What next?

Tuesday, Niel had an interview for the Orthopedic surgery residency at Arrowhead hospital. This is a one year residency program (and the only orthopedic surgery residency in the state of California) and it so happens that the hospital is five minutes from our house. There are five applicants that we know of and two positions. We will find out tomorrow whether or not Niel will be accepted!

I have mixed feelings about the residency. Part of me (OK most of me) would love it if Niel was able to find a high paying job right out of school. It would be really nice to get 'settled down' in an area we would like to live long term. I am ready to move out of Colton but at the same time I'm not sure if I am ready to move out of California. If he did the residency, Niel would work an average of 70 hours a week and only get two weeks off. Basically I wouldn't ever see Niel if he did the residency. Not to mention that the pay is about the third of what we would make if he got a job right out of school.

On the other hand, Niel doing the residency would give him great experience, look good on a resume, and he could demand a higher salary after the residency. Allot of doctors hiring specialized physician assistant's require experience. By doing the residency, Niel would be considered for more positions and in turn, we would have more options when looking for a job. According to recruiters, the West Coast is slow right now. If we did the residency, maybe by next year he will have more job options.

I am really bad at making big decisions and I don't look forward to decisions such as these....I tend to be really indecisive. I will let you know what we find out tomorrow...