Career Change, Software Engineer --> PA. Bad Idea? Good Idea?

[timothyTandy]

A somewhat long story, but I'll try to shorten it.  I got my B.S and M.Eng in Computer Engineering when I was in my 20's and I was a programmer/software engineer at various places including Microsoft (8+ years here) for about 10 years.  I can't say I'm happy in tech in general, and I got really burned out 2 years ago.

I've always sorta been interested in health and medicine but nothing too serious until recently.  I'm thinking of doing a career switch but it seems like quite a commitment.

A couple of things about me:

1. I'm 40, male, no wife/kids. Probably won't have kids at this point. I don't have a house either so I'm pretty mobile.
2. I've had a significant back injury when I was 35 and I've been suffering from on/off chronic pain ever since. I generally don't lift anything over 30lbs anymore. The pain makes my life hard but I can still work (I think). I've been on disability once or twice though. I have no other medical conditions and I'm in good health otherwise (good weight, eat well, no smoking/drinking/drugs). Also no criminal record.
3. I'm an introvert. I don't hate talking to people, but I've never been in a job where I had to talk to people for 6-8 hours a day straight. I'm not sure how I'd do with a very person oriented job. Probably depends on the context. I think I'd be ok with it after a while.
4. I'm somewhat financially independent now.  By the end of 2024, I'll be taking in around $144k in passive income just from rentals/real estate (pre-tax). So that comes to about $10k/month post tax.  I also have about $650k in my retirement accounts (401k, IRA, Roth, HSA) which I can access in 20 years
5. I can probably still get a job in software/tech for as low as $120k as high as $200k
6. I don't have a "career" in tech anymore. I should have been senior or even principal at this point, but I'm not due to my back/pain and just general....I dunno, laziness? Lack of motivation? Lack of intelligence? Lack of commitment? Either way, if I go back I'll be senior at most and just be there for a paycheck, health insurance and 401k matching program. No more career for me, just a job really.
7. My GPA in undergrad was 2.9, and 3.52 in graduate school. I took the GRE back in 2007 so I'd have to take it again since it is so old.

I do like health/medicine, I read various health books and I even jump on pubmed when I want to know something. I care about people's health and my own, and I think the healthcare system is messed up in general. We only treat disease, we don't emphasize health and prevention life-styles. Doctors have no background in nutrition, exercise science or stress the importance of sleep. We only recently started to practice evidence based medicine and sometimes do things to patients when there is no randomized control trial to even prove it. We have becomes slaves to the pharma company and to the almighty dollar. I could go on, but I won't. You get the idea.

But...even given the above, reading about health/science as a hobby is very different from taking hard core health/science classes and putting it into practice and do that for the next 10-15 years of my life  The commitment is also quite large.  I'd have to spend 16 months just taking all the pre-req classes (nearly 30 credit hours of bio/chem/o-chem/anatomy+physiology), get about 1000 hours of PCE which means I'd have to be a CNA or EMT or something, take the GRE's, apply, get in and move.  Then spend another 26 months in PA school which is like 6 hours a day of classes plus endless studying.  The cost of all this would probably be $120k out the door too.  My chronic pain and back is another issue as the job seems to be physically demanding at times.

I'd like to ask you guys some questions, some of which are just plain blunt.

1.)  Do you like being a PA?  I mean, really...do you regret it? Would you rather have been something else?

2.)  What is the day to day like?  Is it stressful? Easy going? Constantly on call? I can tell you, being in tech can be stressful, but kinda easy too in the sense we can work from home and almost choose our own hours. Sometimes you are on call, sometimes you aren't.

3.)  Do you feel disrespected by patients and doctors because you aren't an MD?  The impression I get is that PA's/Nurse's are 2nd class citizens in medicine where doctors are 1st class citizens. You guys don't have autonomy.

4.)  Will my back issues/pain be an issue being a PA?

5.)  Is it worth the time, work and cost given my age and financial situation?

So anyway...that is me and my life. Let me know what you think.

[UGoLong]

Tim,

Your note raises a number of questions for me:

1. Your physical limitations (and also maybe what you called "laziness") have apparently gotten in the way of a relatively sedentary job as a software engineer. Being a PA can be a physical job, depending on the specialty, but you might be expected to be on your feet a lot of the time.

2. Being an introvert could be a problem. For many jobs, you talk to lots of people, including strangers. You may 30 seconds to a minute to build enough rapport with a stranger to be able to ask personal questions.

3. It doesn't sound like you have any hands-on experience in healthcare. Many PA programs expect varying amounts of experience. One goal is to have dealt with patients and other providers enough to know if you really want to be in that environment. You should see if you can find a PA you can shadow long enough to see if it's what you really want to do.

4. The remainder of your questions are mostly seeking answers to questions you need to experience first-hand. I don't feel like a second class citizen but I've been practicing for 17 years and am in my 70s. I don't think I'd still be working if I hadn't left engineering and project management when I was 58 to go to school.

If I were you, I'd shadow and start with one prerequisite if only to see how it makes you feel. 

Good luck.

Edited August 31, 2023 by UGoLong

[SedRate]

On 8/30/2023 at 3:44 PM, timothyTandy said:

My chronic pain and back is another issue as the job seems to be physically demanding at times.

--yes, evaluating pts will require some mobility but not impossible 

I'd like to ask you guys some questions, some of which are just plain blunt.

1.)  Do you like being a PA?  I mean, really...do you regret it? Would you rather have been something else?

--Yes, but sometimes I hate it, mainly the lack of motivation /personal responsibility by pts and healthcare BS. No, no regrets. A part of me wishes I would've become an MD but I don't think I would've been much happier. Just in more debt and locked to one speciality. I like the flexibility of PA. I can't think of anything else I'd rather be other than maybe a vet or physician. I also liked working in the lab as a tech but didn't think that was a long-term option for me.

2.)  What is the day to day like?  Is it stressful? Easy going? Constantly on call? I can tell you, being in tech can be stressful, but kinda easy too in the sense we can work from home and almost choose our own hours. Sometimes you are on call, sometimes you aren't.

--It depends on the specialty and job. I work in surgery which tends to be more hours and more call. Usually more stress too. It's better now that I'm almost 10 years in, know how to say no and put my life/family first, and only accept jobs with no call. Can't really pick my own hours but I accept jobs that have hours I want to work. Not interested in remote work as I like to go in and be at work, and then go home and be at home. But the flexibility that remote work offers is pretty sweet. I travel for work right now and my spouse is remote and able to move around with me which is cool.

3.)  Do you feel disrespected by patients and doctors because you aren't an MD?  The impression I get is that PA's/Nurse's are 2nd class citizens in medicine where doctors are 1st class citizens. You guys don't have autonomy.

--Sometimes. But it's rare and doesn't bother me like it used to when I was young and trying to prove myself. It's usually from lack of knowledge about PAs or just generally disrespectful people whose mind you can't change. (Docs are disrespected too, whether by pts or admin or insurances, so it's not just PAs.) I know what I contribute and the good work I do, so I let that speak for itself and people (pts, colleagues, etc) usually respond well to that. 

4.)  Will my back issues/pain be an issue being a PA?

--Some jobs will require that you have to be able to lift 50 pounds. 

5.)  Is it worth the time, work and cost given my age and financial situation?

--Only you can decide that. If you REALLY want to do it, go for it. If you're not sure, shadow a bunch of PAs and find out. Financially and stress-wise, no, keep doing what you're doing. Lol

So anyway...that is me and my life. Let me know what you think.

See replies to your questions above. 

Edited August 31, 2023 by SedRate

[ohiovolffemtp]

On 8/30/2023 at 1:44 PM, timothyTandy said:

1.)  Do you like being a PA?  I mean, really...do you regret it? Would you rather have been something else?

2.)  What is the day to day like?  Is it stressful? Easy going? Constantly on call? I can tell you, being in tech can be stressful, but kinda easy too in the sense we can work from home and almost choose our own hours. Sometimes you are on call, sometimes you aren't.

3.)  Do you feel disrespected by patients and doctors because you aren't an MD?  The impression I get is that PA's/Nurse's are 2nd class citizens in medicine where doctors are 1st class citizens. You guys don't have autonomy.

4.)  Will my back issues/pain be an issue being a PA?

5.)  Is it worth the time, work and cost given my age and financial situation?

So anyway...that is me and my life. Let me know what you think.

My background: BS in computer science, spent 29 years in corporate America doing infrastructure support.  For example I was a mainframe systems programmer for IBM mainframes (remember them?)  I also at one time managed the largest Teradata installation in the nation.  However, I also in parallel had been a volunteer then part-time firefighter/EMT then paramedic so I had a fair knowledge of emergency medicine.  I knew I had come to hate corporate America and the fire service wasn't going to be a good career change for someone in their late 40's-early 50's.

So:

1. Yes, I like being a PA.  I'm in a not very common situation.  I do solo overnight coverage of ED's in rural critical access hospitals with the day doc on call.  I wish I'd started down this path 10 years earlier than I did and become a doc, likely a DO.  I've got a great job in great environments, and do probably 95% of what docs do for about 40-45% of the pay and I'm always running into some barriers in state law and/or hospital bylaws keeping me from doing things I know how to do.
2. The day (12 hour night shift) can be incredibly stressful.  Last night I was always 2-4 hours behind due to patients (some of whom were very sick) arriving faster than I could complete workups and get them out.  This included restraining and sedation combative agitated drunks and having a 1/2 hour end-of-life/goals of care conversation with a patient who chose to go home and die - without the benefit of any support.
3. Do I feel disrespected: sometimes, but not that much worse than the ED docs.  Few of the consultants any more are disrespectful to PA's.  Plus, I give them the same info the docs do.  I've had more problems with nursing managers.  All of us front line personnel in small places just dive in to get the work done.
4. Will your back issues/pain be an issue: quite possibly.  I don't often stand for long periods, but I do help lift, position, and restrain patients, do chest compressions, reduce fractures & dislocations.  I do have some issues because of arm weakness secondary to nerve impingement requiring fusion of C4-C7.  But I manage.
5. Is it worth the time, work, and cost: only you can make that decision.  For me: absolutely yes - I got my license at age 55 and will probably work FT until at least 70.

You absolutely must shadow PA's in a variety of parts of medicine to see if their daily life is one you'd like.  My life traveling and working 15-17 shifts/month is very different that my classmates.  Some of them to a 4.5 day/week M-F office job in primary care, others are hospitalists, others do surgery.  I have no call, some of them do.  Medicine is highly varied.  If you can find something that would be a life you'd like, it's definitely worth it.  If not, just ride out your IT work until you can find something else you like, maybe turning a hobby into a low paying job that fills your time.