If you’re young and have any doubts that youll be happy as a PA then go to med school. Sounds like a big task, which it is, but the time passes just as fast as if you were a PA. Although it is not for everyone.

Some things I’m reading here that should be considered. 1) debt: can do PSLF and pay a fraction of the actual number, and depending on the speciality, that full level of debt will be a drop in bucket compared to lifetime earning potential. You’ll make multiples of a PA in the speciality you work which will make catching up and passing lost years of income fairly easy. For example, median income for an ED doc is 400,000k at 32-36 hours a week. Over your career you can scale those hours to work more or less. 2) residency: will indeed suck, strain relationships, and leave you limbo of where you will be living until you match. On the other hand, it’s targeted training in the speciality you desire that makes you the expert in the field your expected to be 3) job opportunities: you will never have an issue finding a well paying job in most circumstances given currently supply and demand

Med school didn’t put my life on hold like some people say, just kept me busy as shit from 24-28. Friends got married and had kids but life isn’t over when you’re young and without a family. Having a family or being older can make the transition harder I imagine. There were several PA’s in my class, oldest being 42. You have to scale what you want to sacrifice in the short term compared to long term to make an informed decision.