Physician Assistant Salary Update
Posted By: Paul | Salary and Jobs | 20 Comments
Well, it’s time again to review the numbers for physician assistant salary. I won’t try to keep you in suspense - they’re promising! And what’s more, if you follow these stats you begin to learn some interesting things about the field, the economy, and more. I hope you find it helpful (if you like it, please LIKE it for us on YouTube!)
My Take on Physician Assistant Salary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2K3ivjO9Zo
Sources:
1) Advanceweb for NPs and PAs - http://tinyurl.com/k6q5zjz
2) I said Clinical Insider, but it should be Clinical Advisor (sorry!) http://tinyurl.com/lucxko5
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Pretty good insight of PA Salary. Thank you for the video .
Great work branching out into video
Thanks, Brian - I hope plenty of people are finding your excellent site! Paul
Hi Paul! I am so glad to have found your website and have a few questions. I will be a senior in high school this upcoming school year and would like to know your take on the job growth of PAs over the next four years. Do you think it will continue to grow? Also, what would you recommend I major in in college if I did decide to go the PA route? Thanks!
Like I said in the video, the PA profession is expected to be growing rapidly for at least the next 20 years.
As for majors, you should listen to this podcast on the subject.
Thank you so much!
I am so glad I found your website. I am a junior Biology major student who is planning on applying to PA school in 2014. I think your website will help me tremendously. Please keep posting.
Oh! Just wondering, how much would you expect to make as a PA fresh out of school?
Thanks for the compliments. We have a few things in the works for the new year, so stay tuned. Too answer your question about salary, you should watch our video on the topic. Let us know if you have more questions!
Paul
Hi Paul!
Great video! Very informative! I have had some issues applying to PA schools. Mainly CASPA to be exact. I have a 3.4 GPA, but they recalculated it to a 2.67 because they average in classes that you have retaken. So the original attempt and the later attempt to get a new GPA. Whereas, universities replace the previous grade…hence the 3.4 GPA according to the university. Besides going back and spending years retaking classes, what options do you know of? Each school I apply to through will not go back and recalculate my GPA since there are hundreds of applicants. Do you have any ideas???? Thanks!!
You should probably give up at trying to significantly improve your cumulative GPA. The more courses you take, the harder it is to improve, since, as you know, it’s an average of the courses you have taken.
BUT.
You should do your best to get excellent grades now so that you can tell them “I haven’t had below _____ in a class in _____ semesters/years/whatever” Even better if you can say that in the last X classes you have had only A’s. They don’t expect you to have been perfect all your life, but they would like to see recent performance that indicates you will do well in PA school. So show them that!
Hi, Jay - I really don’t rank PA schools. It’s never seemed very useful to me. PA school is only two years and they are heavily regulated, so anywhere you get in will teach you what you need to know. Beyond that, there are many factors that could make a particular PA school work for you or not depending on who you are. What matters to you? Being near your home? Lots of lecture? Being affiliated with a big university? Cost? Make a list of these things and then start seeing how well the schools in your geographic area satisfy them.
Hi Paul,
Thanks so much! You have provided great information in your video. I used to work in the medical field as a medical assistant in Pediatrics, Ob/Gyn, and Orthopedics but due to poor planning I went into a completely different field instead of medical school. Now I am considering switching careers back to the medical field as a Physician Assistant. How do you think PA schools would think about an older student returning to the medical field? Thanks in advance for you advice I would greatly appreciate it.
If you leverage your application properly, you could be a competitive applicant. You need to be sure to sell your age and experience (even the non-medical experience, if possible) as a plus.
Hello Paul.
Thanks for such an imformative website! I have completed my essay and I was wondering where could I submit it for review? Thanks
For free review by other applicants, you should submit it to our free forum: https://www.mypatraining.com/staging/forum/physician-assistant-personal-statements-f19.html
Hi paul,
Thank you for the informative video. I have been contemplating the PA program for some years. I have an associate of science degree in polysomnography. I currently work at Stanford hospital as a registered sleep technologist. I was planning to apply to Stanfords PA program for August 2015 and am currently comleting a nuerodiagnostic degree in sleep science to receive my bachelor degree. A coworker that was in a nursing program told me not to go to stanfords program because it is a certificate program and the masters option is with st francis. She said that its harder to get hired in California and a couple other strict states with the certificate. Is this true to your knowledge, and does it make much difference if you are receiving the master of science degree? I do plan to apply to uc davis and Samuel merit too!
In the majority of cases, having a certificate only does not matter. There are a few hospitals or similar institutions that require a masters degree, but it’s not common. By far the biggest determinant of who people hire is 1) their clinical experience, and 2) how they interview. As one of my supervising docs once told me, “I can teach a new hire basic medicine, but I can’t teach them to relate to people and communicate effectively.”
Hi Paul,
I just discovered your website…thank you for the helpful information! I will be visiting your site often as I am planning on becoming a Physician Assistant.
Thanks again!
Donene
Hey Paul! I love Your website . You discuss the average salary of a pa, what are the opportunities ,where a pa can increase his salary??And is there a way where one can grow in this profession??
thanx
To be fair, there is definitely a ceiling. But like any profession, as you become more experienced, people are willing to pay you more. I am now out of school 2 1/2 years and just got my first raise. My starting salary was more than I thought I would make in the first 10 years practicing, and since by raise, I am making more money than I ever thought I would. Granted, there are some specialties where this won’t be the case. Oncology and pediatrics come to mind as low-paying specialties. Most people who go into them don’t go into them for the money though.
But money isn’t everything (obviously).
The real way to grow in this profession is to become a better clinician, to develop better relationships with your parents, to share your knowledge with them and with students, and possibly to teach. You can become a part of the leadership and the driving force of the profession. You can own a practice. You can nurture your own subspecialty. You can do outreach and public speaking.
In our society, we get really focused on remuneration, but all the research shows that after people make enough money to cover their basic needs, more money doesn’t seem to make the much happier.
As a psychotherapist, I’ve read a lot of the research on happiness, and it usually shows that what makes people happy is doing work that they find challenging, meaningful, and in which they feel skilled. Physician assistant careers definitely provide these if the fit is good for your personality. When you add to that some SERIOUS job security and good pay, this field is a no-brainer.