when I graduated pa school there were 7 jobs for each grad with most of us having offers before graduation.
the market is a bit tighter now with maybe 3-4 jobs/new grad and most new grads have a job within a month or 2 of graduation.
a couple things make the future look bright for pa's:
decreasing resident hrs (now 80, may go to 56) creates openings for pa's.
increasing federal compensation in primary care creates more primary care jobs.many of these are in health provider shortage areas where physicians traditionally don't want to work.
a shortaqe of physicians in every specialty means specialty md groups will add pa's to do "bread and butter " types of cases leaving the more difficult cases for themselves.
more physicians than ever are focusing on life/work balance. they hire pa's to take call, do am rounds, etc so they can go to little johnny's soccer game.
pa's now work in all branches of the military, the peace corps, the cia, the state dept, etc
pa's are being utilized in more international settings every yr. england, australia, new zealand, canada, etc are all experimenting with the pa concept.
as a former california pa I can tell you things there are as they always were for pa's:
coastal/big city jobs are harder to get than jobs in the middle of the state. if your goal is just to "work in california" no problem. if you have a specific city in mind you can probably find a job there but initially you might have to work in a field other than your dream job( say primary care instead of em or surgery).
bottom line:anyone who graduates from pa school and passes the boards will never be out of work.
