White 68.13%

Gender

female 70.48%

male 29.52%

Age - 37

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 37

Stress Level

8.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.6

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.7

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an anesthesia assistant

Explore anesthesia assistant education requirements

Most common anesthesia assistant degrees

Bachelor's

39.8 %

Associate

25.0 %

High School Diploma

14.1 %

Start to develop specific anesthesia assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	24.73%
Surgery	16.49%
Surgical Procedures	12.51%
Patient Care	5.84%
Vital Signs	4.29%

Complete relevant anesthesia assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New anesthesia assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an anesthesia assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real anesthesia assistant resumes.

Research anesthesia assistant duties and responsibilities

Manage medical records and document examination notes, prescriptions, and procedure details in EMR.
Monitor patients under anesthesia and assist with minor surgical procedures.
Maintain all confidential personnel files, licensing and CPR compliancerecords.
Check airway, intubation and malignant hypothermia carts, and help in sterileprocessing.

Prepare your anesthesia assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your anesthesia assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an anesthesia assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Anesthesia Assistant Resume templates

Build a professional Anesthesia Assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Anesthesia Assistant resume.

Apply for anesthesia assistant jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an anesthesia assistant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do anesthesia assistants rate their job?