Physicians and physician recruiters know PAs are vital to healthcare, which is why Doximity just launched Career Navigator for PAs – the first crowdsourced salary map for PAs by specialty and county.

The PA profession is expected to grow by thirty percent within the next decade (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics). As PAs find themselves in increasingly higher demand, they can tap into this trove of peer salary data to better equip themselves for salary negotiations or new career opportunities. PAs continue to contribute to Career Navigator, making it the most up-to-date source of salary data available.

Any certified physician assistant can access Career Navigator for free once they have submitted their own anonymous salary survey to the community. PAs can browse salaries by county and across specialties, which is especially significant for PAs who may change specialties over the course of their career. With over 25% of US PAs on the Doximity network, Career Navigator creates an unprecedented opportunity for transparency in the profession.

Here are a few key findings from the 2016 PA Career Navigator:

Pay differs by locale

PAs working in urban areas make approximately 5% more than PAs in rural areas. Interestingly, the reverse trend is true for physicians, who tend to make more in less populated areas of the county than those in metropolitan areas.

Gender discrepancies exist across specialties

Despite the fact that over 65% of PAs are female, male PAs make 11% more than female PAs on average. The biggest pay gap exists in Thoracic Surgery, where men make about 35% more than women. The smallest discrepancy exists for Dermatology PAs, where no significant difference in compensation by gender was observed.

Pay grows initially with experience

PAs can expect salary to grow in the beginning of their careers. For the first 20 years of their practice, PA salaries increase steadily. After that, pay generally levels and remains steady for the remainder of a career.

Pay varies per specialty

The highest paid specialty overall was Thoracic Surgery. But, on an hourly basis, Dermatology and Emergency Medicine PAs make more than Thoracic Surgery PAs.

While Talent Finder users cannot access the salary map, we like to keep you updated on all the developments and additions we are making to the Doximity network. Everyday, more and more Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants join Doximity, and very soon we will be offering them the same career management choices that Doximity provides for physicians. Stay tuned for more info!