California Job Market - Easier to Land a Job with a Cali Residency or Top Reputation Residency?

[madllama]

I'm a current MS3 at a midwest MD school who is originally from CA and is dying to get back. It seems like all of the programs in Cali are well regarded, but when push comes to shove, everyone seems to put them in the 2nd tier after the powerhouse names.

This might be impossible to answer, but: as far getting a job in Cali, especially the SF bay area, would it be more beneficial to go to a Cali residency (and get the networking), or go to a top tier program (and get the name/recognition)?

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[Punkn]

If you have a strong preference is for CA, do all you can to train there.

 

[sloh]

this was talked about in another thread

here's my post:

"I'm a SoCal native and my Pmr mentor works in la jolla (San Diego area). I want to end up in San Diego in the future. Here was his response to me regarding location of training.

" However, I think at this stage of the game, get your credentials / education at the best place you can. You will never learn more at any time in your career than you will in Residency. The job market is serendipitous at best so the networking only goes so far.
I say follow the education and a job in a place you want to live will follow.""

and another member's:

"The other thing about going to a larger older program like UW, RIC, Kessler, Mayo, Baylor, and the like - is the alumni base and the "name" faculty that is connected. In PM&R, pain, and MSK/sports, everyone knows everyone - so having the right person write a LOR or make a phone call for you can go far. It only takes attending the AAPMR alumni reception to understand the power of a large alumni network. I got approached by several RIC alums with SoCal opportunities after my fellowship. I actually didn't love SoCal so didn't stay in the area. "

link to the thread

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/ric-inpatient-vs-outpatient.1117172/

 

[padresp]

I've been all over the country in various parts of my life so am familiar with different areas. I think one thing to think about is, "what am I going to do with my career?" If you really want to do pain, your route may be different than if you want to do general VA, or if you want to do academic TBI.

If you are destined to do a fellowship, your best bet would be to set yourself up for a fellowship in the Bay Area, in my opinion. In order to do that, you have two options. You could try to do the Bay Area residency and show your stuff to the people who run the fellowships there. Alternatively, you could try to go to a big name program elsewhere and set yourself apart there. There are arguments for each, and I think either are fine, just knowing that you have to earn that fellowship no matter where you're from. It's generally slightly easier to get the fellowship from your home institution, but not a lot.

If you're not destined to do a fellowship, then to me it would make sense to stay west and find a good PM&R residency there (UC Davis, Stanford are both great and are in/near the Bay Area) while you network. However, if they aren't a good fit for you, it's probably not worth it.

If you're unsure of your future, which most are, I would say to head west early. I have found that knowing people outweighs your credentials in most things in this world, and the more you know, the better off you'll be. There are just no certainties, however. When I encountered this problem originally, I decided to go with the residency that fit me best (that happened to be far away), worked hard, and then found a fellowship where I'd like to live long-term. It worked out well for me, but others haven't been so lucky.

To summarize my ramblings, don't go to a residency program that you don't like (for whatever reason) just because of the location, but I would err on the side of being close to where you want to end up. Experience a lot of places and choose the place that will suit you best, then work hard and demonstrate to everyone that you'll be a good physiatrist.

 

[melancholy]

I am not from California but ended up going to med school in California, then eventually matched to PM&R residency in Northern California despite not particular wanting to stay in California. Ended up doing pain fellowship in same area and got a job in bay area.

In my opinion, it's probably best to apply to the local PM&R programs in California, but also shoot for your top PM&R programs irregardless of location as well as they will have large alumni networks and if you are well trained and train somewhere with a good reputation, then that will give you some advantage when applying to fellowships. Preferences of fellowships is a whole diff ball game depending on what subspecialty it is (i.e. pain... anesthesia based or PM&R based or something else). I do think when it comes to fellowships, it makes life easier if you do a fellowship in California as that will give you an easier time of making connections locally, driving to interviews and checking places out, going to local community type events, etc. That being said, if you go to a very well known fellowship somewhere else, that may not inhibit you too much to come back to California, but it'll be more of a hassle to travel back and forth to check out places for jobs.