Physician Assistant Vs Genetic Counseling.

Career Opportunities & Internships
1

<p>I'm a rising junior in college majoring in biology. I have eliminated almost all career options except these two. I am now finding it very difficult to narrow these choices down to one. And for those that don't know, genetic counselors counsel people with genetic disorders such as down's syndrome, genetic forms of cancer, etc.</p>

<p>I've bee weighing the pros and cons and it looks something like this:</p>

<p>GC PROS: Less intense Masters program, lots of time with patients (sessions are one hour), less time demanding career (friendly hours)
GC CONS: Avg 50k/yr salary, less jobs available (could even need to move across the country to get the specialty I want), patients will often not get better or have less room for improvement</p>

<p>PA PROS: Avg 80k salary, lateral mobility between specialties, more jobs available, can help patients to get better
PA CONS: More intense Masters program, less time with patients, more time demanding career</p>

<p>I've shadowed both, and liked both. Please help me decide or possibly give me some advice on how to decide.</p>

2

<p>I’m going to bump this because I’m a high school senior and I’m seriously considering both careers, so I would like to hear what people have to say about them.</p>

3

<p>I’d say go with PA rather than a GC because with a PA you can advise a wide variety of people and there are more jobs available.</p>