Considering a Career Change from Private Equity to PA - Honest Opinions Needed

[joeb909]

Hello,

 

I am a 29 year old guy who has spent the last 7 years of my career working in finance and private equity. After enduring this career path and climbing the ranks a bit, I've realized that I want to make a career change into something that not only makes a difference but is also non-routine, exciting, and also allows me to stay away from a desk as much as possible. My research has shown that a career as a PA may be an ideal choice. That being said, I have a few questions for you:

 

1) I am curious if you agree with my observations of above.

 

2) What is the work life balance like as an emergency medicine PA. What is the typical work week like?

 

3) Finally, and most importantly, after all your experience as an emergency medicine PA would you recommend the career to someone like myself and do you like what you do?

 

Any insight you have would be VERY much appreciated. Thanks!

 

joeb909

[EMEDPA]

you need to get some hce to see if healthcare and specifically emergency medicine is for you.

no offense, but your statement coming from your background is like me saying" I've heard being CEO of a fortune 500 company is fun, I think I will try it. are the hours good?" without ever learning anything about economics, finance, or business. becoming a pa is a process. step 1. learn some basics about medicine. the best way to do this is with an entry level job in healthcare for a min of 1 year.

[joeb909]

Thanks for your response EMEDPA. I have shadowed a few doctors and really liked the experience, albeit minimal. When I am referencing hours, I am thinking more along the lines of a long term work / life balance. I've spent the last several years of my career doing consistent 60 - 70+ hour weeks with my day-to-day tasks being comprised of excel spreadsheets and equity pitch books. Before I entered the career, I found the whole "private equity" thing sexy and eventually found out that money and job title can only do so much for your personal career satisfaction.

 

That being said, I really like being around people and think that helping others would definitely be enjoyable. When I shadowed one of the doctor's, we had a patient come in who thought she was having a heart attack. In another situation, we had a guy come in with a boil on his elbow and had to drain it (no, I didn't pass out). I actually thought it was pretty cool.

 

In all honesty, money and hours really are not that important to me as long as I can wake up everyday enjoying the majority of what I do. The last 7 years have been pretty grueling and taught me that enjoying what you do is SO much more important than money and job title. That is unless money is the only thing that motivates you.

[EMEDPA]

just be aware some pa jobs are 60-70 hrs/week, especially in surgery and some hospital based jobs.

I worked 224 hrs last month, 191 this month, and down to 188 next month.