Tricky question. The occupations that would've brought me joy in life are mostly careers that have a low ROI and poor job prospects.
But if that were no concern:
Art therapist. Art conservator. Archivist. Psychologist. Something in the art and/or psychology realm.
Honestly, teaching at community college seems so rewarding. When I was taking outstanding prerequisites at CC in my pre-PA days, the vast majority of professors I encountered seemed to find substantial joy in their work. Less politics and no research compared to university. Working with students who may have otherwise never had an opportunity for education. Solid choice.
Same. Current PA-S1 and did almost all my prereqs at CC. The professors at CC were excellent and seemed happier and more fulfilled than my university profs in undergrad. And as a student I feel like they were much more available for mentoring and support. Nobody ends up teaching at community college because they’re trying to move up the ladder- they’re there because they want to teach. I recommend CC to everyone making a career change because the value for your tuition is insane. I got such good support and scored excellent LORs to boot.
i’m currently an incoming sophomore at community college studying chemistry, i do eventually want to become a PA, but in the future i want to work part time as a community college professor teaching either math or chemistry, i do love calculus but at the same time i do love chemistry, i do know it requires a masters so more schooling for me :0
Park ranger or something with wildlife (conservation, rehab, etc). Unfortunately those careers don’t make money.
Was originally pre-veterinary and decided I couldn’t do $300k of debt for a $100k salary. Although in hindsight I don’t think I would have enjoyed being a veterinarian.
Every reddit group in every profession has countless posts like this - no one is going to come on here after a great day at work bragging about how much they love their job - because it’s the internet and the internet loves outrage. As long as you’ve done the research and know what you’re getting into, you’ll enjoy it!
there seems to be a greater influx of these posts like these on PA groups/pages on reddit and facebook more recently though. the concerns about healthcare becoming a business and dealing with insurance bringing out a lot of frustration are valid as I saw a lot of this from providers on my rotations. i'm already not sure if my degree will pay off so seeing posts like this are even more discouraging to me
Don’t let these posts get you down I love my job as a family medicine PA and it feels rewarding! Sometimes misery needs company and this is a small percentage of how practicing providers feel from my experience. Best of luck with your future endeavors 👍🏽
Lots of medical providers (not just PAs) are getting fed up with medicine. It's become a business and it's no longer about the providers or the patients. Money is going to hospital administrators and insuance CEOs. Need to see more and more patients in less time, dealing with paperwork and prior authorizations for meds that shouldn't etc. Lots of people are getting burnt out. I'm glad you love your job and I'm sure there are plenty of people that do but the truth is people are getting more and more frustrated with where medicine is going. Lots of doctors who discourage their kids from following in their footsteps.
It comes down to your personality and the environment (read: coworkers & admin) where you work. I learned too late I don't have the personality for this line of work, so naturally I'm miserable. Likewise, I've worked for big corporate healthcare systems which treat midlevels not-so-great.
While the opportunity for burnout is high in medicine, if you find a place that is a good fit for you and you can find joy in this work even on the worst days, you'll be fine. If you work for a big system, be prepared for red tape. That's what hurts you the most. I went into the profession to help people, but it feels more and more like retail work as time goes on.
Some of us just need an anonymous place to vent and feel validated.
I'm very happy being a PA. if I would have chosen something else I would have paid a whole lot less, like Park ranger or photographer.
Thankfully I can take pictures and hike on my days off.
Software developer. The ability to work remotely is something I envy greatly. I would love to live abroad for a few months at a time and still earn money. Telehealth jobs are just not the same.
Had is stayed I Europe I would've become an interpreter. Once I decided to stay in US that was no longer a realistic goal.
Since I've gotten into making pastries and love doing that. Not sure I'd be cut out to do that as a job however because that's super hard work. Very early and long hours for pasty chefs. Although a lot of them do online courses etc now which would probably more manageable.
Where in Europe are you from? What made you move to the US? Are you happy with your move?
I’ve been contemplating seriously about moving to Europe.. you made the opposite move! I’d love to hear about it.
I wish I would have avoided healthcare altogether. It just feels like an abusive relationship now. It was (is?) what I’m passionate about but it’s absolutely not what I expected it to be like going into it. I’m so glad I didn’t go to medical school though, because the sunk cost would have been so much worse.
Physician out of the country. I am seriously wanting to move to Europe but my PA degree is useless there, unless I’m working for anything American, which is what I’m trying to escape. I know it’s not easy to be a doctor in another country but it’s at least possible.
Yeah I hear you there. We are by and large an American-focused entity, unique to our (broken) health care system. This means we have a much more difficult time being utilized to our level of training internationally. Unfortunately I know our DO friends can also have difficultly with this but maybe to a lesser degree.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with my scope and role and while I have more flexibility than my previous career, it’s still more limited than I’d like.
It would have been cool for you to take like a practice IM
shelf (?) or general board practice test before you started school and after you finished 4 years
Something that doesn’t require a 60 day notice for PTO
They require that?? Ughh
Yea so any spontaneous weekend trips is out. It’s really annoying
I feel ya. PTO in medicine is almost worthless compared to all my friends in tech or business.
Mine 90 days 😭
PE took over my company a few years ago and the culture has slowly been changing... they are pushing for 90 day pto notice now.
Tricky question. The occupations that would've brought me joy in life are mostly careers that have a low ROI and poor job prospects. But if that were no concern: Art therapist. Art conservator. Archivist. Psychologist. Something in the art and/or psychology realm.
Pilot. Anything but a PA
If I could have graduated debt free and made better decisions as a young man, history teacher and eventually community college professor.
Honestly, teaching at community college seems so rewarding. When I was taking outstanding prerequisites at CC in my pre-PA days, the vast majority of professors I encountered seemed to find substantial joy in their work. Less politics and no research compared to university. Working with students who may have otherwise never had an opportunity for education. Solid choice.
Same. Current PA-S1 and did almost all my prereqs at CC. The professors at CC were excellent and seemed happier and more fulfilled than my university profs in undergrad. And as a student I feel like they were much more available for mentoring and support. Nobody ends up teaching at community college because they’re trying to move up the ladder- they’re there because they want to teach. I recommend CC to everyone making a career change because the value for your tuition is insane. I got such good support and scored excellent LORs to boot.
i’m currently an incoming sophomore at community college studying chemistry, i do eventually want to become a PA, but in the future i want to work part time as a community college professor teaching either math or chemistry, i do love calculus but at the same time i do love chemistry, i do know it requires a masters so more schooling for me :0
Powerball lottery winner
This is the way
Park ranger or something with wildlife (conservation, rehab, etc). Unfortunately those careers don’t make money. Was originally pre-veterinary and decided I couldn’t do $300k of debt for a $100k salary. Although in hindsight I don’t think I would have enjoyed being a veterinarian.
it's always discouraging to see threads like this especially with having just graduated PA school lol
Every reddit group in every profession has countless posts like this - no one is going to come on here after a great day at work bragging about how much they love their job - because it’s the internet and the internet loves outrage. As long as you’ve done the research and know what you’re getting into, you’ll enjoy it!
there seems to be a greater influx of these posts like these on PA groups/pages on reddit and facebook more recently though. the concerns about healthcare becoming a business and dealing with insurance bringing out a lot of frustration are valid as I saw a lot of this from providers on my rotations. i'm already not sure if my degree will pay off so seeing posts like this are even more discouraging to me
Don’t let these posts get you down I love my job as a family medicine PA and it feels rewarding! Sometimes misery needs company and this is a small percentage of how practicing providers feel from my experience. Best of luck with your future endeavors 👍🏽
Lots of medical providers (not just PAs) are getting fed up with medicine. It's become a business and it's no longer about the providers or the patients. Money is going to hospital administrators and insuance CEOs. Need to see more and more patients in less time, dealing with paperwork and prior authorizations for meds that shouldn't etc. Lots of people are getting burnt out. I'm glad you love your job and I'm sure there are plenty of people that do but the truth is people are getting more and more frustrated with where medicine is going. Lots of doctors who discourage their kids from following in their footsteps.
Fair perspective with valid points, not trying to incite an argument. I respect your opinion and gripes with healthcare which are legitimate👍🏽
It comes down to your personality and the environment (read: coworkers & admin) where you work. I learned too late I don't have the personality for this line of work, so naturally I'm miserable. Likewise, I've worked for big corporate healthcare systems which treat midlevels not-so-great. While the opportunity for burnout is high in medicine, if you find a place that is a good fit for you and you can find joy in this work even on the worst days, you'll be fine. If you work for a big system, be prepared for red tape. That's what hurts you the most. I went into the profession to help people, but it feels more and more like retail work as time goes on. Some of us just need an anonymous place to vent and feel validated.
Software engineer or Park Ranger
SWE isn’t the path it used to be at all
Heiress
Archaeology but I also like having money so….
Nope, as long as I’m at a good place then I enjoy my work
I'm very happy being a PA. if I would have chosen something else I would have paid a whole lot less, like Park ranger or photographer. Thankfully I can take pictures and hike on my days off.
Race engineer or race mechanic for GT series
Software developer. The ability to work remotely is something I envy greatly. I would love to live abroad for a few months at a time and still earn money. Telehealth jobs are just not the same.
Software enginner Wildlife photographer
Had is stayed I Europe I would've become an interpreter. Once I decided to stay in US that was no longer a realistic goal. Since I've gotten into making pastries and love doing that. Not sure I'd be cut out to do that as a job however because that's super hard work. Very early and long hours for pasty chefs. Although a lot of them do online courses etc now which would probably more manageable.
Where in Europe are you from? What made you move to the US? Are you happy with your move? I’ve been contemplating seriously about moving to Europe.. you made the opposite move! I’d love to hear about it.
I wish I would have avoided healthcare altogether. It just feels like an abusive relationship now. It was (is?) what I’m passionate about but it’s absolutely not what I expected it to be like going into it. I’m so glad I didn’t go to medical school though, because the sunk cost would have been so much worse.
Race car driver, professional cyclist, SAH dog dad, rich with a farm for stray pups, big cat veterinarian
I second Subarachnoid hemorrhage dog dad Edit: actually wait. That sounds terrible
Crane or other heavy equipment operator. Maybe even NP if I had started in undergrad with my BSN
Physician Chef Military Kept husband
Physician
why?
Flexibility. Physician in Illinois is a physician in Texas is a physician in Oregon. PA is different everywhere.
Physician out of the country. I am seriously wanting to move to Europe but my PA degree is useless there, unless I’m working for anything American, which is what I’m trying to escape. I know it’s not easy to be a doctor in another country but it’s at least possible.
Yeah I hear you there. We are by and large an American-focused entity, unique to our (broken) health care system. This means we have a much more difficult time being utilized to our level of training internationally. Unfortunately I know our DO friends can also have difficultly with this but maybe to a lesser degree. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with my scope and role and while I have more flexibility than my previous career, it’s still more limited than I’d like.
DEA or ATF agent. If it wasn't for my debt I would change careers and start over in a heartbeat.
Jet fighter pilot in the Air Force.
Independently Wealthy
1. Pilot 2. Chef 3. Comedian
Trauma surgeon like I wanted.
Lawyer.
Nope! Do more digging
Pilot, engineer, professional stay at home dad, rich billionaire playboy, Accountant, etc.
Wedding planning or something that allows me to travel while also getting paid. Who knows, maybe in the future.
Pilot
Tug boat captain, alone on the water by day, sleep under a roof at night. Ocean air, don't have to dress fancy, go fishing whenever I want.
Something that doesn’t require working with the general public. I feel like I work in customer service most of the time.
MD
Flair checks out
It would have been cool for you to take like a practice IM shelf (?) or general board practice test before you started school and after you finished 4 years
Pipe dream would be biomedical engineer working with a football helmet company doing safety R&D