Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts Allied Health and Medical Assisting (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services
- Private for-profit school
- San Jose, CA
- About 98 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts allied health and medical assisting graduates earn more than graduates of most allied health and medical assisting programs nationally, $32,143 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $7,857 in federal loans, less than at 82% of allied health and medical assisting programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying allied health and medical assisting programs in California.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all allied health and medical assisting certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts graduates earn more than the national figure and about $16,592 more than the California median.
Debt and first-year pay at every California allied health and medical assisting program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 53% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $6,493 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $83 a month, or 3.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 42 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $6,330.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
97% of graduates (199 of 205) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the San Jose area are about 10% above the national average, so a $32,143 salary here buys what about $29,109 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to allied health and medical assisting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Medical Assistants
$49,660Median pay in California. 117,060 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 109,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
Pharmacy Technicians
$55,110Median pay in California. 39,860 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 44,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians
$76,010Median pay in California. 29,210 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 20,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Surgical Technologists
$81,310Median pay in California. 11,920 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
About Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts
Allied Health and Medical Assisting ranks 4th of 5 certificate programs at Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts by first-year earnings. The top three are Practical Nursing ($54,359), Mental Health and Addiction Services ($53,451), and Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($43,725).
Other allied health and medical assisting certificate programs near San Jose
Common questions
The median graduate earns $32,143 one year after graduating and $49,302 five years after. The median across allied health and medical assisting certificate programs in California is $27,458.
The median federal loan balance is $7,857, which ranks 14th lowest of 49 allied health and medical assisting certificate programs in California. That works out to about $83 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 24% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 36%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several California programs report higher pay.
Most do. 97% (199 of 205) were working in California one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of California comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the allied health and medical assisting program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024