PAinSoCal Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Salary- first 3 months there would be some training so salary would be lower - about 35 an hour (Do you guys think this is reasonable?).. after that it would go up to 45, but not sure 45 is enough for the amount of work I'll be doing, and it is in Los Angeles (hiiiigh cost of living). I'd be working with a very low-income population, which I like, but the volume is high- about 50 patients a day. Is that crazy to try to do as a new grad? Also, I'm concerned about the time off- doctor tells me that he'd give me 2 weeks off to do as I please with - Sick leave, vacation, CME. That's not nearly enough, is it? I've always believed it to be standard to start at 2 weeks off just for vacation time, so don't I need extra for sick leave and CME? Besides that, it sounds pretty good. Relocation assistance, etc. Thoughts? Thanks so much :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAinSoCal Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 I'm reading a few of the other threads here and I think I'm answering my own question - the terms of this job are starting to seem pretty ridiculous :( ... however there are very few jobs in southern california for new grads, and I might end up having to take this, uh oh.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA-Larb Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 After reading your post, all I can say is, PAIN SO CAL. Horrific deal, you might as well be a nurse. And yes, 50 a day is absolutely insane for a new grad. I work urgent care and I see between 30-60 a day. 50-60 a day is not enjoyable, and that is over 12 hours. You might as well plan on moving to make a better living and to have a good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightbearer06 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Ditto... 2 weeks plus major holidays maybe...but only if there is a plan to increase this by x days a year. 45 an hour is not too bad where I work, but I don't know about So Cal cost of living. 50 patients a shift is laughable though. You will probably not learn much, and you will be dealing with patients that probably need a lot of education about conditions. If I were a new grad, I would run from this for that reason alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbrothers98 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Is this primary care or a specialty? GB PA-C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Febrifuge Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I think it's getting clearer, but just so I can pile on a little.. Salary- first 3 months there would be some training so salary would be lower - about 35 an hour (Do you guys think this is reasonable?) Nope. Your salary should be your salary, and they should understand that you'll need a breaking-in or a ramping-up period. They should be making an investment in you, in time and training, which they should be confident will pay off. This thing about paying you less during training might seem logical, but it sends what I feel is a pretty negative message about how they value you. Maybe this is just how things work in a more saturated employment market, but here in the North it strikes me as odd. after that it would go up to 45, but not sure 45 is enough for the amount of work I'll be doing, and it is in Los Angeles (hiiiigh cost of living). Well, exactly. Knowing how much it costs just to live out there, it seems really outrageous they're offering you so little. GB's question is important too about whether this is primary care or a specialty, but wow, is $45 an hour considered okay in SoCal? I'd be working with a very low-income population, which I like, but the volume is high- about 50 patients a day. Is that crazy to try to do as a new grad? No, it's just crazy to try to do, period. My organization tries to schedule a mix of 20 and 40-minute visits throughout a scheduled clinic day, and they allow for some last-minute additions but they aim at 18 to 24 visits per day. Just to let you know. And they pay more than $45 an hour to do it that way, too. Also, I'm concerned about the time off- doctor tells me that he'd give me 2 weeks off to do as I please with - Sick leave, vacation, CME. That's not nearly enough, is it? I've always believed it to be standard to start at 2 weeks off just for vacation time, so don't I need extra for sick leave and CME? Yes. That's exactly right. Don't let anyone try to tell you that your CME time, your sick time, your vacation (and your paid holidays when the office is simply closed) are the same thing. They're not. 2 weeks above and beyond the standard Labor Day/ Memorial Day/ MLK Day/ etc is kind of weak, but it can be okay for a new person. You should get more paid vacation time the longer you're with a group. And sick time should be calculated seperately, according to some fair and neutral system (e.g., every 40 hours worked you get x hours in the "bucket" of allowable sick time; ideally you get some proportion of those hours paid as a bonus at the end of the year if you don't use them). CME time helps the practice because it helps keep you current and effective, in theory. CME is way more like work than vacation. Besides that, it sounds pretty good. Relocation assistance, etc. I just want to say it sounds so weird that they're willing to pay relocation assistance and then gouge you for all this other stuff that should be so much more common. Again, maybe I'm just unfamiliar with the cutthroat style of SoCal's market, but wow. So many red flags it looks like a Swiss honor guard, from here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 18, 2015 Moderator Share Posted March 18, 2015 that's only slightly more than the starting pay I made at my first job in SoCal....20 years ago..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAinSoCal Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 Ha, thanks everyone. I am respectfully declining that offer because 1. I passed my PANCE! found out today! feeling all sorts of confident that I can get something better and 2. I DID find something better, yesterday. And they want me to sign right away, which is a good sign, right? The terms: - $50 an hour, from the very beginning. Even with a 2-week shadowing period. That's more like it. - 2 weeks paid off but then when I asked for an additional week for CME and 2,000 CME buckos they said "you got it". - everything else is good. I'm so excited y'all. Life is good! To all of the new PAs out there - Don't take a crappy offer because you don't think you can get something better as a new grad. For me it only took a few more days of looking. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAinSoCal Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 But seriously, thank goodness for this forum. I had a feeling that the other offer was not a good one, but it is ABSOLUTELY invaluable to be able to get this kind of feedback from colleagues who know better than I do. Rock on, PAs! - a PA-C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal_PA Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Congratulations! Keep driving up that entry level pay for SoCal PAs. I'll be in your position in one year and will refuse to consider anything below 95K/year with normal hours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electric130 Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Congrats on finding a better offer. It benefits all of us when we refuse to take ridiculously low offers. I am amazed at some of the new grad offers I am seeing. I started practice 12 years ago and was offered 35/hour then as a new grad. That is just not acceptable, good for you for taking the time to think it through and not take the first thing offered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delco714 Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Have fun with your two weeks off. All that money goes to savings, retirement and other adult stuff, with hardly any time to play. I find with stressful sub surgical job, for me, that if I don't get at least some time off every other month, I get burned out and depressed. Having said that,I get 6wk pto plus 1 wk cme ($3k). Only took 5 weeks off or just shy. I really feel PAs should have at least 4 wk pto to be maximizing quality of life and efficiency when not off relaxing. Glad you found a BETTER job, and glad you're happy. Congrats on the cert. Cheers to a good career Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAinSoCal Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 6 weeks PTO? wow, I haven't heard of anyone getting even close to that as new grads. Especially in California where it seems like it's an employer's market at the time. Obviously I would have liked to have gotten 3, 4, 5, 6 weeks off but when they offered 2 and I added another for CME, I felt like it was okay. For now :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FSUnoles Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Have fun with your two weeks off. All that money goes to savings, retirement and other adult stuff, with hardly any time to play. I find with stressful sub surgical job, for me, that if I don't get at least some time off every other month, I get burned out and depressed. Having said that,I get 6wk pto plus 1 wk cme ($3k). Only took 5 weeks off or just shy. I really feel PAs should have at least 4 wk pto to be maximizing quality of life and efficiency when not off relaxing. Glad you found a BETTER job, and glad you're happy. Congrats on the cert. Cheers to a good career what kind of hours are you working?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delco714 Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Currently m-f 8-4ish. Soon to be 4-10s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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