Medical Assistant job prospects in the SF Bay Area (CA)

I have a Bachelors degree from a good university, but despite this I have not been able to find employment. I thought it would be a good idea to have some sort of tangible trade. At first I considered phlebotomy, but then I saw that they don't exactly make a lot of money, and the ease with which people can get through those programs (some are only 2 weeks long) would seem to make the pool overcrowded.

Then I thought of medical assisting as a career. Vocational schools for this are much more expensive, but the pay is better if one can find a job.

I am considering two different schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. The first has a program that lasts 9 months and costs 9,000:

www.bamasf.com/courses/medicalassistant

The other lasts 5 months and costs 4,800 :

www.fastresponse.org/classes/career_courses/medical_assistant/

I can't understand why there is such a discrepancy in price and course time between the two. Can anyone suggest to me why?

Does anyone know if there is any demand in the Bay Area for m.a.'s. I wouldn't want to spend so much money and time for nothing.

Thanks

Wow is it really that bad? Do you have any suggestions for what sort of trade might be more marketable. You really think it is worthless to get this sort of training?

Am I better off just trying to work in a bagel store or something lol

What about pharmacy tech in the bay area?