I been a dental assistant for 13 years and make $18.00 a hour in the Chicago area am I under paid?

According to Salary.com


http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layou...





The median expected salary for a typical Dental Assistant in the United States is $31,739 ($15.28/hr.)





the pay range for Dental Assistants in the United States is: $28,446 - $34,709


Which, a 40 hour week equates to:


$13.67 - $16.69 per hour.





With the caveat:


IMPORTANT: Your pay can be dramatically affected by compensable factors such as employer size, industry, employee credentials, years of experience and others.





Sounds like you're right about where you should be but, like many of us workers, not necessarily where we'd like to be.





Here's another link that, if you enter your Zip Code,


will adjust the national range for your area:


http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layou...





This link shows a chart indicating median ranges by City:


(for some reason, Chicago is left out):


http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=...


(Looks like New York City is the highest at $38,450)

I been a dental assistant for 13 years and make $18.00 a hour in the Chicago area am I under paid?
You certainly are if you were working in Calgary, Alberta.
Reply:Dont know bout that
Reply:With your experience I think you could use a raise,but thats about average over here where I live. Why don't you try and get your RDA, then you will get paid more. And then go for your RDAEF. I'm just saying this because you have a lot of experience and in the meantime you could be improving your education and getting paid more.
Reply:I'm a dental assistant in Ypsilanti, Michigan... I make $15/hr. Would you like to switch??
Reply:Since I do not live in the Chicago area I do not know. How much time was spent on education for this? Is this amount of money sufficient to live on in Chicago? Although this is not alot of money there are many factors to consider as to whether or not you are under paid.
Reply:Yes. I made very close to that and I worked for one dentist for 6 years and I left there and started working for another dentist and she started me out making the same as I did before. I would not take a pay cut. I think that you deserve a very big raise. I would talk to your boss about it because you are worth alot more than that.