Pa's Top Yahoo Poll

[deleted6669]

http://education.yahoo.net/degrees/articles/featured_seven_bright_new_careers.html

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[helpfuldoc2b]

http://education.yahoo.net/degrees/articles/featured_seven_bright_new_careers.html

Ya, well they said the same about PTs 12 years ago, PTs were making 80+ grand starting, everyone saturated the field and they kept saying so much demand until 2010 and all that crap, by the time he graduated in 2002, he was making 50K to start and that was considered good. Keep in mind 12 years before when the PT was all hyped up as a field, PTs were making 80+K which with inflations should of translated into 6 figures easily with inflation by the time of his 2002 graduation. Every field ends up saturated after a while and screws everything up. Everyone sees the money, everyone saturates markets, gives employers less incentive to pay up, then your ending up making way less than you anticipated. Computer Science was the top guarantee 6 figure out of college job in the Boom and ranked best and most promising field for decades to come, look what happened to that.

 

[deleted87716]

Yee-ha...looks like it ranks right up there with "video game design."

Physician assistants are effectively replacing doctors as primary care providers, enjoying the same job satisfaction and a comfortable salary with a fraction of the training requirements.

^ Dangerous career goal, BTW.

Sorry, but even though the future looks bright for PAs, I'm going to file that article under "Brain Candy."

 

[jacketwrestler]

interesting. There are already many new grads from PA school complaining about their salary after breaking it down to hourly wage.

 

[deleted6669]

interesting. There are already many new grads from PA school complaining about their salary after breaking it down to hourly wage.

In its 2006 census report, the AAPA reported mean total income (MTI) from primary employer for clinically practicing PAs working at least 32 hours a week. ADVANCE compiled this chart using data from AAPA's individual specialty reports.

Specialty MTI
Cardiovascular/Cardiothoracic surgery $104,681
Dermatology $100,735
Neurosurgery $93,979
Emergency medicine $92,896
Surgical subspecialties $91,364
Orthopedics $90,093
Critical care medicine
$89,113
Plastic surgery $88,900
Pediatric cardiology $88,086
Interventional radiology $87,603
Anesthesiology $86,801
Trauma surgery $86,752
Geriatrics $86,712
Pain management $85,014
Occupational medicine $84,801
National mean $84,396
Urology $84,204
General surgery $83,296
Diagnostic radiology $82,837
Surgical oncology $82,571
Medical cardiology $82,374
Addiction medicine $82,034
Otorhinolaryngology $81,233
Hospital medicine $80,563
Psychiatry $79,104
Medical oncology $78,972
Family medicine $78,893
Radiation oncology $78,514

Pediatric gastroenterology $78,504
Allergy $78,241
Pediatric neurology $77,664
Pediatrics $77,452
Pediatric oncology $77,047
Medical gastroenterology $76,858
Medical rheumatology $76,366
Medical neurology $76,361
Medical nephrology $76,295
Medical endocrinology $75,157
Obstetrics/Gynecology $74,658
Public health $73,180


Source: American Academy of Physician Assistants

 

[helpfuldoc2b]

In its 2006 census report, the AAPA reported mean total income (MTI) from primary employer for clinically practicing PAs working at least 32 hours a week. ADVANCE compiled this chart using data from AAPA's individual specialty reports.

Specialty MTI
Cardiovascular/Cardiothoracic surgery $104,681
Dermatology $100,735
Neurosurgery $93,979
Emergency medicine $92,896
Surgical subspecialties $91,364
Orthopedics $90,093
Critical care medicine
$89,113
Plastic surgery $88,900
Pediatric cardiology $88,086
Interventional radiology $87,603
Anesthesiology $86,801
Trauma surgery $86,752
Geriatrics $86,712
Pain management $85,014
Occupational medicine $84,801
National mean $84,396
Urology $84,204
General surgery $83,296
Diagnostic radiology $82,837
Surgical oncology $82,571
Medical cardiology $82,374
Addiction medicine $82,034
Otorhinolaryngology $81,233
Hospital medicine $80,563
Psychiatry $79,104
Medical oncology $78,972
Family medicine $78,893
Radiation oncology $78,514

Pediatric gastroenterology $78,504
Allergy $78,241
Pediatric neurology $77,664
Pediatrics $77,452
Pediatric oncology $77,047
Medical gastroenterology $76,858
Medical rheumatology $76,366
Medical neurology $76,361
Medical nephrology $76,295
Medical endocrinology $75,157
Obstetrics/Gynecology $74,658
Public health $73,180


Source: American Academy of Physician Assistants

Source seems overinflated, best friend of mine graduated from a top PA program worked as a ER PA for 3 years and topped out at 68K (Milwaukee), my friend it pittsburg telling me that their program director told them class average for last year in that area was between 45-50K to start on Average, which i even found EXTREMELY low and told her to check and recheck in it before she graduates and if its true to get the heck out of pittsburg, which she cant because of her family.

 

[core0]

Source seems overinflated, best friend of mine graduated from a top PA program worked as a ER PA for 3 years and topped out at 68K (Milwaukee), my friend it pittsburg telling me that their program director told them class average for last year in that area was between 45-50K to start on Average, which i even found EXTREMELY low and told her to check and recheck in it before she graduates and if its true to get the heck out of pittsburg, which she cant because of her family.

Pittsburg and Pennsylvania in particular are problems. Nobody want to leave and there are 15 programs in Pennsylvania and at least two in Pittsburg. Having said that I have talked to employers in the area and they are definitely above 50k. The problem is that all employers want PA's with experience. If they hire new grads at very low wages they don't understand when they bolt after a year or two. I would really doubt the 45-50k figure outside a rural health clinic. If your friend wants to know the salary range they can get a salary survey for Pittsburg for $35 from AAPA. I think you can go down to the city level.

For what its worth the mean salary in Pennsylvania was $73k which is $12k below the national mean salary of $85k. $55k would put someone below the 10% even in Pennsylvania.

If you want general job information on PA's by state look here:
http://www.aapa.org/research/state-reports-2006/index.html

David Carpenter, PA-C

 

[villiarp]

There will always be people, whether it be Physician Assistants or physicians, who low ball themselves because they don't think they can get a higher paying position.

For every low ball offer you all have mentioned there are many...many more positions that pay physician assistants what there worth.
I know of at least 3 students who are graduating in May, from Wayne State's PA program that have been offered 80-90,000 to work in the ER. There are two PA's that graduated 2 yrs ago from Univ Of Detroit that are making 100,000+ working in CV surgery.

 

[jacketwrestler]

In its 2006 census report, the AAPA reported mean total income (MTI) from primary employer for clinically practicing PAs working at least 32 hours a week. ADVANCE compiled this chart using data from AAPA’s individual specialty reports.

I was actually referring to this thread on a PA forum: http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10816

Reading through the whole thread, I can't help but feel that most are disappointed with their salary after breaking it down hourly. These are new grads.

 

[OnPump]

Source seems overinflated, best friend of mine graduated from a top PA program worked as a ER PA for 3 years and topped out at 68K (Milwaukee), my friend it pittsburg telling me that their program director told them class average for last year in that area was between 45-50K to start on Average, which i even found EXTREMELY low and told her to check and recheck in it before she graduates and if its true to get the heck out of pittsburg, which she cant because of her family.

There is a regional influence to salary data of course, but these numbers are not overinflated.
Keep in mind these are overall numbers, not specific to new grads which is obviously lower.

Pennsylvania is dead last in state specific salaries for PAs.

 

[core0]

There is a regional influence to salary data of course, but these numbers are not overinflated.
Keep in mind these are overall numbers, not specific to new grads which is obviously lower.

Pennsylvania is dead last in state specific salaries for PAs.

I trained there. At least Missouri is passing it as most backward state for PA practice (well except for Indiana).

David Carpenter, PA-C

 

[NonTradMed]

Computer Science was the top guarantee 6 figure out of college job in the Boom and ranked best and most promising field for decades to come, look what happened to that.

As a former computer science major, I have to tell you that computer science NEVER guaranteed six figure salaries coming out of college, not during the boom, not before and certainly not after.

That was always a small segment of the population during the boom that got such high salaries, usually located in expensive areas of the country such as San Francisco.

I went to a pretty good school which companies such as Microsoft and Deloitte and Touche recruited fairly heavily from and at the peak of the boom, no major company ever offered a six figure salary for the average undergrad student (they made concessions for top students though). I think schools such as Stanford and MIT probably had grads seeing six figure salaries more commonly but those grads still command pretty salaries even today, post-dotcom boom.

The post-boom didn't see CS majors starve either. As a matter of course, we were still offered more money than most other college grads. I graduated 2002 and around the midwest where I worked, it was $50k and on the coasts, my friends were offered $80k starting. Not too shabby, certainly better than many students from other fields.

Even today, as reported by CNN, the #6 degree most lucrative college for a new grad is computer science with $50k (top salary being ChemE with $53k).

The media completely hyped up the inflated salaries of CS majors and then hyped up the 'downfall' of the IT worker. The truth lay somewhere in the middle, but that would have made for boring news.

 

[helpfuldoc2b]

Pittsburg and Pennsylvania in particular are problems. Nobody want to leave and there are 15 programs in Pennsylvania and at least two in Pittsburg. Having said that I have talked to employers in the area and they are definitely above 50k. The problem is that all employers want PA's with experience. If they hire new grads at very low wages they don't understand when they bolt after a year or two. I would really doubt the 45-50k figure outside a rural health clinic. If your friend wants to know the salary range they can get a salary survey for Pittsburg for $35 from AAPA. I think you can go down to the city level.

For what its worth the mean salary in Pennsylvania was $73k which is $12k below the national mean salary of $85k. $55k would put someone below the 10% even in Pennsylvania.

If you want general job information on PA's by state look here:
http://www.aapa.org/research/state-reports-2006/index.html

David Carpenter, PA-C

Her program director gave her the salary figures and expectations based on the previous class average starting salary, so thats more reliable than any of those online wide spectrum surveys on salaries.

 

[core0]

Her program director gave her the salary figures and expectations based on the previous class average starting salary, so thats more reliable than any of those online wide spectrum surveys on salaries.

Umm yeah. A survey that has been vetted by the department of labor and is used in determining economic data is obviously inferior to second hand information collected on a random basis for a particular environment. It may be possible that Pittsburg is oversaturated, but I can tell you that what the program director is stating is untrue. Maybe this particular program has a bad reputation (although knowing something about the programs there I doubt this). Multiple members of my class are working in the Pittsburg area and none of them are making $45k. Having interviewed for a position in Pittsburg, I can tell you the salaries are competitive.

If you want AAPA can generate a salary profile down to areas of the state and possibly the city. I would have your friend do this and ask her PD about this. It is possible that the other students are making way more money and that this particular programs graduates are taking very poor salaries. I have also seen new grads take awful salaries because they did not understand their value. A good program instructs its graduates on PA value and salary negotiation. Sounds like your friends program needs some work. Looking at the UPMC website I see a ton of positions open. Most of them do have a minimum salary of $50k. Considering the number of positions that are available if a grad takes that salary thats their fault.

David Carpenter, PA-C