Boatswain2PA Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Sky - You are trading one extraordinarily high cost of living (COL) area for another. The cost of living index in Hollister is 145 (with 100 being the mean COL in the US). Means your $130K you make a year gets you the equivalent spending power of a $89,600/year income in a "Average" America (ie: a city with a COL of 100). The city I live in has a COL of 87. That means a $130K a year salary here gets me the equivalent spending power of $149,400 a year in "Average" America. So, a person making $130K a year in my city has $60,000 more per year in "spending power" than a person making $130K a year in your city. That is a huge difference. Want to feel like you have $60,000 more per year? Move to a cheaper place. To the OP: Income is important, but is only ONE of MANY important indices to understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas5814 Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 What do you do? What region of the US are you in? How long did it take you to get there? Could you describe your hours, work load, and scope of practice? Thanks! I'm in Texas. I was working in primary care/family medicine in a rural health clinic. I incorporated and became self employed and negotiated a rate of reimbursement for different services based on what an average visit profit was (no fee splitting), and then worked hard. I did office work some (but not a lot as it is the least profitable visit), tons of nursing home work, and a few housecalls as well as inpatient hospital work. I made between 140-200k with no benefits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G. Davenport Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Wow, I find this a very interesting topic. Perhaps a topic of youth. At 56, I prefer to identify with how much time I spend with my family and what was the last hike I went on. Of course, I understand the question was specific and simply being answered. I once made big money in practice. But I missed birthdays, holidays, and worked while sick. It simply isn't worth it. If I were seeking a new job, I would look for balance between life, family, and needed income and seek longevity which equals survival. It is hard to survive 200 plus hours a month or 12 hour shifts with no breaks, no lunch and every patient ticked off due to a five hour wait. Just my opinion. Seek that balance. Smile and capture life. Enjoy! BTW, I am hiring faculty now :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Wow, I find this a very interesting topic. Perhaps a topic of youth. At 56, I prefer to identify with how much time I spend with my family and what was the last hike I went on. Of course, I understand the question was specific and simply being answered. I once made big money in practice. But I missed birthdays, holidays, and worked while sick. It simply isn't worth it. If I were seeking a new job, I would look for balance between life, family, and needed income and seek longevity which equals survival. It is hard to survive 200 plus hours a month or 12 hour shifts with no breaks, no lunch and every patient ticked off due to a five hour wait. Just my opinion. Seek that balance. Smile and capture life. Enjoy! BTW, I am hiring faculty now :-) I think to many of us that have entered the profession more recently the concern is not so much "I want to make as much money as possible and be rich," but is more along the lines of "I want to make as much money as possible to get the government off my back and be able to possibly have a family and maybe even save for a decent retirement!" Giving up balance for a couple of years may be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas5814 Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Wow, I find this a very interesting topic. Perhaps a topic of youth. At 56, I prefer to identify with how much time I spend with my family and what was the last hike I went on. Of course, I understand the question was specific and simply being answered. I once made big money in practice. But I missed birthdays, holidays, and worked while sick. It simply isn't worth it. If I were seeking a new job, I would look for balance between life, family, and needed income and seek longevity which equals survival. It is hard to survive 200 plus hours a month or 12 hour shifts with no breaks, no lunch and every patient ticked off due to a five hour wait. Just my opinion. Seek that balance. Smile and capture life. Enjoy! BTW, I am hiring faculty now :-) Couldn't agree more. I'm 56 and slowing down and looking more towards that quality of life than anything else. That is one of the reasons I went back to being employed. I was making big money but working myself hard and every time I took time off I was worried about the money I wasn't making that day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted October 12, 2015 Moderator Share Posted October 12, 2015 SKY- there are a few rural, solo coverage, low volume, high acuity positions in the NE (maine, VT) that pay very well. I have found a few on the west coast. I just don't like the high volume and low acuity typical of UC. 30-35+ pts in 12 hrs is a recipe for burnourt for me, especially if all of these folks could have treated themselves at home with Tylenol, Sudafed, or an ace wrap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted October 12, 2015 Moderator Share Posted October 12, 2015 Jen- I sleep a lot at work. it's good. 12-16 pts in 24 hrs. trying to get out of the regular job(also nights, also with some sleep): 20-35 pts in 12 hrs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evolute Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 E- "268hr month! all24s I assume". My primary job is 4 48s/month. Once in a while I'll work 72s. Part time job is 19hr shift every Thur. A few years ago I worked locums at 72+ hrs regularly, at several EDs. As a medic I worked 9 24s/month... don't miss that silliness. I agree with Dr. davenport, work/life balance is important. 268h/month seems like a lot (and it is), but........I work 12 days/month with a very flexible schedule. Do I have to work holidays/weekends/nights? well yeah, I work in ED and hospital medicine. Honesty though, the only holidays that really matter to my family and me is turkey day and xmas. this year I am working thanksgiving....the first time I have worked either holiday in 3 years. So anyway.....7 years as a PA I have never missed a significant family event. Due in large part to understanding schedulers and fellow providers willing to cover/trade shifts.... I feel very fortunate in that regard. Work/life balance: Ideally, I would have 0% work and 100% life balance (duh, wouldn't we all).... now, if I could just figure out how to stop all the bills from coming in.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted October 13, 2015 Moderator Share Posted October 13, 2015 Dr. Davenport keeps trying to talk me in to full time academics. I might take him up on it some day....but not today....I think my full time job realizes I have 1 foot out the door and am looking at going full time rural. this year they scheduled me off all the major holidays and I only have to work 7 shifts/mo to keep full benefits...so what I am doing is this: full time job 8-9 12 hr nights rural job #1 four 12 hr shifts/mo rural job #2 24-60 hrs/mo, divided between 12s and 24s soon to be suburban solo coverage community hospital job: 1-2 12 hr night shifts/mo (however many I will subtract from full time job). hopefully this all works out to 180ish hrs/mo. There is the possibility of creating a full time job between rural job #1 and suburban solo job. same group. might do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G. Davenport Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 hopefully this all works out to 180ish hrs/mo. There is the possibility of creating a full time job between rural job #1 and suburban solo job. same group. might do it. My friend. Although I have worked in the places you describe, YOU are sick. Hmm, maybe it is the 10 years of so that I have on you. Or it could be my two sets of twins ages 8 and 6. Nah, you're just sick! And to think we have hiked together, how do you find the time? Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabsaf123 Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 I totally agree that money should not be the primary motivator especially because there are far easier ways to make money. However money is still important especially considering that undergrad + PA school make it easy to have over 200k in debt. I made this thread because a recent PA graduate working in EM told me that he is making in 115k+ a year working 3 12's a week. I just wanted to know if 130k was reasonably attainable by most PAs or if it was a ridiculously high number that no one ever reaches. From reading this thread it seems that a PA could reasonably make 130k, without having crazy hours, if they are a little flexible about things like specialty or location. Is this true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted October 14, 2015 Moderator Share Posted October 14, 2015 Greg- it's all about the long shifts and sleep at work...means you work fewer days and can do something the day after a 24... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electric130 Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 It is very attainable to make 130k as a PA. Depends on location and specialty. Seems like EM, ortho, derm are more likely to get to that range than others. In my area the hospitalists are making around 70/hr with benefits which is well over 130k for a 40 hour week. I am in GI and with experience and knowing my productivity have been able to negotiate 75/hour. I work three 9-5 days a week, and occasionally work a per diem position once a week when I have time with my kid's schedules. I think the key is being open to various opportunities and after 3-5 years of experience being able to negotiate what you are worth. If you are an efficient provider that patients respect and find an SP or group that realizes what you bring to the table you can do very well financially. It is expensive to go to PA school, I don't think many PAs go to school just to make a ton of money, practicing medicine can be very rewarding but it is a huge responsibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyblu Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I see about 20-25 pts in a 12 hour shift. And yes, my area (Boston area, not Hollister CA, that was an example of another job I recently heard of) has higher COL but this is where I live. Maybe some day that will change but given my and my spouse's personal preferences, we will likely move to another area with high-ish COL but hopefully better weather. Even despite the varied cost of living, PAs in this area make pretty comparable salaries across the board. And for this comparable salary, the amount I make now is quite a bit higher than what I was making in the ER (a mile away from my current job and seven million times more stressful with a crappy schedule that meant I never saw my kids.) So I'm very happy, thanks! My reply was to the OP's questions of what do you do, where do you work, etc. Doesn't mean anybody else needs to like my job or where I live, but I do! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTURedRaider Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 Urgent Care in Texas. I've been doing it for 2+ years but was able to make $170k my first year by averaging around 45-47 hours per week. No call. Work every other weekend typically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaijyn Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Previous job was ~120k/yr + RVUs for about 36hrs/wk. OT was at 1.5x hourly. RVUs were paid out monthly and I was taking home avg about 2k/month. This was in EM in the Southeast. Group was good but I left for a position where I could see and do more. Took a significant paycut but that is the trade off I suppose. The bank account misses the money but my satisfaction with what I get to see/do balances it out. Also, there is always PRN stuff. Money is nice, but honestly, it is not everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted October 16, 2015 Moderator Share Posted October 16, 2015 Gaijyn- I have done the same thing several times. I once took an 8 dollar/hr pay and lost 1.5x for overtime cut to move to a position with more autonomy and a better scope of practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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