Time Off before Working

[BloodySurgeon]

I have a family member who finished PA school a little over a year ago. She hasn’t looked for a job since she had trouble deciding where to live during covid and used this post pandemic time to travel.

I was wondering if there will be any issues getting a job if she starts searching two year post graduation without any experience.

Thank you for your response

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[pamac]

It seemed like very few new grads were landing jobs during COVID, and it seems like there is a bit of leeway available for gaps like that. I've seen NPs do fine with a year or two between graduating. To my surprise, it didn't seem to be a big deal, and that was even before COVID. You are a physician, so what are your thoughts? Most PAs are pretty eager to get working to pay down debt, but with government student loans accruing no interest, paying down your balance can wait, right? It might not help to have that gap in the face of other things I've seen new grads facing, which is a bit of a glut in the NP/PA market, and tighter belts at organizations and facilities. A lot of those folks who didn't get jobs over the last year and a half due to things being shut down have created a lot of inventory of talent, and they will be hungry to backfill those jobs. Those kinds of things will probably be bigger anchors to her job prospects, but taking 2 years off might not help.

 

[DownJonesIndustrial]

I doubt it. It really depends on market saturation, but I think your friend will be fine particularly if willing to take a "third choice" or lower job.