PA or corporate route (eg. health data analytics)?
I am a public health major (22F, finishing up my third year at UCLA) and I am completely lost in terms of what I do with my career - specifically I am torn between going down the corporate route (health/pharma data analytics) and committing to clinical role such as PA (office-based like endocrinology, immunology, psychiatry, etc.).
I am not particulate passionate about medicine but becoming an immigrant made me look on life through different lens and mainly care about the paycheck in order to help my folks/have a good life-work balance. I love statistics, but I know the market is insanely oversaturated right now (+AI exposure risk) and it's rare to get hired and/or offered a good salary as a new grad with little to no experience.
Can anyone walk me through either of these choices? How bearable is a PA school/rotations? How difficult is it to get admitted into one without doing hardcore PCE like EMT and CNA to start with? Is debt worth it? Does work start to feel monotonous and is there room to grow and take up the leadership role over time?
How difficult is it to break into corporate world rn, what is the realistic entry-level compensation?
I know I sound annoying with all these questions but I am just so tired of thinking about all of this - success and financial independence really matters to me. Be brutally honest and realistic, please.