text: shall i get a medical assistant job with my medical doctor degree from burma? i've got medical doctor degree since 2003,may.i have about 3 years experiences as a medical officer at  yangon general hospital.before i join for usmle,i want to be a medical assistant for my living.i am a permanent resident at la. in california, to be a medical assistant, you only have to have a high school diploma and a few months of extra training at a vocational school.  if you are a physician, your level of education is way to high to be working as a medical assistant.  why wouldn't you to try to become licensed as a doctor in the united states?    if you go on the medical board of california website and enter "international graduate," into the search engine, you can get a form for becoming licensed or gaining additional training/supervision here.   at the very least, with your training, you should try to be a physician assistant (p.a.) or a certified nurse practitioner (n.p.)  then you can work almost as you would if you were a licensed physician; you just have to have a physician "supervising" you.  there is more information on the medical board website.  i encourage you to use the skills and training that you have...good luck!