The U.S. Department of Labor has developed an automated occupational information database, O*NET, that identifies and describes work content, work skills, and training requirements for all jobs across the country in all sectors of the economy. Much of the occupational information contained in this report is derived directly from the O*NET database, and supplemented with information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau, and Labor Market and Career Information.
| Industry | % of Dental Assistants employed | Annual Growth Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Offices of dentists | 89.7 | 1.07 |
| Offices of physicians | 2.3 | 0.66 |
| 2022 Statewide average hourly wage | $18.83 |
| 2022 National average hourly wage | $21.50 |
| 2020 National employment | 330,200 |
| 2020 Texas employment | 29,925 |
| Texas projected employment by 2030 | 39,388 |
| Texas projected annual employment and Turnover openings through 2030 | 4,958 |
| Region | Employment | Projected Employment 2030 | Projected Annual Openings 2030 |
Annual Growth Rate |
Average Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas (all regions) | 29,925 | 39,388 | 4,958 | 2.79% | $39,171.00 |
| Top 10 Relevant Knowledge Areas | Relevant Importance Levels |
|---|---|
| Customer and Personal Service Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. |
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| Medicine and Dentistry Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures. |
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| English Language Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
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| Administration and Management Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. |
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| Administrative Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology. |
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| Computers and Electronics Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming. |
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| Sales and Marketing Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems. |
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| Production and Processing Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods. |
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| Personnel and Human Resources Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems. |
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| Psychology Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders. |
| Top 10 Relevant Skill Areas | Relevant Importance Levels |
|---|---|
| Active Listening Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
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| Speaking Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
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| Reading Comprehension Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents. |
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| Active Learning Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. |
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| Monitoring Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. |
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| Social Perceptiveness Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
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| Instructing Teaching others how to do something. |
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| Service Orientation Actively looking for ways to help people. |
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| Complex Problem Solving Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions. |
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| Critical Thinking Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems. |
| Top 10 Relevant Abilities | Relevant Importance Levels |
|---|---|
| Near Vision The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
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| Oral Expression The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
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| Oral Comprehension The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
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| Speech Recognition The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
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| Written Comprehension The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
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| Deductive Reasoning The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
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| Information Ordering The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations). |
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| Problem Sensitivity The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem. |
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| Written Expression The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. |
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| Finger Dexterity The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects. |