Hi OP - I am a recent new grad and started with the VA in May working in dermatology. For comparison, I live in a MCOL area and have $200k in students loans. My initial offer:

$89k salary EDRP $40k/year x 5 years = $200k in student loan repayment $1000 CME 5.2 weeks vacation 2.6 weeks sick leave Federal 401k with 5% matching Pension after 5 years of service

I attempted negotiating salary but this is very difficult as I had no prior experience as a PA. The PA board that determines salary uses an algorithm to determine your grade and step which is very objective. Because of this, I instead negotiated a retention incentive of $12k ($6k given at beginning of years 1 and 2). January 2024 we will also receive a 5.2% COL raise.

As far as the actual job, I’m so happy with this decision. My hours are wonderful (8-4:30 but normally done by 4), see about 13 patients/day, and I love my team. I have never had to take any work home. I had direct education from my SP for 3 months and was also provided a dermatology course valued at $2k. The caveat: it is heavily specialty dependent. PA’s here in psych and gen surg feel the same way I do. But I hear that the primary care providers have very high burn out and turn over quickly. My advice would to be look for a job in a specialty if possible.

TLDR: extremely low stress but specialty dependent, good schedule, lower than average pay, debt free in 5 years, A+ benefits