theswordfish Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 I find it very hard to believe that it is "easy" to get a job as a PA. I know people say that, but they always end it with "as long as you are flexible with location and specialty." So how do you get a job if you ARE picky about location and specialty. What can you do to set yourself apart from everyone else? I graduated undergrad when the recession tanked and I have learned that to get a job in the industry, you have to go above and beyond and stand out well above everyone else. Is the PA job search like this? I mean, I had to have the same mentality when applying for PA school. The recession has made me paranoid that I won't be able to get the PA job I want so I really want to make sure I have a GREAT application when I finally graduate. So do you guys have any tips on how to score the perfect PA job? Do you need to schmooze and network a lot? Rack up a ton of extracurriculars while in PA school (hold officer positions, join clubs, plan volunteer events, etc). Is it all based on your referrals during rotations? Stellar grades? Do the jobs/degrees you had before graduating as a PA help you when job hunting? I am going to school on the east coast, and I want to get a job in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is supposedly extremely hard to get a healthcare job in SF. This is another reason why I am so paranoid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marilynpac Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 In many areas it's not what you know or what you can do...it's who you know or who you are....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMiller Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Marilyn is right. Getting an "in" in the hospital/clinic/office you would like to work at is the best bet at getting a job in many locations. Important things to consider are your specialty, and your location. If you are looking for family medicine-type jobs, you will likely have a lot of competetion, especially as you get into the more populated areas. If you don't mind working in the more rural areas, you will find it easier to not only get a job, but get them to agree to any requests you have such as salary, schedule, etc. If you want to work in orthopedics, you can quit worrying right now. You can't spit without hitting 5 Orthopods looking to hire PAs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpawmedic PA-C Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 What about looking into where you shadowed at? Where did you get your HCE? Those may be options? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joelseff Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 In many areas it's not what you know or what you can do...it's who you know or who you are....... Yes so true.....although my first PA job was from Craigslist (ended up being the worst job of my life, worse than my 1st job at 15 working for a restaurant called "the chicken spit" did not make that up), my other job/s and my soon to be permanent job were from a "hook up.". I also got many interviews before graduation from networking with my connections. That being said, you just gotta get out there and hustle. If you are picky then you might hit some walls especially if you are not well connected in the local medical scene. (this is where prior HCE can be beneficial). I would advise you after grad to pick a job in a specialty you want to learn in and treat it like residency which may mean sacrificing the big bucks but find a place where u can learn. Then after a couple of years Chase the green. Just my advice. The Craigslist job paid me more than the other jobs but i am happier working in primary care/hiv making a modest salary than in a specialty I ended up hating under sweat shop conditions making six figures. The ideal is to find that six fig salary in your choice specialty with a great SP and rainbows and unicorns.....if u find that then disregard this hella long post....lol Btw, the bay area has some good PA jobs. If you don't mind moving around. The south bay has some ED jobs through CEP and they pay well. A buddy of mine just got an ED gig up in Sac making 6 figures through CEP. But in the SF/Oakland area good luck. I work in Oakland. Sent from my HTC MT4GS using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theswordfish Posted April 19, 2012 Author Share Posted April 19, 2012 Thanks all for your input! This is definitely a very different method of job hunting than I am used to, but now I understand how important networking will be. I will be sure to hit up my business friends for tips. I had a couple more questions: 1. So should I skip on traditional "college" ways of standing out (ECs, volunteering, earning awards) while in PA school if they don't come with networking opportunities? 2. Does leadership experience matter at all? 3. Do grades matter at all? Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmj11 Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I've told this story before. About 10 years ago, I was sitting in my office in MN. I was thinking, "If I could live anywhere in the world, where would I live?" This was talking all things into consideration, such as the natural beauty, out door rec opportunities but also the ease of seeing family and etc. To make a long story short, I stuck a pin into Anacortes, WA. I had never been there before. It was not easy, but I decided come hell or high water I would live in Anacortes. I've now lived here for 10 years. I beat on door after door for a job (flying out here twice with my own money). I could not get a job the easy way. So I created a job and worked with an office manager to get the SPs to sign the papers even though they expressed virtually no interest in me. I knew it would be a gamble (moving a wife and 5 kids to boot). I worked there for 8 years then went out on my own. Persistence, risk taking and creativity is the answer if you are set on living in one place where there are no posted jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marilynpac Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Marilyn is right. Getting an "in" in the hospital/clinic/office you would like to work at is the best bet at getting a job in many locations. Important things to consider are your specialty, and your location. If you are looking for family medicine-type jobs, you will likely have a lot of competetion, especially as you get into the more populated areas. If you don't mind working in the more rural areas, you will find it easier to not only get a job, but get them to agree to any requests you have such as salary, schedule, etc. If you want to work in orthopedics, you can quit worrying right now. You can't spit without hitting 5 Orthopods looking to hire PAs. That's b/c you will work as hard and long as the Orthopods but only make a fraction of what they are making... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFarnsworth Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Here's my 2 cents. Are PA jobs easy to get? I think so, if you are not only willing to be flexible about location and specailty but also about pay, and if you are patient. What if you want to hold out for a job in a specialty that you really want? That might take some time. Meanwhile you work in a job that's not where you want to be and learn as much as you can and make maybe less than you want to, or work in a job you hate and maybe make lots of money doing it. That being said, I will say that I have gotten every job in every specialty that I wanted here in the Bay Area. It just took some patience, networking, and some good interviewing skills. Also some rejection of jobs that i really wanted. The most important thing for me was to get experience and learn as much as I could. Recently I left a derm job for several reasons, and I thought I'd never get another one. Less than 2 months later I have a derm job. (I also work in other specialties like FP and Urgent Care). I think being a PA and getting the job you want is like any other profession- you have to work at it, you have to know what to say in an interview, and you might have to make some sacrifices. Call upon everyone you know to help you---get involved with local PA societies, check every job site you can every day, work on that cover letter, and practice what you are going to say in the interview. Be interested but not aggressive. Don't give up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lzypanda Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Thanks all for your input! This is definitely a very different method of job hunting than I am used to, but now I understand how important networking will be. I will be sure to hit up my business friends for tips. I had a couple more questions: 1. So should I skip on traditional "college" ways of standing out (ECs, volunteering, earning awards) while in PA school if they don't come with networking opportunities? 2. Does leadership experience matter at all? 3. Do grades matter at all? Thanks again! 1. I didn't earn any special awards, and as far as i know, neither did any of my classmates. there was like no time for any volunteering, though i did do some, it never came up during interviews. 2. i'm not sure if leadership is pertinent or not.... there were ppl in our class that were class reps or had officer positions, but this didn't seem to hold an advantage over other ppl who weren't apart of that in terms of getting jobs 3. grades don't matter, at least for us it didn't.. however, i guess some employers will ask about weird stuff like that. i would recommend working hard to learn the material rather than worry about the grade (well you want to pass of course). who you know is sooooo important. My initial 2 job offers were from rotations during school. After starting work, I've interviewed at several places, and every single interviewer knows my attending physician... they didn't say it out loud, but I'm certain for at least a couple of them, who I work speaks volumes.. it would be the same as getting a rec from important docs that you rotate with that may know some ppl out in the Bay Area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acozadd Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 That's b/c you will work as hard and long as the Orthopods but only make a fraction of what they are making... Which can be said about every field in medicine when you compare PAs to MDs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marilynpac Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Which can be said about every field in medicine when you compare PAs to MDs... There are a few members on here that have admitted publicly and privately that they see anywhere from 3-12 patients/day...everyday..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acozadd Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 There are a few members on here that have admitted publicly and privately that they see anywhere from 3-12 patients/day...everyday..... I was moreso commenting on the $$$ aspect of things. However, on my rotations the PAs typically had an equal, and occassionally even greater workload than the docs in all fields. If I saw 3-12 patients per day I'd probably go crazy out of boredom. If we are talking workloads though, the complexity of patient management certainly needs to be factored in. On my ortho rotation the doc would sometimes see 40 patients a day and it didn't seem overly busy or stressful, but there were times that 10-12 patients in high acuity ER had me ripping my hair out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mainiac Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 That's b/c you will work as hard and long as the Orthopods but only make a fraction of what they are making... Yup! U got that right! Just what I wanna dew every Fri work 7a-10:30p!!! NOT.... Soon 2 b movin on....:love: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marilynpac Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Yup! U got that right! Just what I wanna dew every Fri work 7a-10:30p!!! NOT.... Soon 2 b movin on....:love: There was an ad placed at indeed.com for an OrthoPA....FT, rounding, OR, weekend call....all in a bundle package of 63k up in the suburbs of Chicago.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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