Transfer from Accounting to PA

[sam123012]

Hey everyone,

Happy 4th of July!

So, I am currently majoring in Accounting (senior) and I'm seriously considering doing the pre-reqs to try to get into PA school.

Here's my background: I'm a part time FF/EMT and am also a part time bookkeeper

I've done some research on the topic and know how PAs can get into specialties, and I'd expect that after a number of years in the career that PAs would go into a more management intensive role, but nothing that I am seeing here on these forums shows the career progression that PAs are to expect/can achieve. Can someone help me out with understanding the timeline of the average PA career and what retirement packages are usually offered to PAs? Thanks A lot!

 

Sam

[UGoLong]

You ask some good questions, especially considering the trajectory of positions in most other careers. Yes, PAs can get into management type jobs but, from what I've seen, not as often nor in the same way as other jobs. When I worked as an engineer, there was a definite hierarchy of jobs that one advanced through. When a PA builds up some expertise and seniority, he or she might coordinate the efforts of other PAs and practitioners, though often as a "working manager" who continues to have some clinical responsibilities. In some bigger systems, you might get a pure management job, though I suspect less often than I saw in engineering. You might go into academia, where some of us also end up.

I would heartily recommend that you shadow some PAs in your area and better understand their jobs and working environments. That is probably good advice for whatever fields of work (PA or otherwise) you might be considering.

Best of luck; we all started somewhere!

[jlumsden]

All of our training is intended to teach us to work directly with patients.  If you want to go into management, and not do the day to day work of a physician assistant indefinitely, I would ask yourself if this is the right career path for you.  Most physician assistants value their patient contact dearly. 

As for retirement, it varies.  I work two positions.  One has a 401K.  The other has a 403B.  I put a set percentage into both accounts, and they are matched by the organization.  The percentage and package varies pretty drastically between employers, and is sometimes negotiable.