Undergrad seeking advice about pathology careers

[A228]

Hello! I'm new to this forum my name is Amber I'm currently working on my BS in Biology with a minor in chemistry. Until a few weeks ago I was dead set on becoming a pathologist assistant. Unfortunately I was told that it was not that great of a job and the pay was not worth the tasks. I really enjoy pathology and I would like to have a job involving that type of study. I personally do not want to become a forensic pathologist because of the schooling and money. I am at a crossroads right now though, I'm not sure if I should give up becoming a PA, or if I should go to grad school for just pathology or possibly biomedical science. I was wondering if anyone could offer their professional opinions on those careers or any careers similar to it? I've been trying to find a PA or Forensic pathologist to shadow or talk to, but it's very hard because they aren't affiliated with the school I attend. Thank you for your help in advance!

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[pathstudent]

Pathology Assistant seems like a good way to go if you are interested. I think pay of 70-100k depending on the geographic area and your experience could be expected.

 

[chooks]

1) "I personally do not want to become a forensic pathologist because of the schooling and money". If this is the case, this pretty much rules out any other branch of pathology (which has similar or longer time frames for study) or really any other branch of medicine (which is similarly lengthy and expensive). That being said, I am not sure what you hope to gain by shadowing a Forensic Pathologists since you already know you do not want to do this.

2) Going to grad school essentially assumes a Phd track. This can take about as long as going to med school and doing a short (e.g. 3 year FM/IM or even AP only/CP only pathology) residency. At the end your job prospects are fairly poor given the state of research funding in the US at the moment. NPR did a nice series of articles on scientific careers in the US and it was pretty depressing.

3) PA is a terminal "professional" graduate (masters) degree. Job prospects generally appear pretty good, you can't offshore it, and the downside is that you stand for long periods of time, you work with dangerous (infective) material, and the career path essentially is either PA or manager of PAs (although I am sure there are PAs around who have gone into administration or some such somehow)

4) If you are undecided, a smart move is to change you chem minor to something business related (business, finance, etc...). If you don't know what you want to do or are prone to changing your mind, some more education on how business operates is not a bad thing. MBAs are common these days but a good way to get a decent job if you can stand the material. From my peanut gallery - the business of science/medicine is more lucrative and secure position the the actual performing of science or medicine.

5) Don't get career advice from randos on the internet. Talk to your guidance counselor or those around you who know you on strategies to narrow things down. If you want to shadow people, google for who does that in your town and just call them. Don't get hung up on technicalities like being affiliated with your school.

- chooks

 

[yaah]

Hello! I'm new to this forum my name is Amber I'm currently working on my BS in Biology with a minor in chemistry. Until a few weeks ago I was dead set on becoming a pathologist assistant. Unfortunately I was told that it was not that great of a job and the pay was not worth the tasks. I really enjoy pathology and I would like to have a job involving that type of study. I personally do not want to become a forensic pathologist because of the schooling and money. I am at a crossroads right now though, I'm not sure if I should give up becoming a PA, or if I should go to grad school for just pathology or possibly biomedical science. I was wondering if anyone could offer their professional opinions on those careers or any careers similar to it? I've been trying to find a PA or Forensic pathologist to shadow or talk to, but it's very hard because they aren't affiliated with the school I attend. Thank you for your help in advance!

Who told you it wasn't that great of a job? It's important to get several opinions, be wary of relying on single opinions which may be influenced by something that doesn't apply to your situation. Most PAs in pathology that I know are happy in their job, they make a good salary compared to other similar professions and educational tracks.

Business school gets referenced on these forums constantly, it has always mystified me. Business school is not anything close to a sure fire route to a quality high paying profession. MBAs are everywhere. It's essentially part of the qualification process now but does not guarantee you anything. It's fascinating how people on these forums claim MBAs are a better alternative to pathology (or medicine) when the unemployment rate in pathology and in the business world are not even close to comparable (will let you guess which one is higher). And they are most definitely not cheap.