ammelton Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Hello! I am 33 years old and have been in my field of employment since 2003. My background is in mathematics and operations research. I've always had a desire to break into the medical field so I could care for and help people. 6 years ago, I wanted to start PA school. I didn't. Here I am now, pondering it again! If I would've started 6 years ago, I'd be done by now! My current job is OK. I make a very nice salary and spend my days at a desk. The company has completely flexible hours, which has been wonderful because I am now a mother to three children. I have recently applied to a local community college to retake some science classes as prereqs for PA school. I'm curious...are any of you second-career PAs? Has anyone left a high-paying job to pursue being a PA? Was it the best decision you ever made, or do you regret it? I have at least 2 years of prereqs to take, so I will have plenty of time to make a decision (and get some hospital volunteer hours to see if this is what I really want to do). By the time I am ready to begin PA school, I would have to leave this job (and salary) to fully invest myself in to the program. This really scares me! My husband and I are planning now for when that time comes. If all goes as planned, I will be 38 when I am done (wow!!!). Any other advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newton9686 Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 If it's something you truly want to do, you will not regret the lost income or time spent doing pre-reqs. We have a person or two in our class who are taking pay cuts to become PAs. I doubt they regret it in the slightest. They want to take care of people, so the money doesn't matter as much. However since you do have a good paying job and a couple years until you apply, start putting money aside. My program cost 82,000 in tuition plus application costs and living expenses while in the program. However if you started budgeting right now you may be able to escape PA school debt free! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ammelton Posted October 24, 2016 Author Share Posted October 24, 2016 If it's something you truly want to do, you will not regret the lost income or time spent doing pre-reqs. We have a person or two in our class who are taking pay cuts to become PAs. I doubt they regret it in the slightest. They want to take care of people, so the money doesn't matter as much. However since you do have a good paying job and a couple years until you apply, start putting money aside. My program cost 82,000 in tuition plus application costs and living expenses while in the program. However if you started budgeting right now you may be able to escape PA school debt free! Thank you. I'm at a point where fulfillment/happiness > money (although I still need money!). I thought I may be too "old" to start, but when I talked to a program coordinator, she said their average student age was 35! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poetsiren Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 I am barely older than you, ammelton, and I am a second career PA. I had the unfortunate situation, however, where my first career was a route I took to be closer to practicing medicine. I was a medical translator for over 10 years. And you are NEVER too old to start. While I was something like the 3rd-5th oldest in my class in a class of 90, I can tell you that there are 50-somethings in each class, and one class I know of had a woman who was almost 70 years old. Some started with kids, others entered PA school right out of undergrad - fresh-faced and new to the working world. Message me if you want to talk. I don't have kids, but husband and I were financially supporting my parents and siblings before I entered PA school. Additionally, I was taking online and night classes to catch up on some old pre-reqs. So I know what it feels like. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliB Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Yes. Yes. 2nd year PA-S, so we'll see! Been there and done that. And I'm 15 years older than you. I also kept working at my well-paying job in another field until I started PA school, concurrently eliminated as much ongoing financial obligation as possible, and saved as much $$ as possible. Best advice: 1) yes, make sure that working with patients, in health care, is something you want to do (get broad exposure); 2) as someone already suggested, save now so you can minimize or avoid going into debt for whatever path to medicine you choose! My step mother went to medical school in her 30s with 3 children at home. You'll find other PAs with 2nd career stories - probably more than 1st career, though that is changing. Best of luck. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 I'm at least a 4th career PA, starting way later than you would be. The whole process of preparing to enter a PA program taught me a lot about myself, and the experience of PA school was something I wouldn't want to have missed. Being a PA has meant knowing why I'm working, at least most of the time. And now I work in PA education as well, and that too has been special. Life isn't about always doing the most comfortable thing but doing those things that have meaning for you. We all come to earth with sealed orders and sometimes you have to try new things to find out what you were "meant" to do. Be willing to experiment. Take the prereqs and get the HCE, if only to see how it makes you feel before you consider making a big course correction. I can think of nothing sadder than to die with some of your best music still unplayed. Good luck to you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKPAC Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 I'm curious...are any of you second-career PAs? There was a time when EVERY PA was on their second career, because you had to have prior medical experience. Now, they just take people with no HCE and turn them into PAs. Not optimal. One of the arguements for allowing a PA to practice medicine with less education than a doc was that we had significant HCE. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timon Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Spent 12 years working in business with an MBA and made a respectable salary. I sold my house and quit my job to be a PA at 31 years old and completed my prerequisites and healthcare certifications within 1 year and was accepted to PA school 1 year after that. I started PA school at 33 years old and just finished my first year of practice. I have no regret and I love everything about my job. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moestown1016 Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Depends on what makes YOU happy. Will you regret it at the end of life if you don't? Will you always think about "if I had only tried" for the next 60 years then you owe it to yourself to try. Remember the origin of PA's was for people around your age. Good luck!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiovolffemtp Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 PA is my 3rd career. Took early retirement after 29 years in corporate IT. Worked as FF/medic and part-time university faculty while doing pre-reqs. Got PA license at age 55. Can't say what's best for you, but definitely was the right path for me. By saving I didn't have to borrow anything for PA school. However, plan an out-of-pocket and lost wage cost of about 250K. Age & life experience is a real value in dealing with stressed patients and their families. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceBanner Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 I'm gong to offer an alternative perspective: PA school costs a lot of money; about the price of a single family home depending on how much you borrow to live. It will be 2 (or 3) of the more stressful years in your life. Jobs can vary from great to awful, depending on your role, your SP, the specialty you work in. Most PA jobs are stressful at least some of the time; some are stressful all of the time. Pay is good, but you already have that. Medicine like many other professions tends to get romanticized. "Taking care of people" takes a backseat to seeing more people in less time and dealing with all the other ancillary billing and administrative headaches of American medicine. You are definitely not too old as others have said. Just think carefully about what you want in life and whether you value freedom more (your current situation) or the possibility--not guarantee--of a fulfilling career, with a debt burden. I mostly like what I do, but knowing what I know now about myself and this profession, I would probably have chosen a less debt-intensive path. And it took me several years to find one of the 'good' gigs. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted October 31, 2016 Administrator Share Posted October 31, 2016 I don't miss the salary. I could make more as a PA if I wanted to practice medicine differently. One of the things I DO miss, that I didn't really realize prior to the career switch, is how much less flexible medicine is. I am never on business trips, never call in to meetings--I'm just in my clinic 100% of the time while working, which is, despite the patient variety, quite a bit more monotonous than my previous career in IT. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timon Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 One thing I don't miss as well is being expendable. There is no "not enough years of experience" or "you are too overqualified" which is something I regularly ran into when seeking new employement. There's also no threat of being laid off and having your job shipped overseas (something that made me turn away from IT early in my career). I also don't need to worry about my product or industry becoming obsolete. People will always need healthcare and I feel comfortable that my industry has great job security so long as I don't mess up and injur a patient and stay on par with my performance. In this regard, I don't miss working in business one single bit.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiovolffemtp Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 I'm not sure that job security is 100%. I work in EM and there's a large amount of consolidation. Large staffing companies are buying up the small and medium sized ones rapidly. That can change the work environment with a increased pressure to see more patients and make them more money. They will also bring in their own HR and compensation practices. Also, your employer can lose the contract and the new company may or may not keep the current staff and will almost certainly change compensation practices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWR Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 PA was my 5th career and the longest (31 years). It was my last stop. (for now). Several of the previous careers overlapped. I love medicine but have endured a steady decline in respect of what we are,(PA), and have left the practice of medicine recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houstonian Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Please keep in mind that there is currently about a 50% burnout rate among physicians. That says something about the state of medicine in America today. Mathematics and operations research sounds like a good career to me. And being the mother of three children is a huge factor to consider. PA School is very intensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatswain2PA Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Hello! I am 33 years old and have been in my field of employment since 2003. ....are any of you second-career PAs? Has anyone left a high-paying job to pursue being a PA? ...If all goes as planned, I will be 38 when I am done (wow!!!). Any other advice? I fully retired from my first career (military) at 39, took another year before accepted to PA school, graduated at 42. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swanosaur Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 I worked as an analyst making over 60k (i know it's not a lot, but for a new undergrad graduate, it was pretty good) for a while before eventually quitting and taking a healthcare job that pays half in order to attain my health care experience hours. I don't regret it at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren R Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 It's awesome that you're weighing all the pros and cons and reaching out to other PAs to find out if they are satisfied with their careers! I, for one, couldn't be happier to be a PA. If I were you, I'd spend more time shadowing PAs. Only you will know if the decision to go to PA school is right for you. If spend time shadowing the career and can really see yourself loving the PA career, then go for it. It may be a challenge, but you will find a way to make it happen if that's what you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juliac Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 I know I'm late to the party here but I wanted to say that you're Not too old. I'm 35- going to be 36 next month and JUST started my pre-requisites. I've been working as a Social Worker in Medicine/Healthcare for 11 years. I've decided to switch gears and become a PA. Fingers crossed, everything rolls smoothly- I should get into PA school by the time I'm 38. So, no it's not too late. I believe life is short, we only get one and so might as well make it interesting. Also, I haven't felt 100% fulfilled as a Social Worker for about 4 years now. I've been ready for a change for a while. I'm diving in and taking a leap of faith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ammelton Posted May 26, 2020 Author Share Posted May 26, 2020 1 hour ago, JuliaC said: I know I'm late to the party here but I wanted to say that you're Not too old. I'm 35- going to be 36 next month and JUST started my pre-requisites. I've been working as a Social Worker in Medicine/Healthcare for 11 years. I've decided to switch gears and become a PA. Fingers crossed, everything rolls smoothly- I should get into PA school by the time I'm 38. So, no it's not too late. I believe life is short, we only get one and so might as well make it interesting. Also, I haven't felt 100% fulfilled as a Social Worker for about 4 years now. I've been ready for a change for a while. I'm diving in and taking a leap of faith. Hi! Today was my first day in PA school, and I'm now 37 (I'm the OP of the post). 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 @ammelton Congratulations!!! It's a big step - and you did it! As you can see, a huge percentage of us are on our second, third, and beyond career. I took a big paycut when compared to my first job out of PA school. But it's reasonable to think in a couple years I will be making more than what I made right before PA school. I graduated PA school at 35 - PA school was a beast and getting used to working so hard, being wrong a lot, and being at the BOTTOM of the food chain during rotations was tough, but temporary. Once I got through school, I feel back to being proud of my career. And I am sure you will be do! Enjoy the journey to the best of your ability - it goes fast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cideous Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 (edited) On 10/31/2016 at 11:30 AM, Timon said: One thing I don't miss as well is being expendable. There is no "not enough years of experience" or "you are too overqualified" which is something I regularly ran into when seeking new employement. There's also no threat of being laid off and having your job shipped overseas (something that made me turn away from IT early in my career). I also don't need to worry about my product or industry becoming obsolete. People will always need healthcare and I feel comfortable that my industry has great job security so long as I don't mess up and injur a patient and stay on par with my performance. In this regard, I don't miss working in business one single bit.. I found this post sadly interesting from this thread. I wonder if this poster still feels the same way about medicine in the world of furloughs, firings and reduced pay/benefits? Edited May 27, 2020 by Cideous 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANESMCR Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 2 hours ago, Cideous said: I found this post sadly interesting from this thread. I wonder if this poster still feels the same way about medicine in the world of furloughs, firings and reduced pay/benefits? Exactly. Quite the opposite. Know too many PAs who lost their jobs while my friends in business and IT are kickin it back with full pay/bennies Netflixing at home for the last 2 months. While I’ve had to work FT while still getting paid like a substitute kindergarten teacher. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 On 5/26/2020 at 10:36 PM, Cideous said: I found this post sadly interesting from this thread. I wonder if this poster still feels the same way about medicine in the world of furloughs, firings and reduced pay/benefits? In the long-run, people will need medicine. All of the diseases did not go away because of COVID. If anything, our population is only getting more unhealthy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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