Derm PA Job Outlook

[eagrigg 19]

Hi there,

 

I'm starting PA school this spring, and I would love to go into derm upon graduation. Does anyone have any information on job outlook for derm PAs specifically? After reading through this forum it is clear that this is a hard specialty to break into. I know PA's are in demand and the profession is growing, but I am curious if anyone has an idea of how the derm specialty is growing, and if so, are specific states more likely to have openings than others?

 

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[EMEDPA 7,546]

http://www.dermpa.org/

[eagrigg 19]

Thanks for the reply, but that website didn't have the information I was looking for. Does anybody else have any insight into this topic?

[PACdan 709]

 

Hi there,

 

I'm starting PA school this spring, and I would love to go into derm upon graduation. Does anyone have any information on job outlook for derm PAs specifically? After reading through this forum it is clear that this is a hard specialty to break into. I know PA's are in demand and the profession is growing, but I am curious if anyone has an idea of how the derm specialty is growing, and if so, are specific states more likely to have openings than others?

 

Any advice is appreciated!

 

 

 

Thanks for the reply, but that website didn't have the information I was looking for. Does anybody else have any insight into this topic?

 

I would wait until you go through your derm unit and then the rest of didactic year...and then clinical rotations. Derm jobs are going to depend on who's hiring and if they're willing to take new grads.

 

I feel derm is pretty competitive for PAs (and docs) because it has this mystical allure as a "high pay, lifestyle career". You might end up liking something else, or just plain hating derm. What you should focus on is trying to get an elective dermatology rotation in school.

[Maverick87 266]

I would wait until you go through your derm unit and then the rest of didactic year...and then clinical rotations. Derm jobs are going to depend on who's hiring and if they're willing to take new grads.

 

I feel derm is pretty competitive for PAs (and docs) because it has this mystical allure as a "high pay, lifestyle career". You might end up liking something else, or just plain hating derm. What you should focus on is trying to get an elective dermatology rotation in school.

From what I've seen with my classmates, it's not as difficult to get into derm as a PA as people make it seem. I know people that went straight into derm/plastics out of school. Some didn't even relocate to do so.

[eagrigg 19]

I personally wanted to go into dermatology after PA school - I knew it for many years prior to school. I did (4) clinical rotations in dermatology - still loved it. Graduated, interviewed at 10 different dermatology practices in my area (broward / dade / palm beach counties FLORIDA) and I was offered every position and turned them all down. Unfortunately, the area I am in offers a VERY low pay for new graduates in dermatology ($70-75k, most with out benefits). I was not willing to take the salary being offered just to get into a field I loved right off the bat. I have a lot of student loan debt and had to weigh my options. Other specialities will pay new grads $90-100k + but you have to decide if its worth it you and your particular financial situation coming out of school. I had a very difficult time finding places there were hiring on the dermpa website as well as every where else online. I resorted to blasting out my email to practices I found via google search who were not even advertising (I wanted to working the field SO bad!). Dermatology jobs are not hard to land as a new grad, but the salaries in my area unfortunately led me another direction. I will revisit the field when I am a few years in and hope someone will match where I am at or have a better offer.

 

If you are willing and able to move *anywhere* for a position, many opportunities are available with much more reasonable salaries and benefits than in my area. :)

 

Good luck!

Thanks for the insight lchernof! So what specialty did you end up working in? What is your plan on entering the profession later down the road?

[FSUnoles 40]

I personally wanted to go into dermatology after PA school - I knew it for many years prior to school. I did (4) clinical rotations in dermatology - still loved it. Graduated, interviewed at 10 different dermatology practices in my area (broward / dade / palm beach counties FLORIDA) and I was offered every position and turned them all down. Unfortunately, the area I am in offers a VERY low pay for new graduates in dermatology ($70-75k, most with out benefits). I was not willing to take the salary being offered just to get into a field I loved right off the bat. I have a lot of student loan debt and had to weigh my options. Other specialities will pay new grads $90-100k + but you have to decide if its worth it you and your particular financial situation coming out of school. I had a very difficult time finding places there were hiring on the dermpa website as well as every where else online. I resorted to blasting out my email to practices I found via google search who were not even advertising (I wanted to working the field SO bad!). Dermatology jobs are not hard to land as a new grad, but the salaries in my area unfortunately led me another direction. I will revisit the field when I am a few years in and hope someone will match where I am at or have a better offer.

 

If you are willing and able to move *anywhere* for a position, many opportunities are available with much more reasonable salaries and benefits than in my area. :)

 

Good luck!

 

yea south Florida is a hole in general for our profession. Derm is especially rough here. Stay away if you want a derm job. Fellow PA is up in the northeast making 105k as a new grad

[EMEDPA 7,546]

yea .... Florida is a hole in general for our profession. . Stay away if you want a JOB AT ALL.

FIXED THAT FOR YOU....:)

[FSUnoles 40]

FIXED THAT FOR YOU....:)

 

haha yea im insulated in academia and have told myself I would never work private practice here. i'm actually pulling classmates in because they are all getting burned out in private practice

[JFarnsworth 91]

FWIW here's my input:

 

Start networking NOW. Get a list of all the Derms in your area and find out if they have Pas/NPs. Get to know those Pas/NPs, shadow them, ask about possibly doing a rotation there. A friend of mine did a rotation with a Derm as a student and he hired her when she graduated He got to train her for free because she was a student, and she was offered a decent salary when she started working for him. Win-win.

 

As for the outlook on Derm PA opportunities, I think Derms are coming around and realizing how helpful and lucrative it is to have a PA or NP in their practice. I don't think it's necessarily difficult to get into, but it does tend to be one of those jobs that are higher paying with lower stress (IMHO). So PAs and NPs tend to stay put (unless the office is a nightmare, then you'll see a ton of turnover- something I'd ask about discreetly).

 

Some Derms I know either want a non-paying or lower paying period where they train you. DO NOT ACCEPT A NON-PAYING POSITION, no matter what they promise. I'd accept a lower paying salary if the training period was not too lengthy (like, a month max) and if the regular pay was competitive. Get those details in writing.

 

I hope this helped.

[lcmom 1]

I'm in the Dallas, TX area and it is completely competitive here for derm PAs.  I have friends in other cities in Texas who have been able to find good paying jobs in healthy environments.  The Dallas area is filled with drama.  I have worked here for almost 4 years and have yet to find a good practice.  I'd love to relocate.  

 

WHen I first started in derm, it was very hard to find a dermatologist willing to take a new grad but I lucked out in finding one ($90K salary + production bonus, full medical/dental/vision/life insurance, PTO, CME allowance & days off, flexibility in scheduling (although I would pull 10-12 hr shifts often)---I just had to move to a small, rural part of Texas.  I then set my sights for Dallas and have been missing my good life from the first year (I've taken a job as low as $70K base just to stay in derm, one job offered no benes).

 

The fortunate thing for you is that many Derms have shifted from hiring PAs with experience to hiring those with no derm experience…so they can "train them the way [they] want them to practice."  

 

Do your rotations, network with derm NPs/PAs, meet the local drug reps and befriend them when you're on rotation, join the SDPA (they have a student rate to join and a separate website for PA students), go to a SDPA conference, try to do a dermatopathology rotation, and beef up your resume and clinical time with derm/derm related activities and you should be sitting in a good spot come interview time.  Best of luck!!!

 

https://www.aad.org/education/basic-dermatology-curriculum