quietmedic Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 So, I got RPA-C certification almost 3 months ago. Been 3 months of interviews, resumes, etc., and still no job (and this is in NYC!!!). Thinking of applying as a medical assistant...I don't care if I draw bloods and do EKGs all day, I need to get PAID!!! Anyone face this type of situation, what did you do? I'd go drive a taxi, but it feels like a waste after two years of PA school... Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkc18 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Move if you can. There are tons of jobs for PAs out there. I have a job but I have to wait on the medical board so I am working as an EMT again for a month:saddd:. Do what you gotta do to put food on the table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmj11 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 So, I got RPA-C certification almost 3 months ago. Been 3 months of interviews, resumes, etc., and still no job (and this is in NYC!!!). Thinking of applying as a medical assistant...I don't care if I draw bloods and do EKGs all day, I need to get PAID!!! Anyone face this type of situation, what did you do? I'd go drive a taxi, but it feels like a waste after two years of PA school... Thanks This was common back in the old days (early 80s) I was the third person to get a PA job out of my class and that was about 8 months after graduation . . . AND I had to move to another state. But in the meantime, I had to eat. I worked at Sears, Manpower (with a fellow PA grad). It was hard on the ole self esteem. Yeah, might be time to move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradtPA Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Seems to be a common complaint on the boards about jobs in NYC.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAdamsPAC Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Too many folks looking to cast their PA Shadow in the bright lights of the "Big Apple"! Follow the advice of Horrace Greeley.........."Go West Young Man"! Take off those blinders and look around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physasst Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Yep, CAdams is right. We have 70 openings right now at our institution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Out of blatant curiosity, how is your Spanish? Or any other common foreign language? I am curious to see how much weight having a passable second language carries when looking for work in saturated markets. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SocialMedicine Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 NYC is a pathetic job market because of poor control over PA program placement. However, If youd be willing to work as a medical assistant I suspect youd take pretty much any PA position. Have you looked at hospitals in the area .. NYU? St Lukes Roos? NY Presb? They all have multiple PA positions open and i know several new grads who have had their choice of positions. Look into NJ hospitals ... several large ones across the water in Newark. If you have applied for any and all PA postions over the last 3 months and have not received a single promising offer or second interview I would give serious personal reflection. How is your cover letter and CV? Do you interview well? References? Maybe joint NY PA society .. make connections? It could just be the market ... hang tough ... talk to classmates and PA school for guidance ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted May 4, 2011 Moderator Share Posted May 4, 2011 come north to western MA and you can have just about your pick of jobs - know the local hosptial is hiring in the hospitalist service and it is a good first job. don't cheapen your degree by just taking any old job.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Central Cali is always looking for PAs to work in rural health, even new grads that need to pay bills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
convulsed Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 It took me 8 months to get my job back in NYC, but the at least interviewers know that it's not you, its the economy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
convulsed Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 So, I got RPA-C certification almost 3 months ago. Been 3 months of interviews, resumes, etc., and still no job (and this is in NYC!!!). Thinking of applying as a medical assistant...I don't care if I draw bloods and do EKGs all day, I need to get PAID!!! Anyone face this type of situation, what did you do? I'd go drive a taxi, but it feels like a waste after two years of PA school... Thanks The attraction of NYC (for some new grads)and 20+ programs here don't work in our favor here either. The hospitals CAN and WILL be as selective as they want to be. But you'd be surprised to find many jobs upstate and NJ. I don't know about your living conditions but Montefiore in the Bronx is definitely hiring (probably 4 Applicants to one position,still a good chance!) Definitely worth a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic25 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 I second the move out of NYC; it has always been a terrible market for new grads. If you insist on staying there, check out the HHC hospitals. When I graduated, Queens Hospital was always hiring new grads in multiple departments. The pay was terrible, so people frequently left after a year or two, but it is experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcstout Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 I didn't find my first PA job until 7 months after graduation. Then it took another 3 months until my first shift for credentialing. I was picky though, as I was looking for an EM job and very few take new grads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted May 6, 2011 Moderator Share Posted May 6, 2011 www.berkshirehealthsystems.com and the local area has jobs!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contrarian Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 If a area is notoriously difficult for PHYSCIANS to find decent work (NYC, Chi, Boston)... Then it would stand ro reason that PA's will also have a difficult time of it. Due to our mild climate, lack of traffic and crime, and ideal location... many physicians want to live/retire in this area. It is desirable enough for many of them to work for $80k-$90k here... so PA jobs are few and far between, The notion seems to be, "why hire a PA" when they can hire a MD for the same money or a NP for less... and neither one requires "supervision." YMMV Contrarian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Bunnell MSHS PA-C Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 The cliche that networking is important is true. Even though we are growing, the PA community is relatively small. Keep in touch with your classmates, join AAPA, join your local constituent or specialty organization, and keep an eye on the many ways to keep searching for jobs online. I was not aware that NYC was such a challenging market. I do now because I am watching this forum. You will work it out. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quietmedic Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 Thanks all. I'm also looking for Emergency medicine, ultimately, but I know jobs in that are near impossible. Moving away isn't really such an option...I have a whole life here in NY which I am very remiss to walk away from. I try the HHC hospitals, but they seem to be very rarely posting new jobs, and I don't know anyone personally in those hospitals (which seems to be the only way to get a job these days...who you know). As for NJ, it's an idea...not sure what I would have to do to get licensed in Jersey. Will have to look into that...as for the other local hospitals including the many here in the city, I have sent off dozen of applications with few results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 maybe it's time to make friends. Any local workshops, CME classes, presentations, award banquets, golf games...with your "whole life" being in NYC, maybe your family and current friends can help you network. Many many many job coaches claim that the number 1 way to land a job is word of mouth. Network, Network, Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic25 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Second the networking idea. Have you spoken with your faculty about getting connected with alumni? If you trained in the NY metro area there should be plenty of local grads of your program, and if you've got a good recommendation from a professor that can get your foot in the door. I got half a dozen offers in the NY area coming out of school, and they were all from program alumni and rotation sites. Also consider expanding your search beyond the five boroughs; Westchester, LI, and even Fairfield County CT are all easily reachable from NY, as well as NJ as previously discussed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
convulsed Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Thanks all. I'm also looking for Emergency medicine, ultimately, but I know jobs in that are near impossible. Moving away isn't really such an option...I have a whole life here in NY which I am very remiss to walk away from. I try the HHC hospitals, but they seem to be very rarely posting new jobs, and I don't know anyone personally in those hospitals (which seems to be the only way to get a job these days...who you know). As for NJ, it's an idea...not sure what I would have to do to get licensed in Jersey. Will have to look into that...as for the other local hospitals including the many here in the city, I have sent off dozen of applications with few results. The problem in the NYC market is by the time you see an actual VACANT position, it means they've already exhausted their interior hiring. If your last rotation was EM you'd have a better shot applying for a position. Try indeed.com , but networking and your school's mailing list is the best bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREATMDPA Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 My understanding is that NYC is highly concentrated with FMGs (foreign medical grads). Many of them got into residency and became licensed MDs whereas many others aren't able to get into residency so remain unlicensed. So the licensed FMGs want to help their fellow unlicensed FMGs out by hiring them as technically "MA" but in reality, these so called "MAs" do history, physical, dx, and tx, so technically what PAs do, and all the MDs do is sign the note. It's a win-win situation in that the MD can save loads of money by paying a really cheap salary as an MA but he gets the work of a PA (actually of an MD since these unlicensed FMGs were physicians in their country), and in return, these unlicensed FMGs get paid (although cheap but still money), experience and LORs so they can apply for residency later. This is definitely illegal, however, since nobody has actually investigated this situation, these scenarios keep on going consequently making it very hard for new PAs to get jobs. Hopefully AAPA in NYC will look into this and litigate such illegal acts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quarternote Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 There are openings in South Carolina. I'm from GA but now we're in Greenwood and there are plenty of transplants so you would feel right at home. Cost of living is cheap! Look around the Greenville/Spartanburg area. Not to mention they were begging for PA's in Rural South GA when I graduated. Sorry, finished reading after I posted. There were jobs in my hometown when I graduated but they were not the best paying jobs. I lived there my entire life, had been married 25 yrs and lived in the same house. I totally understand moving not being an option. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
activebug98 Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 where did you go to PA school and what area of medicine are you interested? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physasst Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 There are openings in South Carolina. I'm from GA but now we're in Greenwood and there are plenty of transplants so you would feel right at home. Cost of living is cheap! Look around the Greenville/Spartanburg area. Not to mention they were begging for PA's in Rural South GA when I graduated. Sorry, finished reading after I posted. There were jobs in my hometown when I graduated but they were not the best paying jobs. I lived there my entire life, had been married 25 yrs and lived in the same house. I totally understand moving not being an option. Sorry. I guess I've never understood that mindset....not moving that is. I could move every 2-3 years, and have, until settling here in Minnesota. I talk about moving again all the time. The world is too big to be stuck in one place....I know some of my friends that have never lived anywhere but in our hometown.....I just don't get that. They say it's cause of family. But I don't know....sometimes I think it's a fear of change. I would never want to live near my family....Family is something that is best served in moderation. Of course others have different opinions and different likes/dislikes.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.