Advice for a new grad having difficulty finding a job in CO

[margaretandersonpa]

I need some advice from some PAs who have gone before me who may have encountered a similar situation in the past. I recently graduated from PA school, took my boards and am now certified and starting the job hunt. My significant other landed a job in Vail, Colorado and I have had awful luck trying to find a job in my preferred setting of primary care, ER, women's health or urgent care anywhere within a 2 hour radius of him. There has also been much resistance to hiring a new grad with the new grad laws of Colorado. After searching the past 2 weeks and getting discouraged, here are some potential ways I could go in my career search until something close opens up?

 

1. Get a job, any job, regardless of pay or specialty IN the state of Colorado

2. Get a job in another state that has a flexible schedule (eg 3 days on, 4 days off) so I can have extended days off for travel purposes to visit

3. Get a well-paying job 9-10 hours away to pay loans/save money and visit when I can

4. Locum tenens positions- is this possible as a new grad?

 

What are your opinions, as a new grad in this situation? Any advice would be much appreciated (as well as job leads ;) )! Thank you!

[Sassy27]

How long have you been looking for a job and have you gotten any offers yet? I just moved back here from NYC and received several offers, however I have 5 years of experience coming in. My situation starting out in NYC was similar, I wanted to work in a hospital but no one would take me without experience. I accepted a very s****y job in an office in Brooklyn paying 60K (In NYC!) where I was worked absolutely to death. Within 6 months of working there I managed to land 2 offers for IM hospital jobs and had my pick. So therefore, my suggestion is just take anything that you are offered and continue your search while getting experience. I also know that the colorado dept of corrections is always looking for additional help, if you are willing to do that sort of work. Hope it works out!

[bleu]

Are there any Colorado PAs out there that can speak to this? I'm wondering if it's difficult to find a job in CO (front range areas- Denver/Ft Collins/Colo Springs) as a new grad because of the 1000 supervised hours requirement or if you just have to know where to look.

Also if there are any students from CU Denver or Red Rocks that can answer this based on what their schools have told hem about job outlook in CO after graduation, I'd appreciate it.

I know the easy answer is get a job out of state, get the hours done, then move to CO, but I'm just curious how it looks for PAs fresh out of school.

Thanks!

[delco714]

 

 

take anything that you are offered and continue your search while getting experience./quote]

 

Sounds like a super awesome idea! Why not just bury our profession further with getting overworked and underpaid. Sure, new grads can't be AS choosy, but still, c'mon.

[bleu]

take anything that you are offered and continue your search while getting experience./quote]

 

Sounds like a super awesome idea! Why not just bury our profession further with getting overworked and underpaid. Sure, new grads can't be AS choosy, but still, c'mon.

 

Hi @delco714- I was hoping to redirect this thread today with the question that I posted about new grads in CO (this is an older thread and I know people don't like it when a new thread is created that's similar to something else so I used this one). So if anyone can answer my question in particular about the front range area in CO and if they've had a hard time finding a job as a new grad, I'd appreciate it! Thanks!

[delco714]

I hope you don't take bad advice. Good luck :)

[BruceBanner]

 ...I was hoping to redirect this thread today with the question that I posted about new grads in CO (this is an older thread and I know people don't like it when a new thread is created that's similar to something else so I used this one). So if anyone can answer my question in particular about the front range area in CO and if they've had a hard time finding a job as a new grad, I'd appreciate it! Thanks!

 

I can speak to this.

 

It is a very tight market here in the Front Range. I've been out of school 3 years and it took me about 5 months to find a job in FP. 5 months. Now granted, I was being choosy and I had a part-time job, but there are NOT an abundance of jobs here. It's a buyer's market. People are applying from all over the US. Even the housing market in Denver is insane...they are flying off the market in days.

 

When I first moved here I had only been a PA for 6 months and it took me about 4 months just to find ANY job as a PA. I was working at Dominos (no joke) to make extra cash. Because of this market there are a lot of bottom-feeder type jobs that want PAs like weight loss clinics, Low T clinics, health fairs, etc. They will pay you as a contractor maybe $40-45 an hour, which is a rip. Oh and they expect you to have your own malpractice. I could go on for hours about the job market here.

 

All I can say is good luck---you're going to need it.

[bleu]

Thank you @BruceBanner. You've confirmed my suspicions. I figured that was unfortunately the case in CO.

[Annika]

I have a great job here- but it took awhile. I worked in Laramie and drove there from FTC.  I have worked in NC and the laws were better/more PA friendly. But my pay is comparable, benefits are good. I work for UCHealth in pulmonology. I am hoping to morph into critical care.