By Kristin Burton, PA-C | Millionaires in Medicine

The projections are impossible to ignore. Depending on which study you read, AI is expected to displace somewhere between 80 million and 800 million jobs globally within the next five years. Every industry is watching. Every professional is quietly doing the math on their own career.

As medical professionals, most of us have operated with a quiet confidence that we're different. That the human complexity of patient care: the empathy, the nuance, the hands-on nature of what we do, would insulate us from the wave hitting everyone else.

I used to believe that too. I'm not so sure anymore.

The Fields We Thought Were Safe Are Being Watched Closely

For years, the conversation around AI and medicine has centered on a single metric: automatable hours. What percentage of a given job could theoretically be handled by a machine?

By this measure, radiology and pathology have long been flagged as the most vulnerable. Both are heavily pattern-...

PA Specialties Salary 2026: The Highest and Lowest Paying Careers — And What Actually Builds Wealth

I became a millionaire at 31 on a PA salary.

Not a physician salary. A PA salary (in cardiology and critical care) built by choosing the right specialty, understanding my contract, and getting strategic with investing.

Most PA salary articles are going to stop at the number. They'll show you a ranking, hand you a table, and call it a day. But the number on your offer letter is not the same as the money you actually keep. And the money you keep is not the same as the wealth you build.

This is the full picture: the highest and lowest paid PA specialties in 2026, the states where your dollar goes furthest, the contract structures that separate the top earners from everyone else, and the compensation levers most PAs never think to negotiate… or even ask about.

Quick Answer: Highest-Paid PA Specialties in 2026

Based on data from Marit Health, the top five earning PA specialties in 2026 ...

If you’re a PA looking for a high-paying side hustle that doesn’t require extra shifts, legal medicine is one of the most interesting options out there.

Why?

Because it lets you use the clinical expertise you’ve already built — but in a nonclinical way that can often be done from home and pays far more per hour than most clinical work.

In this conversation, I sat down with Susan Ferrero, a PA with 20 years of experience who built her own path into the medical-legal space and now runs Ferrero Medical Consulting full-time.

If you’ve ever wondered whether there’s a way to turn your clinical experience into flexible nonclinical income, this is a path worth knowing about.

What Is Legal Medicine for PAs?

At the simplest level, legal medicine means helping attorneys understand medical cases.

That can include:

• reviewing records
• analyzing whether care met the standard
• writing reports
• serving as an expert witness
• helping explain medical concepts in legal cases

And despite what m...

Most people outside the anesthesia world have never heard of a certified anesthesiologist assistant (CAA), and the salary data tends to surprise them.

CAAs are master’s-prepared anesthesia providers who work within a physician-led Anesthesia Care Team, delivering anesthesia and managing patients across the perioperative period under the direction of a supervising anesthesiologist. Entry requires a competitive premedical undergraduate background, a rigorous graduate admissions process, and a national certifying examination. The profession is currently authorized in more than 20 jurisdictions, with new state-level legislation advancing each legislative cycle. The workforce currently sits at roughly 4,000 practitioners, a number that reflects where the profession is in its geographic expansion, not a ceiling on where it is headed.

A small, specialized workforce operating in high-demand clinical environments tends to command strong compensation. The data bears that out, though some of it...

If you’ve ever taken a job that looked perfect on paper… but felt awful in real life?

This is for you.

As a PA with nearly a decade in hospital medicine, critical care, and cardiology — I’ve signed a lot of contracts. I’ve also worked multiple PRN/per diem jobs, and through Millionaires in Medicine, I’ve helped hundreds of medical professionals navigate their careers.

So yes… I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Before you sign your next contract, you need to understand one concept that prevents most job regret:

Your scope of practice ramp + your compensation ramp.

If those two don’t grow together, you’ll eventually feel trapped — clinically, financially, or both.

The #1 Contract Mistake Medical Professionals Make

Most clinicians focus on the salary number and stop there.

But the real question is:

“What does this job become in 1–2–3–4 years?”

Your scope should expand as your skills expand. Your pay should expand as your value expands.

If your employer has no plan for ...

Signing an employment contract as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant can feel deceptively simple. An offer is on the table. The role sounds exciting. 

Yet, the fine print in APP contracts often shapes your workload, compensation, autonomy and long-term satisfaction far more than the job description ever will.

Whether you’re early in your career or an experienced APP considering a change, understanding the key elements of your contract and where problems commonly hide can help you avoid costly missteps—protecting your career.

Below are practical, recruiter-backed tips every NP and PA should know before signing—plus three bonus insights for dermatology NPs and PAs to pay attention to.

1. Compensation Is More Than a Base Salary

Many nurse practitioners and physician assistants / associates focus first on base pay, but NP/PA contracts often include additional components that significantly affect total compensation.

Pay close attention to: 

• Productivity bonuses (RVUs, coll...

Your income drives every financial goal - paying down debt, owning a home, saving for retirement, and building financial freedom.

At Millionaires in Medicine, the focus is on building confidence and structure around budgeting, investing, and long-term planning. That progress depends on consistent income.

What happens if you can’t work?

Disability insurance exists to protect cash flow – the same way diversification protects a portfolio or insurance protects a property. During the accumulation phase of your career, income continuity is the foundation of every financial strategy. Without it, even disciplined savers and investors are forced into damage control.

A medical professional earning $100,000 at age 32 is on track to generate nearly $7 million over his or her career. Shouldn’t that multi-million dollar asset be insured?

Disability Risk is More Common Than People Realize

Many people assume disability only applies to catastrophic events, like paralysis from a car accident or a ...

Most physician assistants don’t earn less because they aren’t valuable.

They earn less because they’re too polite to ask.

I’ve seen it over and over again—smart, capable PAs leaving tens of thousands of dollars on the table simply because negotiation feels uncomfortable, intimidating, or “ungrateful.”

I’m Kristin Burton, PA-C, and I’ve been a PA for nearly a decade. I’ve negotiated primary jobs, per diem roles, investment deals, and business contracts. And I can tell you this with certainty:

Failing to negotiate doesn’t just affect your next paycheck—it compounds into decades of under-earning and lost wealth.

Why Negotiation Feels So Hard for PAs

I still remember my first PA job offer.

I was on rotation when the email hit my inbox. My heart was racing. I was thrilled. They could have offered me almost any number and I would’ve said yes.

I was just grateful to have a six-figure job as a new grad.

Negotiation wasn’t even on my radar.

And that mindset—“Where do I sign?”—follows ...