Michaelcohn Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 So I will be finishing PA school soon and I really want to help my parents out by giving them money over the next 3 years. I am interested in emergency medicine but for the next 3 years I am willing to work anywhere as long as it maximizes income. I plan on being very frugal over this time period so I can hopefully give 80% of my salary to my family. Are there any suggestions for where I can work to absolutely maximize income? I don't care about location, specialty, or work hours. I am willing to work 60+ hours/wk if needed. I am currently in Chicago and the job offers I have heard for new grads are not great. After the 3 years I plan to look into the specialty/location that I am genuinely interested in but for now I am very flexible. Also let's say that my debt is very minimal. Can anyone give me an estimate of how much I can expect to make in some specialty/location? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Rural. Hospitalist. Surgery. Competitive jobs are 100-130k/yr. maximal income is over 200k in select sub specialty Surg (typically Neuro or Ortho). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelcohn Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 Rural. Hospitalist. Surgery. Competitive jobs are 100-130k/yr. maximal income is over 200k in select sub specialty Surg (typically Neuro or Ortho). How competitive are these jobs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 You can find a six figure job as long as you're flexible with location. I know of very few PAs making above 200 and with one exception all had several years surgical experience beforehand. The quality of life for these jobs are nil. Idk what your circumstances are but I would strongly urge you to compromise between salary and quality of life. The best paying jobs are going to work you to the bone for the most part and whatever you need the money for, I doubt it's worth it. You can make good money as a PA doing what you enjoy. Focus your efforts on living below your means and making smart investments. The other high paying jobs are those which are RVU based. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted December 2, 2015 Moderator Share Posted December 2, 2015 surgery is where the big hours and the big money is. I know several PAs making over 200K. most are surgical PAs. 2 work as senior EM PAs and work a lot of hrs(like 26 days/mo 12 hr shifts), basically 2 full time jobs. I did it for 2 years about a decade ago. not worth it in any way. look at the big picture and the long view. better to give them 40 k/yr for 10 years than 100k/yr for 2 years and end up having an MI or driving off the road due to sleep deprivation(which I have almost done before....scary...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelcohn Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 surgery is where the big hours and the big money is. I know several PAs making over 200K. most are surgical PAs. 2 work as senior EM PAs and work a lot of hrs(like 26 days/mo 12 hr shifts), basically 2 full time jobs. I did it for 2 years about a decade ago. not worth it in any way. look at the big picture and the long view. better to give them 40 k/yr for 10 years than 100k/yr for 2 years and end up having an MI or driving off the road due to sleep deprivation(which I have almost done before....scary...). Well I don't need to make 200k a year. How hard would it be to make 150k a year in surgery? What kind of hours would I be looking at? Also just to clarify, I definitely plan on pursing the work I am genuinely interested in very soon. I just need some money right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted December 3, 2015 Moderator Share Posted December 3, 2015 150k in surgery as a new grad would mean 80 hr weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Might be smarter to find a job that pays 90-100k a year with a predictable schedule and then find a per diem job to have on the side. You should be able to make 150K with 60 hr weeks in a PA friendly state. If you don't mind going to the middle of no where it is even more profitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceBanner Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Agree with what others have said---if you want to make 150k+ as a PA you will be in either surgery or EM, and you will do nothing BUT work. It will grind you down and is not worth it IMO. And with EM, you need experience first before making that kind of money and most ED groups shy away from new grads. Before I graduated I got a job offer with a very high-profile ortho group in Colorado resort country. Their senior PA made over 200k. But they made no bones about the hours---they said during ski season I could expect to work from 6am until 10pm more days than not. I passed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelcohn Posted December 3, 2015 Author Share Posted December 3, 2015 Agree with what others have said---if you want to make 150k+ as a PA you will be in either surgery or EM, and you will do nothing BUT work. It will grind you down and is not worth it IMO. And with EM, you need experience first before making that kind of money and most ED groups shy away from new grads. Before I graduated I got a job offer with a very high-profile ortho group in Colorado resort country. Their senior PA made over 200k. But they made no bones about the hours---they said during ski season I could expect to work from 6am until 10pm more days than not. I passed. What if I were to gain experience working as a surgical PA for a couple of years? How many hours would someone w/ 2 years experience have to work to make 140-150k? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Experienced PAs in the right setting and location can clear 120-150 with 40-50 HR work weeks but includes nights and weekends. Beyond that you are looking at 60 HR work weeks. Right setting many PAs can make 100-110 with 40 HR work weeks. M-F gigs with no nights and limited weekend often 90-100 unless rural or select sub specialty eg IR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted December 4, 2015 Moderator Share Posted December 4, 2015 agree with above. as a new grad working 40 hrs without nights/weekends/holidays it would be hard to make 100k unless you were very rural or in specific procedure-heavy specialties(derm for example). I've been a PA for almost 20 years and it has taken me that long to double my entry level salary, mostly through working long hours in high acuity/high autonomy settings. my goal for the next year is to work less without any decrease in income by working long shifts at rural facilities, but fewer hrs overall and definitely fewer high volume/low acuity burn out urban trauma ctr shifts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_inski Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 I have been out of school for a year now. Urgent care only, average 50 hrs per week, made $150k this year. It can be done and still have a life..Best recommendation= get paid hourly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulfari Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 I have been out of school for a year now. Urgent care only, average 50 hrs per week, made $150k this year. It can be done and still have a life..Best recommendation= get paid hourly What state do you live in? Metro area? Is that a base salary, or are you incentivized (more pts = more $$$)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_inski Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 What state do you live in? Metro area? Is that a base salary, or are you incentivized (more pts = more $$$)? Southwest, metro area. 1.5 hourly over 40hrs/wk and monthly bonus based on # of pts seen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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