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Why should I pursue a career as a Physician Assistant/Associate instead of Doctor?

I am currently a sophomore and studying Exercise Physiology. I will have all the pre recs needed for both the professions, but I am so stuck on picking. I know they both have their positives and negatives, but I want to hear from current PA or MD/DO students or medical professionals in the feild currently. I want to have a set plan for junior year so I can start gearing my focus towards one. If you had this same question in your undergraduate years I would gladly hear your point of view!

medicine career-path science spring26 pre-med spring2026 pre-pa
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bill’s Answer

Well id have to agree with Yolanda much less 🏫 schooling and much less debt but I'd add becoming a MD or DO you'd still be in great demand with our aging population.......But other than more schooling and money getting into med.school can be very difficult......But the end result is you will make 2-3x the income.......a P.A. is just an add on to a B.S. in nursing soo is much easier to achieve BUT if money and prestige is your goal take the time and expense to become an MD or DO .......I think in the end you may regent not going on after your B.S. in nursing.......Best of luck entering into the world of healing care whatever your
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Thank you comment icon hi Bill thank you for responding! I actually had thoughts about a nursing degree, but I wanted to emd up with more autonomy in the med feild and thats when I found the PA profession. I do like the advantage of less time in school! thank you for helping me add to my pros and cons list Darling
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Yolanda’s Answer

The field of medicine has changed over the years. The advantages of becoming a PA include less time in school and less debt. There is more of a demand for PAs as well. I would actually look into behavior health PA, because that field is in major demand!
Hope this helps.
Thank you comment icon thank you! i never thought about behavioral health, I will keep it in mind! Darling
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Hwal’s Answer

Darling,

I'm a primary care internal medicine PA. I'm also from Australia and didn't learn about the PA profession until moving to the U.S., so I think I have lots of insights to share. When I first moved here, my heart was set on applying to medical schools because I thought that was the only way to learn and practice medicine. Fast forward a decade, I can now say with confidence that I'm glad I decided to apply to PA schools. There are many reasons for this, but let me share a few. First, being able to start practicing several years sooner was always one of the big draws for me. Then, it didn't take me long to see that PA training and education is very consistent across accredited programs, so I was reassured that no matter which PA school I attended, I would get rigorous medical training, and that's what I got. My training prepared me well with a strong foundation to build on once I started practicing. As for the training, I was either in class, cadaver lab, interprofessional meetings, or clinical skills lab Monday to Friday, 8am-5pm, and took over 90 tests and exams during my didactic training. Then, I completed about 2,000 hours of clinical rotations in primary care, paediatrics, women's health, emergency medicine, general surgery, orthopaedics, internal medicine, psychiatry, and elective rotations.

Let me know if you have any specific questions I can help with.

Good luck!

Hwal
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