A Look Back on PA Finances for 2017
With 2017 now in our rear view mirror let’s take a look back on some financial changes for PAs this past year.
If you’re thinking about PA school don’t expect the cost to go down anytime soon as the 2017 PAEA program report showed an increase in PA education costs from the previous year.
With the cost of PA education going up expect to take out some student loans to help finance your education. According to the PAEA Student Report 1 the median amount for outstanding education loans for PA students was $93,000.
This is not a small chunk of change and if PA school graduates are similar to the rest of student loan borrowers they’d be willing to give up a lot to have their loans paid, including the right to vote. So, consider giving the gift of loan repayment to yourself for your next birthday.
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The good news for PAs is that according to both the AAPA and the NCCPA, PA salaries are on the rise. The 2017 AAPA salary report showed a 5% increase to $102,000 for PA salaries; which was not that far off compared to the $104,000 reported by the NCCPA. For more of an in-depth comparison of different PA salary reports check out this article: A Breakdown of 2017 Physician Assistant Salary Reports.
Even though the cost to become a PA continues to rise, at least the average salary is keeping up. Overall, there is still a lot of demand for PAs and with the aging population in the U.S. it appears there will continue to be demand in the years to come.
Hopefully, everyone has had a great start to the year. Did you get an annual raise this year? Let us know. Please comment below on the original article, share with your friends and sign up to receive future posts by email!
