Contact Questions: salary vs hours worked and profit sharing

[Johnson2018pac]

I'm a new graduate and am evaluating my first offer and needing a little help understanding some of the details of an offer I'm evaluating.

 

This is for a large surgery group that is growing and it's in the southeast but these details aren't super important to the questions I have.

 

1) The base salary is right at the average salary for the region for a new grad. However, the hours are 50 per week rather than 40. Am I correct in that I should probably break this down to what it comes in at hourly to see how I'm actually being compensated? I feel like this is considerably under the average pay for that many hours.

 

2.) There is profit sharing within the group. Does anyone have any experience with that? If so is it a considerable benefit or not? There's not many details about actual numbers.

 

3.) There is quite a lot of driving involved going to the different hospitals and surgery centers this group operates at. They do reimburse for mileage, pay the credentialing fees and all the other fees associated with that. However, there is no mention in the contract about where you might have to go because they said if they expand to other facilities then it could change. Currently everywhere is within an hour drive but hypothetically it seems there isn't any protection for me if they add somewhere 2 hours away and tell me I have to drive there 5 days a week. Any thoughts on this?

 

 

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[AbeTheBabe]

1) I would base it on the hours you'll be working. If you're working 25% more than the average new grad, you should be earning 25% more. But you mention base salary, is there a bonus structure? Do you know how it works?

 

2) Profit sharing can be a benefit, but probably more so with a fast growing tech company or something like that. I would rank a nice 401K match over profit sharing.

 

3) Unless they are going to pay you for the extra time you spend driving, I'd probably try to get a limit on which locations you'd be going to.

[Johnson2018pac]

1) I would base it on the hours you'll be working. If you're working 25% more than the average new grad, you should be earning 25% more. But you mention base salary, is there a bonus structure? Do you know how it works?

 

2) Profit sharing can be a benefit, but probably more so with a fast growing tech company or something like that. I would rank a nice 401K match over profit sharing.

 

3) Unless they are going to pay you for the extra time you spend driving, I'd probably try to get a limit on which locations you'd be going to.

Thanks for sharing that Abe. There is no bonus structure within this job. There is also mandatory rotating weekend coverage which pays at a higher rate. However, since this has no effect on your 50 hour workweek (it's in addition to it) it's totally separate.

 

By doing the math, at 25% more would put me around $110k just to be average pay for a new grad. I think they would totally scoff at this figure unfortunately.

 

 

 

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[AbeTheBabe]

Sometimes surgery involves longer hours. I usually work more than 40 hours, but I also receive 10% of my collections as a bonus on top of my base salary. I'd definitely go back to them with a higher amount though. If they are offering you the job, you are the best person for it and hopefully they will pay you accordingly. You can say something like:

 

Thank you for your offer. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with your team, and I hope to be an asset to the practice. However, given the long working hours and driving involved with this position, I am hoping my base salary can be offered at 100K. Thank you for your consideration.

 

Just to give an idea. Maybe some of the more experienced negotiators can help out :)

[sas5814]

One huge caveat about profit sharing and productivity. Be clear about who is counting the beans and what your recourse is if you feel you are getting shorted. get it in writing. I could tell you horror stories about the wife of the physician/practice manager screwing people over or companies or practices refusing to provide the data you need to verify numbers. Trust but verify.

[anewconvert]

Sometimes surgery involves longer hours. I usually work more than 40 hours, but I also receive 10% of my collections as a bonus on top of my base salary. I'd definitely go back to them with a higher amount though. If they are offering you the job, you are the best person for it and hopefully they will pay you accordingly. You can say something like:

 

Thank you for your offer. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with your team, and I hope to be an asset to the practice. However, given the long working hours and driving involved with this position, I am hoping my base salary can be offered at 100K. Thank you for your consideration.

 

Just to give an idea. Maybe some of the more experienced negotiators can help out :)

 

Drop the "I am hoping" part.

 

Something like "Given the hours and travel requirements I believe that a salary of $100,000 [+/- asking for travel reimbursement] would make this a position that I would be comfortable accepting" YMMV but i don't believe you want to come to the negotiations with your hat in hand. They have extended an offer, no need to go groveling to them for fair compensation.