No jobs for path. However...

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Nojobsforpath

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Want advice here. I am in a dilemma. I am in the "most popular specialty by the dark report". Really struggled with jobs. Have two offers now but don't know which one to choose. One is close to home (have one child) but is a part-time job in a commercial lab, not sure about the future. The other one is a full-time in Canada, pay is 400k but in a rural place. So which one would you choose?
 
be comfortable and go home. it was a tough year this year. if it doesn't work out, just remember that first job does not equal last job.
 
I am new to the field of pathology ... I think you should take 400k. Send your child to private school. Get a Toyota tundra. Stay in Canada for three years. You are taking about 1 million dollars. Once you make that you can even stay jobless for the rest of your life
 
cyborg88 said:
I am new to the field of pathology ... I think you should take 400k. Send your child to private school. Get a Toyota tundra. Stay in Canada for three years. You are taking about 1 million dollars. Once you make that you can even stay jobless for the rest of your life
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No taxes or student loans to pay off? I agree that after you save a million, you can easily stay jobless if you can invest the money correctly.
 
Well, I am an international medical graduate from a third world country in Asia. So my father paid like 500 US dollars for my 5 years of medical school ... Not to mention that I also got 500 US dollars of scholarship as well. So basically I did my medical school for free if you exclude food, shelter and expenditure on books. But you are right medical education in US is very expensive and students have a debt of around 150K when they graduate. As far as taxes are concerned, I am not really sure how much she will have to pay tax on 400k...I will be starting my residency in July 2013. I don't really know the taxation system. So I may have projected a more than possible savings for her. My mistake.
 
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cyborg88 said:
You are taking about 1 million dollars. Once you make that you can even stay jobless for the rest of your life
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really? Maybe if you are single, willing to rent a 1br in a dumpy part of town the rest of your life.
 
Kilgoretrout 65 said:
Canada. Buy a 4 wheel drive truck and be happy.
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Please do not joke here. I want serious advice. What would people do. The US job is just a part-time with uncertain future. How would you weigh family and job?

BTW, the market for hemepath is really weak this year. I am wondering whether the difficulty in getting jobs only applies to our institution or at other programs as well. Will appreciate any input of the hemepath fellows at your institution.

If you read the ASCP job market survey. From 2010 to 2012, the percentage of hemepath fellows without job offers by the time of the in-service exam (late Apr - early May) increased from 12% to 31%. In 2010, people even reported receiving more than 10 job offers but the number of offers dropped to like only 1/3 of people received only one offer.

Thanks.
 
Canada isn't too bad, although I'm in one of the major cities, not rural. Money doesn't buy happiness, but 400K is a lot of loonies.
 
Nojobsforpath said:
Please do not joke here. I want serious advice. What would people do. The US job is just a part-time with uncertain future. How would you weigh family and job?

BTW, the market for hemepath is really weak this year. I am wondering whether the difficulty in getting jobs only applies to our institution or at other programs as well. Will appreciate any input of the hemepath fellows at your institution.

If you read the ASCP job market survey. From 2010 to 2012, the percentage of hemepath fellows without job offers by the time of the in-service exam (late Apr - early May) increased from 12% to 31%. In 2010, people even reported receiving more than 10 job offers but the number of offers dropped to like only 1/3 of people received only one offer.

Thanks.
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1- did you visit and did you like the rural place in Canada?
2- is their expectation that you stay (in Canada) permanently?
3- will you be in a partner track?
4- what is your expected income trajectory?

400k loonies seems good.
Forget about not having to work on 1 million dollar net worth.
You would probably save less than 200k at most.
Commercial lab, part time jobs should be considered just as a stop-gap.

If they do not expect you to be in Canada permanently, I would take Canada and diligently work on finding a job back in your home town while working in Canada.

Otherwise, I would stay home. Having family around is worth "millions". Your experience is not unusual and you will end up finding something. (in a jest), the impending shortage of pathologists is just around the corner!!
 
turtle1966 said:
1- did you visit and did you like the rural place in Canada
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x10000!

"Rural" can mean anything in Canada. Make sure you see what you're getting yourself into before you sign on the dotted line.

PS - How old is your child? Unless you're willing to send him/her away to boarding school, if you have a school aged child, educational opportunities in rural areas can be very limited (translation: terrible schools).

PPS - I live in a rural(ish) area. I love it here. But it's not for everyone . . . .
 
Canada. I am not joking. Except for schooling issues for your child as mentioned above.
Are we talking rural as in Sudbury Ontario with the nicest restaurant a Tim Horton's or are we talking about Whitehorse Yukon Terr (which probably also has a Tim Horton's...)? Perhaps when you get established in the Canadian system you can make a lateral move to Calgary etc.
 
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Take the one you prefer. It's as simple and as complicated as that, kinda like making a rank list for residency and such.

The world is infinitely smaller than it used to be. It used to be a huge deal to move 60 miles away from your hometown, because you'd hardly ever see anyone again. Nowadays I don't think moving across the Canadian border is a particularly big deal. Would you have the same reservations if this high paying job was on The Other Coast of the U.S.? Or midwest? How about just northern Michigan? True, the winters may not be your cup of tea, and it's not as easy to sell a house as it used to be so giving it a trial run for a year, while reasonable, isn't the cakewalk maybe it once was (but hey, renting cheap still works). And if you move back in 3-5-20 years I don't know what issues there would be with the financial exchanges. But if the reservations are merely that it's rural and "far away", I'd suggest thinking that over and putting it in context of what you'd be away from. If that child can't come with you, then for me that would be a huge huge problem -- but maybe not for everyone. On the other hand if you're away just from the city and maybe family/friends you mainly only talk to by phone anyway, well....
 
If you are so into calculations, let me give you a calculation. If she saves 750K she can live on that for almost 15 years even without investing...for this calculation I assumed that she spends 4K per month.
 
Do check out the job first. Even if you plan to cut and run, even a few years is a very long time if you're living in Fort McMurray.
 
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So most people here would go to Canada for job? The reference lab job lacks security and job prospect. However, if I go to Canada, how wouldemployers in US deem the experience? Will work experience in Canada enhance my job prospect in the US? I eventually want to come back to US since my family will not move with me. Will there ever be a shortage of pathologists?

Thank you KCShaw, Giemsa, and Turtle1996 for the kind advice.
 
Nojobsforpath said:
So most people here would go to Canada for job? The reference lab job lacks security and job prospect. However, if I go to Canada, how wouldemployers in US deem the experience? Will work experience in Canada enhance my job prospect in the US? I eventually want to come back to US since my family will not move with me. Will there ever be a shortage of pathologists?

Thank you KCShaw, Giemsa, and Turtle1996 for the kind advice.
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Your family won't move with you? Then don't go. Not worth it.
 
Nojobsforpath said:
So most people here would go to Canada for job? The reference lab job lacks security and job prospect. However, if I go to Canada, how wouldemployers in US deem the experience? Will work experience in Canada enhance my job prospect in the US? I eventually want to come back to US since my family will not move with me. Will there ever be a shortage of pathologists?

Thank you KCShaw, Giemsa, and Turtle1996 for the kind advice.
Click to expand...

I can say that I personally feel bad for your situation. This makes me sick to my stomach that a physician is put through this dilemma.

My best advice is to take control of your situation and do a residency where you will be the one getting recruited instead of having to beg for a job in this field. This is horrible. Don't succumb to the learned helplessness that is ingrained during pathology training.
 
At least this person has a job offer, 2 even.

You dont go into pathology if you can't move around because you likely will have to. Marry a woman who can go anywhere with you, preferrably a homemaker who is good looking and wont spend all your money.

And remember "Everyone finds a job" 🙂
 
I think work experience -anywhere- will enhance your subsequent job prospects, as compared to a new grad carrying the uncertainty of whether they can handle themselves *at all* in an independent situation.
 
Thrombus said:
I can say that I personally feel bad for your situation. This makes me sick to my stomach that a physician is put through this dilemma.

My best advice is to take control of your situation and do a residency where you will be the one getting recruited instead of having to beg for a job in this field. This is horrible. Don't succumb to the learned helplessness that is ingrained during pathology training.
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I also feel very bad about myself. After 5 yrs of residency and fellowship but without a job. Sometimes I just want to quit this whole pathology forever. You are begging for jobs. And each job, no matter how crappy, gets dozens of applications, with a significant proportion with multiple boards and years of experience. Unless there is a mass retirement and real shortage, I don't see any hope here. What else can I do with ap/cp/heme boards? What else? Can somebody tell me?
 
Nojobsforpath said:
I also feel very bad about myself. After 5 yrs of residency and fellowship but without a job. Sometimes I just want to quit this whole pathology forever. You are begging for jobs. And each job, no matter how crappy, gets dozens of applications, with a significant proportion with multiple boards and years of experience. Unless there is a mass retirement and real shortage, I don't see any hope here. What else can I do with ap/cp/heme boards? What else? Can somebody tell me?
Click to expand...

Circa 1990, CAP Board proclaimed that the future of pathology was bright, bright, bright!

A well known Chairman of U of Cincinnati declared that autopsy should be the future cornerstone of pathology.

The oracles did come true, so they are blaming the "not so well qualified" trainees.

My advice, trust those oracles at your own peril!!
 
You can work for the FDA. You can be a residency program coordinator or other cog in the machine of the GME. You can work for a health insurance company or a malpractice law firm. You can be a high school or community college teacher/professor. You can hang a shingle outside your door for "General Practioner" and write scripts. You could start a company interpreting flow cytometry reports trying to undercut your other heme trained profesionals. When you say your family can't move with you are you talking spouse, parents, siblings? Spouse is one thing but moving away from parents/sibings is not uncommon in today's world.
 
You could also join the military, get paid very little and be moved far away from your family.
 
Kilgoretrout 65 said:
You could also join the military, get paid very little and be moved far away from your family.
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Actually, this is not a bad idea. Experience, guaranteed work, benefits, can't be fired, nice lifestyle, etc. Then hop into a private practice later after retirement with a government retirement.
 
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