Elementary Education background to PA? Is this possible? Wondering if this is even the career for me.

[flowermoon]

Hello! I made an account just for this, lol. I need some advice. 

You may have seen this question before, but I am seeing that many of the teachers who became PAs were high school science teachers or had some sort of science background. So basically I come from an Indian family, so success, high achievement, and a prestigious career are extremely necessary. I was never particularly great in school, due to issues with motivation, not understanding things well, and possible ADHD which I am soon getting treated. I enjoy learning but it was very hard for me to do "hard" things and I have to usually work twice as hard as everyone else. Anyway, I never had a clue what I wanted to do in my life. Obviously parents wanted me to be an engineer but anything in corporate sounds like I'd suck at it. I blindly chose teaching, thinking I'd like it, because I care about people. I never realized that I wasn't cut out for teaching until I did it. The amount of babysitting and controlling kids involved fucking sucks. I also just couldn't keep up with the million tasks for such low pay. But the benefits were good. I realized it wasn't my path. I feel like a failure because I feel like there is no career out there that I am genuinely interested in. I honestly would much rather sit at home and I would be happy. 

I am looking to completely reinvent the wheel and do something else. My mind keeps coming back to PA because I like the idea of being a provider, still doing educating, good pay, good work life balance, set hours, etc. and it's less time to become a provider than say, a doctor. I would absolutely hate being a nurse. I considered it, but I honestly hate cleaning up poop and gross stuff. I know that sounds ironic because many PAs have to be ok with dealing with that. Ideally, I would like to be in primary care or psych. I also want the option to work from home. Telehealth sounds chill. I am also working on my social anxiety. I considered other human service paths like social work, public admin, etc. but I always think to myself, why should I do those jobs for low pay when I could just become a PA and still help people but also make good cash. I am ideally looking for a job that's 9-5, doesn't bring work home, and is straightforward. I want to clock in and clock out. I do well in jobs where the tasks are straightforward, where I know what I am expected to do, rather than say a corporate environment, where I have to attend boring ass product meetings, make workflow diagrams, and whatever other bullshit. There is never one right answer and the work never ends. This was the same with teaching. At least with science there is one (or a few possible) right answer. PA is also in demand, and I don't have to make a stupid resume that I constantly have to update with my skills and certifications or whatever. 

I am afraid of misdiagnosing. I make mistakes easily. Like I said, I struggle to understand difficult things. I don't know if maybe I am overestimating my abilities to do this job. I also am disgusted by the idea of being a CNA. I considered something that doesn't involve butt wiping, like an EKG tech, medical assistant, or something. I am also maybe considering sonography. 

I already have my bachelor's degree in elementary education, but I don't have the prerequisites. I am willing to do those at a community college. Also I am hoping that going on ADHD meds will help me focus more and become a better student. What do you guys advise? Do I sound like someone not cut out for this?

Edited October 23, 2022 by flowermoon

[ohiovolffemtp]

The most important thing you should do is spend time shadowing PA's in different fields, especially primary care and psychiatry, to see if the actual life of a PA is what you want.  Medicine is very different depending upon what type you practice and the practice location.  Also, talk with them about how they met the pre-requisite requirements, what their PA school was like, and their career trajectory.

Becoming a PA is a multi-year process costing 10's if not 100's of thousands of $.  You need to be sure it's what you really want and that you have the aptitude before you start down this path.

[flowermoon]

Thank you!