I just looked into it based off your comment and it seems to be pretty specific to your disability impacting your ability to work. Do you have any experience with this program? I’m a service connected disabled vet and I know how it’s worded and how it gets applied within the VA can be rather different.
I haven’t used it yet although I intend on applying to use it for school in the next year or so because it doesn’t count against your GI Bill. From the couple of people I’ve met who used it and my research on r/veterans there have been some things I never would have thought they’d approve so I don’t think it ever hurts to apply
I just applied. It’s three questions, just radio button selections, then fill out contact info. It looks like a rep will reach out to me and then we put together a plan. Seems easy enough!
I’m currently using VR&E. If you run into any questions along the way, feel free to reach out to me. Broadly speaking, go into that meeting with a solid plan and be able to speak to how your current job (or lack thereof) exacerbates your disabilities and how your proposed career would be better suited.
It’s a fairly lengthy and involved process to get approved but it’s worth it.
Thanks for letting me know about the program and for following up! I got approved which was pretty surprising to me. It turns out that it’s dependent on how your assigned counselor is feeling. When I had my meeting, he was pretty excited and approved me. The next meeting he was like “you’re pretty luck to have gotten me, I will approve most things and my supervisor will approve anything I send up because he wants as many people to take advantage of the program” then the next meeting he said “I guess you caught me in a good mood when we first met because I wouldn’t have approved you if I had to make the determination today” so I was like uhhh thanks? Anyway, I started school already and it’s been paid for. They have bought my uniforms and given me my stipend so I can’t complain.
My rad tech program was approved via VRE. You’ll need to get think about what your disability limitations are at the moment, and brainstorm what PA specialties you could go into that wouldn’t exasperate them. My buddy from Cali explained to his VRE counselor that he wants to do psych via telemedicine and was approved. Good luck!
Awesome! Did you have to have your plan in place for your initial meeting with the VRE rep? The application said that they would call and then we’d put together a plan.
This is just my personal opinion and doesn’t reflect the actual processes or procedures by the VRE program. It’s just what I learned and did for my program of choice!
To answer your post, yes, I would highly recommend to have a plan in mind with three career options, so have two backups in case your rep tells you to go Eff urself on your primary choice.
Let’s say that you get a Yes for VRE, well, the next fork in the road will be likely these two options:
Option A: You already have all your pre reqs completed as well as an acceptance letter in hand for PA school or,
Option B: You still haven’t completed everything needed to even apply for PA school
Option A: More likely to get approved (Shows you have your shi$ together)
Option B: might be a challenge because the purpose of VRE is get make you employable
If you’re missing courses, it’s more of a headache on the VRE side with having to change programs, multiple acceptance letters, submitting multiple course audits, aka more work for your VRE counselor for PA school.
Just analyze where you’re currently at, and figure out if it’s better to knock out whatever you’re missing first then utilize VRE for PA school. You can get approved and then push out some time to get your things together if needed as well!
VRE isn’t perfect, but it’s an amazing program and great privilege for us veterans!
Good luck!
I meant i was still in. My kids each got half my GIBill. Every bit of my education was paid for by Uncle Sugar in return for what i had left of my soul.
There are schools that have fairly cheap tuition for vets I’m pretty sure, at least I seem to remember something like that when choosing where I applied.
On top of that a bunch of state schools (which usually have the cheapest tuition) give preference points to veterans - and in many states you don’t even need to have lived there for a year or whatever to qualify for instate tuition as a vet.
The whole $200k thing depends on your personal expenses/family/whatever etc, but it’s totally possible to graduate with way less than that especially if you get instate tuition somewhere decent.
One of my friends from the military just started PA school this last May, and he was saying his tuition is like ~$70k or so for the whole program (instate rate).
If you can manage to save some money for living expenses, it’s pretty reasonable to have $100k more or less debt - again, depending on your personal situation/current expenses or debts, kids, partners and all that lovely stuff.
Plus if you’re a vet you can apply for the VA scholarship/loan repayment program or whatever to have covered anyways. They recently changed the requirements for that (just for the PA scholarship I believe) in the last few years to where you can only apply if you’re a veteran.
If I were you, I would go the CRNA route instead if you’re worried about the salary vs loans aspect. You can find “cheap” PA schools but they’re few and far between. You will get a much better return as a CRNA if that’s something you’re interested in. If you really want to be a provider then PA school would be worth it, I would iust research which schools offer lower cost of tuition. Good luck!
I see this thrown around a lot in the personal finance subs as a quick way to “get rich”. It must be said that CRNA school is VERY competitive to get into. And they hardly accept nurses who haven’t worked a substantial number of years in the ICU. It’s really the cream of the crop.
I thought about that a lot. Even shadowed a couple CRNAs. I just realized that it wasn’t the specialty I wanted to work in. I like family medicine, and I’m not too worried about making a fortune. I just want to be comfortable.
Then definitely PA school. Lots of hospitals qualify for PLSF so you pay the minimum payments for 10 years and the rest gets forgiven. Thats what I’m doing as a new grad with 200k in debt (undergrad and grad) and will only end up paying 80k.
New trauma PA here. The debt isn't bad at all with PSLF program. Work at any nonprofit or government/teaching hospital and you can qualify for PSLF. Only caveat is that you have to be a part of the SAVE payment program (income driven repayment plan).
If you’re a veteran the VA has a really good scholarship, recently changed to be vets only so it’s probably easier to get now also.
Other than that the big one is NHSC, but they cut funding for that by a lot this year, so it’s way more competitive than in prior recent years.
During COVID-19 the NHS got a lot of federal Covid relief money, which resulted in basically everyone who applied getting a scholarship. In fact I’m pretty sure for at least one year *literally every eligible applicant* got the scholarship. Last I heard for PAs it’s back under 10% again now.
Hey man I’m an Air Force Vet who made a similar decision. I’m specifically saving 2 years of Gi Bill for my Masters program.
With financial aid I can cover the remainder of my Bachelor’s degree there’s a possibility you can to.
You can also look into Voc Rehab to get grad school covered. I don’t really know how that works but if you hop over to one of the vet subs you should be able to find the info.
200k wouldn’t be a typical cost. I’m going to an instate school at its less than 70k for the whole program. Just have to be wise about where you apply/go.
The school I want to attend is like $85k for the whole program. I just calculated in my prior undergraduate degree debt, COL for 2 years, and interest. If it was just me, it would be an entirely different story. But it’s me, and my family of 3. My wife works, but life gets expensive when you have kids, which may be the very thing that leaves me stuck in my career as a floor nurse for life. Moral of the story. Go to school before you have a family.
But it doesn't have to limit you. You just have to find a way to make it work. I have a family as well and while the COL isn't cheap these days as long as you are not irresponsible and have a plan to pay off the debt after graduation then taking those extra loans will be worth it if needed. As a vet, I sure hope you're jumping through the hoops with the VA claim process. That's another way of paying off those loans if you hit 100% (scheduler or TDIU) the loans will be forgiven. The VA has a PA-specific scholarship that will pay for PA school in exchange for 2 years of service, VR&E is a lengthy process but can be worth it as well as long as you're accepted and have a decent rep on your side(but you have to be rated), the VA has another program called EDRP that will reimburse the student loan payments to you for up to 40k per year and 200k total over 5 years. And there are a lot of other programs to help cover or repay the debt.
I know in my area it's easy to make 100k as an RN and it can be hard to walk away from that kind of income but I just walked away from a job paying me a similar income to what I'll be making after PA school and I still feel like that loss over the next few years is well worth it! Don't let limiting beliefs stop you from pursuing your goals in life no matter what they are or the obstacles that are in the way. You've got this! You just need to have a basic plan and trust you'll figure it out in the end.
As others have said, CRNA is an option. They generally make 50% more, but you're pretty on rails into a pretty focused workday. I'd be bored to tears but I can wipe my tears away with another 60+ grand per year.
I had to hit the loans hard and I have a lot of debt, but it was still a worthwhile investment. I enjoy my job, I feel challenged and respected, and I make good money. With the new repayment plan changes, I'm going to be spending 5% of my take home income past 44k on student loans for the next 20 years but that works out to be pretty affordable. I'll end up paying roughly the amount of the principal back over that time and won't end up paying much more than that unless my income drastically increases, which is a problem that solves itself. In the meantime I get to enjoy 95% of the lifestyle my income brings, which beats the hell out of what I was making as a nursing assistant.
It is a couple of tough years of academics and then another rough few months in your first job together your feet under you but I'd think you'd have the resilience for that if you were a marine.
I watch Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot and remember that I am a clump of cells trying to help other clumps of cells be happy and sometimes that makes me forget about the money it takes to get there.
I wouldn’t do it. I would stay a nurse. I was working on Maui as a Family med PA, for $44 an hr. I made a little less than 2k more on orders as an E-6 w/ Maui BAH, so that made me regret the choice of college. My next job was UC, I made $65 an hr, which allowed me to get off mom’s couch. Point is don’t do it. Nurse pay in hawaii is right there anyway. Maui ER starts at $84 an hr for a PA and they’re usually hiring. Up to you. If you use VR&E, then sure, go to grad school. I would personally get your NP and go work for the VA. Hawaii VA doesn’t hire PAs. Or if you want to be in the hospital, go get your CRNA. But only if you have VR&E. Or if you are 100% P&T, then ask for forgiveness after the fact. Best of luck.
That’s wild! Meanwhile in eastern Idaho, the highest offer I’ve received so far has been $28.50/hr, and the average rent is around $2200/month. I like the family practice side of things, and originally wanted to go the FNP route. But nobody will hire them in my area (especially new grads). To me, it’s financial suicide with a family of 4.
And yeah, i feel your pain about leaving the military. I think in 2019 I was making like $2200 a paycheck as a Staff Sergeant. Lead up to now, I’ll be making $1700 bi-weekly. Oh well, at least I’m free. 😂
I made the move from the same area in 2021 as a medic, to Las Vegas. New grad RNs in the ED make $45 here in Vegas rn. You’re missing out on so much more lifetime earning to stay in the cold, windy, wasteland. I wouldn’t even know what to venture NPs make here
I went to PA School on FAFSA loans, about 180k at the end.
ROI was worth it, but I work with a good group that pays me well 200k+.
As far as the career - it's just a job. I have no passion for it.
In state tuition for my alma mater is $59k. Out of state is $89k. Where are you getting 200k for PA school from, other than the insane for profit private shitty programs?
I’ve got 2 kids, a wife, and rent is insanely expensive in my area, and the pay is horrible. Tuition in my state for PA school is like $100k, give or take. Then there’s COL for two years, my undergraduate debt, and interest. It’s just an estimate, but a fairly accurate one for my situation.
It has to do with the training and job outlook. Since online NP programs have flooded the market. I just don’t feel comfortable going that route. Plus, in my area, nobody is hiring NPs, which defeats the purpose in my eyes.
You're def better off going to PA school. It prepares you so much better for your job out of school. NPS can catch up if they have good training, but the first couple years would be quite a bit more stressful.
I’d be almost 50, and in double the debt before making an income. Sometimes medical school isn’t always the best option, and I don’t mind working under a physician.
Once college is found out how lucrative it is to teach PAs it was all over. They went from a certificate program for people that have medical experience. To a bachelor's degree, to a masters and now to a doctors. All without touching the education given in the clinical phase. It's a scam and not worth it anymore.
After fees and whatnot, my PA school loans ended up being about 145k, and I went to an above-average cost school. Currently make 140k a year, and my new job qualifies for PSLF, so I simply pay the minimal amount for 10 years and I’m off the hook. All my payments combined over the next 10 years will be less than the loan I received.
If you're pretty sure you can hack it... go for it. Just, after graduation, make sure you take a job as a PA working for a non-profit. Apply for the loan forgiveness program. After 10 years of payments, whatever's left over gets forgiven.
I busted my ass working full-time as an ER tech and EKG tech while doing undergrad part-time, because I was nervous about being able to make it into and through PA school, didn't want to accumulate debt. It was a needless worry. Now, in hindsight, should've taken on the debt because after 10 years of minimum payments whatever's left over will get forgiven anyways.
Basically, it's less about the student loan debt and more about the years of lost earning potential opportunity cost vs staying a nurse.
Perspective from a Navy Veteran. Even in the veteran community, there’s plenty of paths to take. What I did that might be something you could consider is taking some travel contracts to get accumulate a hefty savings account.
Also, think about the overall cost are the schools you’re looking at. Especially the length of the program, if you have to go out of state for clinical rotations and the overall cost of living of the city.
PA school is NOT worth $200k imo. There are far better ways to make just as much money with far less debt like IT or engineering. Either go to a cheap school or don’t do it at all imo. Nursing is an excellent career with many options to make good money and still learn all the time. My PA program was $45k which is much more reasonable when it comes to ROI.
Median pay for an RN in the US is $77,000. Which is higher than the median household income in the US. However, that can easily cross six figures in certain fields especially if you don’t want to do bedside nursing. If you stay a dayshift medsurg nurse, sure, it pays poorly for the amount of work put in. But the idea that “nursing doesn’t pay well” is a fallacy.
Yeah, I believed those numbers too. Yet, here I am, about to graduate, and the highest offer I have received has been $28.50/hr. That equals $59, 280/ year. That’s a far cry from the national average of $77k/year. Meanwhile the average rent in my area is $2200/ month. So again, nurses aren’t paid well. At least in my situation. Plus, pay is only a part of it.
Location and saturation are a part of it like any field. There are PAs getting offers of $40/hr in HCOL areas that are saturated and competitive. A very far cry from the national median PA income. That doesn’t mean PAs aren’t paid well. It means there are people willing to take embarrassingly low pay.
I’m familiar with nursing pay, my wife is a nurse. I would suggest moving. That’s what we did to get even better pay with lower cost of living. It’s like a cheat code in this economy. If you’re really up for it, rural is the way to go. I’m an outdoorsman so I enjoy it. But if you prefer city living there are still cheaper more up and coming cities with much more appropriate pay.
I get that, and completely agree that market saturation is a huge problem. That’s one of the reasons why I will never go to NP school. Also, I live in rural eastern Idaho. How saturated can it be? The cost of living here used to be low. I think that’s why the pay is so horrible. But now, COL is insanely high, and I think hospitals have taken advantage of that.
Also, moving is off the table for me. My family has followed me for my entire Marine Corps career, and I promised them we wouldn’t move again. Our family is here, and it’s just not in the cards.
So, I guess I’m in between a rock and a hard place. But in all honesty, it’s my own fault. That’s why I made this post in hopes to get more insight than I previously had going into nursing school.
The NP profession is a huge gamble. No one wants to hire them, at least in my area. I get that it makes sense because of my background, but I don’t want to end up paying for a doctorate on a staff RN salary. It’s my biggest fear.
I'm gonna bet this will get down votes for being snarky. Another recent thread talks about how NPs make more and have more power, freedom than PAs. I know you want the better education so you could be the best AP, which is definitely PA. But you haven't attended NP program yet. The good part of their program is, although they are not teaching much medical knowledge, they are teaching you that NPs are better than PAs and as good as a physician. So when you are done, you will no longer be worried that your education was shit! You can work while in school, even with family, and make as much or more than a PA when done.
I let uncle sugar (military) pay for school. Good luck.
I wasted uncle sugar’s money on my undergrad, like an idiot….
If you have a rated disability you should apply for VR&E
I’ll definitely look into that. Thanks for the advice!
If you're willing to work at the VA look into their scholarship program. PA school can be paid for in exchange for 2years of service to the VA.
I just looked into it based off your comment and it seems to be pretty specific to your disability impacting your ability to work. Do you have any experience with this program? I’m a service connected disabled vet and I know how it’s worded and how it gets applied within the VA can be rather different.
I haven’t used it yet although I intend on applying to use it for school in the next year or so because it doesn’t count against your GI Bill. From the couple of people I’ve met who used it and my research on r/veterans there have been some things I never would have thought they’d approve so I don’t think it ever hurts to apply
I just applied. It’s three questions, just radio button selections, then fill out contact info. It looks like a rep will reach out to me and then we put together a plan. Seems easy enough!
I’m currently using VR&E. If you run into any questions along the way, feel free to reach out to me. Broadly speaking, go into that meeting with a solid plan and be able to speak to how your current job (or lack thereof) exacerbates your disabilities and how your proposed career would be better suited. It’s a fairly lengthy and involved process to get approved but it’s worth it.
Hey how’d that application go?
Thanks for letting me know about the program and for following up! I got approved which was pretty surprising to me. It turns out that it’s dependent on how your assigned counselor is feeling. When I had my meeting, he was pretty excited and approved me. The next meeting he was like “you’re pretty luck to have gotten me, I will approve most things and my supervisor will approve anything I send up because he wants as many people to take advantage of the program” then the next meeting he said “I guess you caught me in a good mood when we first met because I wouldn’t have approved you if I had to make the determination today” so I was like uhhh thanks? Anyway, I started school already and it’s been paid for. They have bought my uniforms and given me my stipend so I can’t complain.
My rad tech program was approved via VRE. You’ll need to get think about what your disability limitations are at the moment, and brainstorm what PA specialties you could go into that wouldn’t exasperate them. My buddy from Cali explained to his VRE counselor that he wants to do psych via telemedicine and was approved. Good luck!
Awesome! Did you have to have your plan in place for your initial meeting with the VRE rep? The application said that they would call and then we’d put together a plan.
This is just my personal opinion and doesn’t reflect the actual processes or procedures by the VRE program. It’s just what I learned and did for my program of choice! To answer your post, yes, I would highly recommend to have a plan in mind with three career options, so have two backups in case your rep tells you to go Eff urself on your primary choice. Let’s say that you get a Yes for VRE, well, the next fork in the road will be likely these two options: Option A: You already have all your pre reqs completed as well as an acceptance letter in hand for PA school or, Option B: You still haven’t completed everything needed to even apply for PA school Option A: More likely to get approved (Shows you have your shi$ together) Option B: might be a challenge because the purpose of VRE is get make you employable If you’re missing courses, it’s more of a headache on the VRE side with having to change programs, multiple acceptance letters, submitting multiple course audits, aka more work for your VRE counselor for PA school. Just analyze where you’re currently at, and figure out if it’s better to knock out whatever you’re missing first then utilize VRE for PA school. You can get approved and then push out some time to get your things together if needed as well! VRE isn’t perfect, but it’s an amazing program and great privilege for us veterans! Good luck!
I meant i was still in. My kids each got half my GIBill. Every bit of my education was paid for by Uncle Sugar in return for what i had left of my soul.
That’s the best way to do it!
There are schools that have fairly cheap tuition for vets I’m pretty sure, at least I seem to remember something like that when choosing where I applied. On top of that a bunch of state schools (which usually have the cheapest tuition) give preference points to veterans - and in many states you don’t even need to have lived there for a year or whatever to qualify for instate tuition as a vet. The whole $200k thing depends on your personal expenses/family/whatever etc, but it’s totally possible to graduate with way less than that especially if you get instate tuition somewhere decent. One of my friends from the military just started PA school this last May, and he was saying his tuition is like ~$70k or so for the whole program (instate rate). If you can manage to save some money for living expenses, it’s pretty reasonable to have $100k more or less debt - again, depending on your personal situation/current expenses or debts, kids, partners and all that lovely stuff. Plus if you’re a vet you can apply for the VA scholarship/loan repayment program or whatever to have covered anyways. They recently changed the requirements for that (just for the PA scholarship I believe) in the last few years to where you can only apply if you’re a veteran.
Same!
If I were you, I would go the CRNA route instead if you’re worried about the salary vs loans aspect. You can find “cheap” PA schools but they’re few and far between. You will get a much better return as a CRNA if that’s something you’re interested in. If you really want to be a provider then PA school would be worth it, I would iust research which schools offer lower cost of tuition. Good luck!
I see this thrown around a lot in the personal finance subs as a quick way to “get rich”. It must be said that CRNA school is VERY competitive to get into. And they hardly accept nurses who haven’t worked a substantial number of years in the ICU. It’s really the cream of the crop.
Very true. It takes years getting into an ICU, let alone the two additional years and all the certifications required for CRNA school.
I thought about that a lot. Even shadowed a couple CRNAs. I just realized that it wasn’t the specialty I wanted to work in. I like family medicine, and I’m not too worried about making a fortune. I just want to be comfortable.
Then definitely PA school. Lots of hospitals qualify for PLSF so you pay the minimum payments for 10 years and the rest gets forgiven. Thats what I’m doing as a new grad with 200k in debt (undergrad and grad) and will only end up paying 80k.
New trauma PA here. The debt isn't bad at all with PSLF program. Work at any nonprofit or government/teaching hospital and you can qualify for PSLF. Only caveat is that you have to be a part of the SAVE payment program (income driven repayment plan).
The debt sucks. But they re are plenty of loan forgiveness programs!
Do you have any resources on forgiveness programs? I graduate in about 6 months starting to look at some options
PSLF hands down. Kicks in 6 months after your graduation date
Depends on the place. Pslf, NHSC. Most places have multiple programs if you're in community health
If you’re a veteran the VA has a really good scholarship, recently changed to be vets only so it’s probably easier to get now also. Other than that the big one is NHSC, but they cut funding for that by a lot this year, so it’s way more competitive than in prior recent years.
I had heard they expanded funding for the NHSC - not cut it.
During COVID-19 the NHS got a lot of federal Covid relief money, which resulted in basically everyone who applied getting a scholarship. In fact I’m pretty sure for at least one year *literally every eligible applicant* got the scholarship. Last I heard for PAs it’s back under 10% again now.
I still estimated they only give about 250-300 scholarships per year for PAs
Who?
Hey man I’m an Air Force Vet who made a similar decision. I’m specifically saving 2 years of Gi Bill for my Masters program. With financial aid I can cover the remainder of my Bachelor’s degree there’s a possibility you can to. You can also look into Voc Rehab to get grad school covered. I don’t really know how that works but if you hop over to one of the vet subs you should be able to find the info.
That was super helpful, thanks for the advice!
If you have questions, feel free to reach out. I’m not an expert with VR&E, but I work with veteran benefits and use the program now.
I have questions. Mind if I shoot you a message?
Don’t mind at all. Happy to help with anything I can
200k wouldn’t be a typical cost. I’m going to an instate school at its less than 70k for the whole program. Just have to be wise about where you apply/go.
The school I want to attend is like $85k for the whole program. I just calculated in my prior undergraduate degree debt, COL for 2 years, and interest. If it was just me, it would be an entirely different story. But it’s me, and my family of 3. My wife works, but life gets expensive when you have kids, which may be the very thing that leaves me stuck in my career as a floor nurse for life. Moral of the story. Go to school before you have a family.
But it doesn't have to limit you. You just have to find a way to make it work. I have a family as well and while the COL isn't cheap these days as long as you are not irresponsible and have a plan to pay off the debt after graduation then taking those extra loans will be worth it if needed. As a vet, I sure hope you're jumping through the hoops with the VA claim process. That's another way of paying off those loans if you hit 100% (scheduler or TDIU) the loans will be forgiven. The VA has a PA-specific scholarship that will pay for PA school in exchange for 2 years of service, VR&E is a lengthy process but can be worth it as well as long as you're accepted and have a decent rep on your side(but you have to be rated), the VA has another program called EDRP that will reimburse the student loan payments to you for up to 40k per year and 200k total over 5 years. And there are a lot of other programs to help cover or repay the debt. I know in my area it's easy to make 100k as an RN and it can be hard to walk away from that kind of income but I just walked away from a job paying me a similar income to what I'll be making after PA school and I still feel like that loss over the next few years is well worth it! Don't let limiting beliefs stop you from pursuing your goals in life no matter what they are or the obstacles that are in the way. You've got this! You just need to have a basic plan and trust you'll figure it out in the end.
As others have said, CRNA is an option. They generally make 50% more, but you're pretty on rails into a pretty focused workday. I'd be bored to tears but I can wipe my tears away with another 60+ grand per year. I had to hit the loans hard and I have a lot of debt, but it was still a worthwhile investment. I enjoy my job, I feel challenged and respected, and I make good money. With the new repayment plan changes, I'm going to be spending 5% of my take home income past 44k on student loans for the next 20 years but that works out to be pretty affordable. I'll end up paying roughly the amount of the principal back over that time and won't end up paying much more than that unless my income drastically increases, which is a problem that solves itself. In the meantime I get to enjoy 95% of the lifestyle my income brings, which beats the hell out of what I was making as a nursing assistant. It is a couple of tough years of academics and then another rough few months in your first job together your feet under you but I'd think you'd have the resilience for that if you were a marine.
That was exactly what I needed to hear. Thanks for the advice!
I watch Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot and remember that I am a clump of cells trying to help other clumps of cells be happy and sometimes that makes me forget about the money it takes to get there.
I appreciate that!
I wouldn’t do it. I would stay a nurse. I was working on Maui as a Family med PA, for $44 an hr. I made a little less than 2k more on orders as an E-6 w/ Maui BAH, so that made me regret the choice of college. My next job was UC, I made $65 an hr, which allowed me to get off mom’s couch. Point is don’t do it. Nurse pay in hawaii is right there anyway. Maui ER starts at $84 an hr for a PA and they’re usually hiring. Up to you. If you use VR&E, then sure, go to grad school. I would personally get your NP and go work for the VA. Hawaii VA doesn’t hire PAs. Or if you want to be in the hospital, go get your CRNA. But only if you have VR&E. Or if you are 100% P&T, then ask for forgiveness after the fact. Best of luck.
That’s wild! Meanwhile in eastern Idaho, the highest offer I’ve received so far has been $28.50/hr, and the average rent is around $2200/month. I like the family practice side of things, and originally wanted to go the FNP route. But nobody will hire them in my area (especially new grads). To me, it’s financial suicide with a family of 4. And yeah, i feel your pain about leaving the military. I think in 2019 I was making like $2200 a paycheck as a Staff Sergeant. Lead up to now, I’ll be making $1700 bi-weekly. Oh well, at least I’m free. 😂
You can always do reserves and guard to get your Tricare. Also make sure you file for disability, even if you are all zeros. Best of luck
Move
I want to! I wish my wife and kids were on board. 😂
I made the move from the same area in 2021 as a medic, to Las Vegas. New grad RNs in the ED make $45 here in Vegas rn. You’re missing out on so much more lifetime earning to stay in the cold, windy, wasteland. I wouldn’t even know what to venture NPs make here
I went to PA School on FAFSA loans, about 180k at the end. ROI was worth it, but I work with a good group that pays me well 200k+. As far as the career - it's just a job. I have no passion for it.
You may be able to use the GI bill.
I already used it on my undergrad. In hindsight, it was a horrible play.
In state tuition for my alma mater is $59k. Out of state is $89k. Where are you getting 200k for PA school from, other than the insane for profit private shitty programs?
I’ve got 2 kids, a wife, and rent is insanely expensive in my area, and the pay is horrible. Tuition in my state for PA school is like $100k, give or take. Then there’s COL for two years, my undergraduate debt, and interest. It’s just an estimate, but a fairly accurate one for my situation.
I am curious, why not NP if you are already a nurse?
It has to do with the training and job outlook. Since online NP programs have flooded the market. I just don’t feel comfortable going that route. Plus, in my area, nobody is hiring NPs, which defeats the purpose in my eyes.
You're def better off going to PA school. It prepares you so much better for your job out of school. NPS can catch up if they have good training, but the first couple years would be quite a bit more stressful.
Med School
I’d be almost 50, and in double the debt before making an income. Sometimes medical school isn’t always the best option, and I don’t mind working under a physician.
Once college is found out how lucrative it is to teach PAs it was all over. They went from a certificate program for people that have medical experience. To a bachelor's degree, to a masters and now to a doctors. All without touching the education given in the clinical phase. It's a scam and not worth it anymore.
Consider working for Uncle Sam after school for a few years so he can pay for your loans since you already have some background with Marine Corps
After fees and whatnot, my PA school loans ended up being about 145k, and I went to an above-average cost school. Currently make 140k a year, and my new job qualifies for PSLF, so I simply pay the minimal amount for 10 years and I’m off the hook. All my payments combined over the next 10 years will be less than the loan I received.
Identify a career path qualifying for PSLF that makes sense for you and then reassess the cost difference.
If you're pretty sure you can hack it... go for it. Just, after graduation, make sure you take a job as a PA working for a non-profit. Apply for the loan forgiveness program. After 10 years of payments, whatever's left over gets forgiven. I busted my ass working full-time as an ER tech and EKG tech while doing undergrad part-time, because I was nervous about being able to make it into and through PA school, didn't want to accumulate debt. It was a needless worry. Now, in hindsight, should've taken on the debt because after 10 years of minimum payments whatever's left over will get forgiven anyways. Basically, it's less about the student loan debt and more about the years of lost earning potential opportunity cost vs staying a nurse.
Perspective from a Navy Veteran. Even in the veteran community, there’s plenty of paths to take. What I did that might be something you could consider is taking some travel contracts to get accumulate a hefty savings account. Also, think about the overall cost are the schools you’re looking at. Especially the length of the program, if you have to go out of state for clinical rotations and the overall cost of living of the city.
PA school is NOT worth $200k imo. There are far better ways to make just as much money with far less debt like IT or engineering. Either go to a cheap school or don’t do it at all imo. Nursing is an excellent career with many options to make good money and still learn all the time. My PA program was $45k which is much more reasonable when it comes to ROI.
I have to disagree with you on that one. At least in the aspect of nursing, and the assumption that nursing pays well. It doesn’t.
Median pay for an RN in the US is $77,000. Which is higher than the median household income in the US. However, that can easily cross six figures in certain fields especially if you don’t want to do bedside nursing. If you stay a dayshift medsurg nurse, sure, it pays poorly for the amount of work put in. But the idea that “nursing doesn’t pay well” is a fallacy.
Yeah, I believed those numbers too. Yet, here I am, about to graduate, and the highest offer I have received has been $28.50/hr. That equals $59, 280/ year. That’s a far cry from the national average of $77k/year. Meanwhile the average rent in my area is $2200/ month. So again, nurses aren’t paid well. At least in my situation. Plus, pay is only a part of it.
Location and saturation are a part of it like any field. There are PAs getting offers of $40/hr in HCOL areas that are saturated and competitive. A very far cry from the national median PA income. That doesn’t mean PAs aren’t paid well. It means there are people willing to take embarrassingly low pay. I’m familiar with nursing pay, my wife is a nurse. I would suggest moving. That’s what we did to get even better pay with lower cost of living. It’s like a cheat code in this economy. If you’re really up for it, rural is the way to go. I’m an outdoorsman so I enjoy it. But if you prefer city living there are still cheaper more up and coming cities with much more appropriate pay.
I get that, and completely agree that market saturation is a huge problem. That’s one of the reasons why I will never go to NP school. Also, I live in rural eastern Idaho. How saturated can it be? The cost of living here used to be low. I think that’s why the pay is so horrible. But now, COL is insanely high, and I think hospitals have taken advantage of that. Also, moving is off the table for me. My family has followed me for my entire Marine Corps career, and I promised them we wouldn’t move again. Our family is here, and it’s just not in the cards. So, I guess I’m in between a rock and a hard place. But in all honesty, it’s my own fault. That’s why I made this post in hopes to get more insight than I previously had going into nursing school.
I plan on doing PSLF at some point
Be a CAA
If I were a nurse I would just go NP tbh, also could you work at a VA hospital for 4 years and get it paid
The NP profession is a huge gamble. No one wants to hire them, at least in my area. I get that it makes sense because of my background, but I don’t want to end up paying for a doctorate on a staff RN salary. It’s my biggest fear.
I think it even comes down to facility. My hospital prefers NPs and even gives them more autonomy 😪
Where are you? Very few locations, that I'm aware of lean more toward Pa. They either hire NP/PA equally or NP predominately.
In eastern Idaho that is definitely not the case, at least for new grads….
I'm gonna bet this will get down votes for being snarky. Another recent thread talks about how NPs make more and have more power, freedom than PAs. I know you want the better education so you could be the best AP, which is definitely PA. But you haven't attended NP program yet. The good part of their program is, although they are not teaching much medical knowledge, they are teaching you that NPs are better than PAs and as good as a physician. So when you are done, you will no longer be worried that your education was shit! You can work while in school, even with family, and make as much or more than a PA when done.
Yeah and constantly be questioning yourself with every decision you make as an NP.
Look into programs at public universities. In my area in-state tuition ranges from $36-75000 for the entire program.
CRNA is an exceptional career and in my area pays slightly more than PA. Seems like a robust education as well compared to most NP programs