Older student/Second Career Advice

[john5825]

I am 44 and have been a medical device professional (clinical, sales, marketing, market development) for 20+ years. I studied pre-med and biomedical engineering in undergraduate school and also received an MBA 10 years ago. I am ready for a career change and ready to make the leap into a new profession but I have to admit it is TERRIFYING to make such a big change.  

 

I'd be interested to email or phone other people who have been in my same situation to get perspective and advice.

 

Topics of concern:

A) Do I need to retake ALL of the pre-requisite courses? Is there a way to get a pass on some based on work experience?

B) Finances: I need to continue working full-time until I start school to pay off current debt and make ends meet once I start school. I have 3 kids under 9 and I am the primary financial support. How do I fit classes into the evening with a demanding job? How is it going to feel to invest ALOT of money and time into getting this degree and then take a significant pay cut (I am currently making $155,000 per year as a marketing manager)? Can financial aid help pay for living expenses if needed? Is it better to save money right now or to pay down debt? Will I receive less financial aid if I have money in the bank?   

C) I have worked in medical devices with patients and physicians my whole career. I was in the field for 7 years with patient contact. ny comments on how this type of experience is viewed in the PA world?

D) Are there a lot of other students in their 40s in PA school? What is the median age in most programs? I will be 46 if I get accepted in the next open admission cycle.

 

Thanks for the insight.

 

Susan Malaret

Minneapolis MN

 

 

 

  

[rev ronin]

B) Finances: I need to continue working full-time until I start school to pay off current debt and make ends meet once I start school. I have 3 kids under 9 and I am the primary financial support. How do I fit classes into the evening with a demanding job? How is it going to feel to invest ALOT of money and time into getting this degree and then take a significant pay cut (I am currently making $155,000 per year as a marketing manager)? Can financial aid help pay for living expenses if needed? Is it better to save money right now or to pay down debt? Will I receive less financial aid if I have money in the bank?  

To answer your sub-questions in order:

* You let your forward career progress go and coast, putting your effort into your classes.  You can probably get away with this for a while.

* Losing the earning power sucks.  Helping people makes up for it.

* Yes, you will get financial aid, but almost all in the forms of loans, not grants.

* Yes it can pay for living expenses.  It's all cash money, not tuition vouchers, at graduate level.

* If you have ANY DEBT AT ALL with your income, age, and position, you are a poor money manager... and by that, I mean a typical American.  If you're looking at a new career, you need to be as agile as possible: maximum cash, zero debt, and you should have been there already.

* Yes, your financial aid is reduced by having money, but it's still better to have money than not.  "Financial aid" means interest payments later, vs. not getting paid interest (if your savings account even pays any...) in the mean time.  Always minimize debt unless you are DEAD SET on getting a loan repayment position--which typically means your work sucks, your life sucks, and your mentoring is hit or miss at best.

 

Pay for school out of your 401K after you roll it into an IRA, but do it in a calendar/tax year when you have no other income.  In the vast majority of situations, that will be your best bet.

[whoRyou]

Susan Malaret

Minneapolis MN

I mean no disrespect when I ask the following: Is your name Susan or John?

[UGoLong]

First of all, you will be the oldest, or one of the oldest, students in your PA class. Second of all, it's no big deal. Most programs like the diversity and I found the experience to be an especially enriching one. I was older than you when I started out. (See my book, mercilessly flogged below in my signature block)

 

A) Do I need to retake ALL of the pre-requisite courses? Is there a way to get a pass on some based on work experience?

 

Different schools have different requirements. I had to retake all of my sciences because it had been nearly 40 years since I took them. No pass on work experience that I ever ran across.

 

B) Finances: I need to continue working full-time until I start school to pay off current debt and make ends meet once I start school. I have 3 kids under 9 and I am the primary financial support. How do I fit classes into the evening with a demanding job? How is it going to feel to invest ALOT of money and time into getting this degree and then take a significant pay cut (I am currently making $155,000 per year as a marketing manager)? Can financial aid help pay for living expenses if needed? Is it better to save money right now or to pay down debt? Will I receive less financial aid if I have money in the bank?   

 

To me, this should have been two questions. The most important one is that you've got young children. The first time I considered medicine, I was about 40 and contemplating med school. I rejected it (wisely, I think, looking back from 28 years farther down the road now) because I didn't want to miss nearly a decade of my kid's lives. I finally went to PA school after all three of them were out of college and the first of what has become 6 grandchildren were born while I was in PA school.

 

You will not have much time at all during your 27 months (or whatever your program length turns out to be) for your family. Many weekends maybe, but to me the biggest issue in your question is how you plan on being the parent of 3 little kids while you do PA school. It's been done I'm sure, but that is the area in which you need the most advice and I'm the wrong person to give it.

 

From the financial point of view, I was old enough to use some 401(k) money after a while, as well as money I saved up the last few years of work. There are loans; talk to some programs and they can give you details.

 

I also quit the highest paying job of my life to be a PA. I'm glad I did it, but it is a personal decision. I don't know what your healthcare experience is (actually working with patients, rather than your device work). If you don't have much, you probably need to get some so that you'll know what you are going to get into. I did almost 20 years of volunteer and part-time paid EMS before I applied.

 

I wouldn't be carrying a lot of debt into PA school personally. You'll have enough stress without it.

 

C) I have worked in medical devices with patients and physicians my whole career. I was in the field for 7 years with patient contact. any comments on how this type of experience is viewed in the PA world?

 

The background -- medical device marketing -- is interesting and helps round you out, but is probably no substitute for actual hands-on experience. This too may vary by program.

 

D) Are there a lot of other students in their 40s in PA school? What is the median age in most programs? I will be 46 if I get accepted in the next open admission cycle.

 

The median age in my program was 25, and that's with my 58 year-old-body sitting in a class of 21. Either of my eldest two children would have been the oldest person there if I wasn't. The typical PA student in my class was 23-24 with a year off between their BS and the program. I'm sure this varies wildly between schools and years.

 

As I said before, it really doesn't matter; to me, it was the experience of a lifetime. They didn't care how old I was and I didn't care how old they were. We were great friends and shared the experience together. 

 

Good luck on your decision.