Going from Engineering to AA?

[Eng chem]

Could someone give me some feedback on AA programs/jobs/placement/advice for my current situation?

Currently, I am an employed engineer, with about 5 years of manufacturing experience. I have a BS in Chemistry, and an MS in Engineering.

What I and a number of engineers are seeing is an overall decrease in jobs for engineers, with an overall decrease in salary. For example, I am already topped out in my salary as an engineer. Which is a little scary.

Also alot of the "engineering" jobs are little more then glorified operator/maintenance jobs. Here is an example of what I am talking about:
www.tbp.org/pages/publications/Bent/Features/Su09Brown.pdf
This article sums up what I am talking about in terms of jobs for engineers.

Essentially from everything I can see, over then next 10-15 years there are going to be fewer growth opportunities for engineers, so I am looking at a career change.

I am very good with chemistry, equipment, physics, and a few other things. So I have been looking at programs that use those skill-sets/abilities, and the AA program on the surface seems to fit.

So part of what I am trying to understand is the following:

A) Do the schools place people? Or do you have to find jobs via word of mouth, blasting resumes, friends? I saw the gasworks.com website, and it does not look like there are any jobs. But then others say it's no big deal to find a job as an AA. What is the real story?


B) Are the jobs for AA's expected to increase/decrease over the next ten years? This is a question that seems to be difficult to answer, as there are few AA programs, yet more states are opening up to AA's over time.

C) Is there are a burnout rate for AA's? For example I have heard the burnout rate for ER -BSN's is about 5 years.

Those are some of my initial questions. Any input/feedback is appreciated.

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[jwk]

Could someone give me some feedback on AA programs/jobs/placement/advice for my current situation?

Currently, I am an employed engineer, with about 5 years of manufacturing experience. I have a BS in Chemistry, and an MS in Engineering.

What I and a number of engineers are seeing is an overall decrease in jobs for engineers, with an overall decrease in salary. For example, I am already topped out in my salary as an engineer. Which is a little scary.

Also alot of the "engineering" jobs are little more then glorified operator/maintenance jobs. Here is an example of what I am talking about:
www.tbp.org/pages/publications/Bent/Features/Su09Brown.pdf
This article sums up what I am talking about in terms of jobs for engineers.

Essentially from everything I can see, over then next 10-15 years there are going to be fewer growth opportunities for engineers, so I am looking at a career change.

I am very good with chemistry, equipment, physics, and a few other things. So I have been looking at programs that use those skill-sets/abilities, and the AA program on the surface seems to fit.

So part of what I am trying to understand is the following:

A) Do the schools place people? Or do you have to find jobs via word of mouth, blasting resumes, friends? I saw the gasworks.com website, and it does not look like there are any jobs. But then others say it's no big deal to find a job as an AA. What is the real story?


B) Are the jobs for AA's expected to increase/decrease over the next ten years? This is a question that seems to be difficult to answer, as there are few AA programs, yet more states are opening up to AA's over time.

C) Is there are a burnout rate for AA's? For example I have heard the burnout rate for ER -BSN's is about 5 years.

Those are some of my initial questions. Any input/feedback is appreciated.

Engineering into AA is a great fit - in fact, most of the early AA's actually had engineering backgrounds.

The programs don't "place" AA graduates, but during school, you will rotate at a dozen or more hospitals. Consider those extended job interviews, and if there is a certain place you'd like to do a rotation in an area in which you'd like to live, by all means see if you can set one up.

There is 100% placement of AA graduates and always has been. With the economy and uncertainties about Obamacare, the market is a little tight in some places, but others are begging for people. The big cities tend to be more full than the smaller cities or towns, but every practice has attrition and needs from time to time.

You don't see people dropping out of AA careers very much - too much time, effort, and money invested in getting there. A lot of the original AA's from the 70's are still in practice - I've been doing it for almost 30 years, and have only had two primary employers that entire time, and I have no plans of retiring or moving in the forseeable future.

 

[keregg228]

Jwk (or anyone else who knows the answer)


I currently work as a RRT at several hospitals (contingent). I often cover the PACU and set up vents on post op patients. During that time I have met a lot of Anesthesiologists at the hospitals I am employed at. I have spoken with them about my plans to attend AA school next year. They are very encouraging and supportive (one who is the head of Anesthesia there actually told me to call him when I graduated and he would hire me). Several have also said I could set up a clinical rotation there.

My question is:

Is there any criteria for a rotation in a specialty? Does the school have to determine of the center is appropriate?

I live in MI
I know I can set up clinicals here. Is there a limit to how many of my clinicals I can do in MI? One hospital I work at is a Blue center of excellence for orthopedics and cardiology, the other is for neurology and has a trauma center. There is also a hospital I know the head Anesthesiologist across town that has a neonatal ICU and they do a lot of Peds. My mother also works at U of M so Mott would be close by.

What I am really trying to ask is can I spend a lot of my second year in MI doing Clinicals? I might stay down south but I’d like to have to option to move back to MI, or live with family for part of my second year if possible.

I have heard over and over again about how most people get their job offers from places they have done clinicals. Logically if I’d like to get a job offer in MI I should do some clinicals in MI.

I hope you know some of the answers to these questions.

 

[jwk]

Jwk (or anyone else who knows the answer)


I currently work as a RRT at several hospitals (contingent). I often cover the PACU and set up vents on post op patients. During that time I have met a lot of Anesthesiologists at the hospitals I am employed at. I have spoken with them about my plans to attend AA school next year. They are very encouraging and supportive (one who is the head of Anesthesia there actually told me to call him when I graduated and he would hire me). Several have also said I could set up a clinical rotation there.

My question is:

Is there any criteria for a rotation in a specialty? Does the school have to determine of the center is appropriate?

I live in MI
I know I can set up clinicals here. Is there a limit to how many of my clinicals I can do in MI? One hospital I work at is a Blue center of excellence for orthopedics and cardiology, the other is for neurology and has a trauma center. There is also a hospital I know the head Anesthesiologist across town that has a neonatal ICU and they do a lot of Peds. My mother also works at U of M so Mott would be close by.

What I am really trying to ask is can I spend a lot of my second year in MI doing Clinicals? I might stay down south but I’d like to have to option to move back to MI, or live with family for part of my second year if possible.

I have heard over and over again about how most people get their job offers from places they have done clinicals. Logically if I’d like to get a job offer in MI I should do some clinicals in MI.

I hope you know some of the answers to these questions.

Congratulations on heading for AA school.

As far as where your clinicals are, it depends mainly on the school you're attending. The program director can answer those questions more definitively. Each program has clinical sites set up that routinely take students - some, like mine, can take a bunch, others may take only one. Many of the rotations are set up to make sure that students get the sub-specialty exposure that they need (cardiac, peds, trauma, OB, etc.) My hospital does huge amounts of OB but doesn't do hearts or peds at all, so regardless of how big we are, we can't provide the full spectrum of sub-specialty education needed.

The programs and/or the remote clinical location will probably require some sort of written agreement regarding students from the program, but that is generally just a formality. Among other things, it covers issues regarding liability, supervision of students, HIPPA compliance, and evaluations, as well as things like housing and meals (sometimes provided, sometimes not). My guess will be that you would not be able to do the majority of your clinical time at those away sites, but then again there is a lot more flexibility than there was in the past. I know both the Nova and South programs do not require their students to live in town during their 2nd year, and many of them move home and use that as a base location for their 2nd year and do the bulk of their clinicals in that area.

Programs may also share clinical sites - my group has students from three different AA programs and one CRNA program. And you may be surprised how many clinical sites are available for elective rotations. Where everything used to be concentrated in Atlanta and Cleveland, there are now clinical sites scattered all over any of the states that have AA's.

The best thing to do is just ask. Your program director may be very interested in using the hospitals familiar to you as potential clinical sites for other students. AA's get even more exposure, and everybody wins.

 

[Eng chem]

@JWK

You have answered my question in regards to finding jobs and hiring. Thank you for the detailed response.

I have an apointment next week, with Emory's AA group. In your opinion is there anything I might want to discuss with them, outside the normal questions of the program itself?

Given I have an engineering background, will that be off-putting to them, as most of there students are people with more Biology/medical experience?

Any other general advice is appreciated.

 

[jwk]

@JWK

You have answered my question in regards to finding jobs and hiring. Thank you for the detailed response.

I have an apointment next week, with Emory's AA group. In your opinion is there anything I might want to discuss with them, outside the normal questions of the program itself?

Given I have an engineering background, will that be off-putting to them, as most of there students are people with more Biology/medical experience?

Any other general advice is appreciated.

The Emory program was started by a couple of people with EE degrees. You'll be fine.

I would certainly ask about the outside rotations and the logistics involved with doing rotations at places that normally don't see AA students.