Dondoro88 Posted August 10, 2011 I've been talking to a 2nd year PA student who told me he was offered a job at a Veterans Hospital in a Very small state with a salary of 45-50k. He said he was seriously considering the offer due to having to deal with some family issues. My question is: could such a decision be detrimental to his future earnings? Assuming he does 1 or more years in surgery then applies to a big city, would his wage catch up or be in sync with the 45k accepted at the beginning? What would you do?
Moderator EMEDPA Posted August 10, 2011 Moderator you can make more than 45 as an er tech(one of our techs made 60k last yr with minimal overtime)..our local senior paramedics make 65k with no overtime. no way I would ever work for that money unless it was a dream job, part time, and I was semiretired. 45 is around 60% of the natl avg.
Just Steve Posted August 10, 2011 Was it a PA job? Would pay bump up once he was no longer a student?
Moderator EMEDPA Posted August 10, 2011 Moderator top step for our techs is around 23/hr after 10 yrs or so and they get differentials for nights and long shifts. I think starting is around 15/hr or so. top for our nurses is 38/hr before differentials.
Dondoro88 Posted August 10, 2011 Author From what I understood the pay wouldn't increase significantly, which is why I'm wondering if the exit opportunities would still be worth it. Meaning, would he be able to take a significant bump in salary after transferring out? Or would the 45k be a sore point on his record.
convulsed Posted August 10, 2011 The salary is low, but the state of our economy is even lower. Imho its better than nothing. Count it as an experience and launching pad. There are a lot of hungry new grad PA's out there who would probably approach this with the same mentality . You said Veterans hospital right? They probably have a lot of perks with that low salary, most gov positions do...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted August 10, 2011 Moderator working weekend nights on float pool sounds like the key to making big bucks as a nurse. nope working agency at 60/hr is the key to big bucks as an rn.
Just Steve Posted August 10, 2011 From what I understood the pay wouldn't increase significantly, which is why I'm wondering if the exit opportunities would still be worth it. Meaning, would he be able to take a significant bump in salary after transferring out? Or would the 45k be a sore point on his record. Consider the source...just a student...but I haven't ever known a salary to follow a person. During negotiations with their next job, they need to go in with a number in mind and work from there. If asked about their previous salary, they can cite that it is personal and would rather discuss their new salary. I would not want an employer to pay me based on what my previous employer paid me. I would want my new employer to pay me based on my resume', interview, the current local average wage, cost of living, and expected duties/hours. A seasoned PA demands a higher wage than a new grad. I realize money isn't everything, but at 45K/yr, with a 2000 hour work load (which is on the light side) that boils down to 22/hr wage. (which will only decrease as they work past that 2000 hr year). I don't know if there is loan repayment option for them, but if we skip all the interest rate stuff which I am no good at...let's take 60,000 in student loans, 15 year payback, that boils down to 330 bucks a month in payments...that's just under 10% of their income. While I understand that their home problems must be weighing very heavy on them and they probably don't want to think about other people's issues, but if they take that wage, it sets a precedent for future PAs in that job once it becomes open again. Nurses make double, have half the responsibility. Techs make more...my wage for a paramedic was 28/hr. They are a medical provider with direct responsibility to the lives of people. Get paid poor wages for the job that you are expected to perform, what do you think the company's expectations are for them?
Moderator ventana Posted August 10, 2011 Moderator careful on the VA - their posted rates are not the rates they end up paying. There is this big lengthy formula they put everything into when you are hired and out spits your pay..... but usually the big kicker is bringing up the fact you should be the same as an NP - one VA job I intrerviewed for (and was offered) listed pay at 55k, then after all the fluff the offer was "in the mid to high 80's" I never accepted to don't know the actual #. As for 45k/yr - I would not take it unless you were just about homeless - you will realize that by taking a job at that level you are really putting the screws to the established PA's and all other PA's everywhere..... it basically says pa's are not worth a crap.... makes it hard for anyone else to justify their demands of 70-80-90-100k when you are working for 45k...
nweston Posted August 10, 2011 For what its worth, I'm currently pre-PA. I work at a VA, albeit in a larger state, but I make 43k as a research assistant, where the only requirement was a BS. I second the above posting that it might actually be higher.
brookspa Posted August 10, 2011 The best raise you will ever get is a well negotiated starting rate, from then on it is production or %.
Moderator ventana Posted August 10, 2011 Moderator The best raise you will ever get is a well negotiated starting rate, from then on it is production or %. those are the most wise words I have seen on this forum - - -
paleanne Posted August 10, 2011 I took a very low salary (lower than that) when I first graduated 6 years ago working at a mission clinic, however, my student loans were paid by them and had housing/excellent benefits...if it weren't for those extras, I wouldn't have taken the low salary. When I left that clinic and got a much better paying job, I felt like I had won the lottery :-) For me it didn't affect my future earnings and I'm making a very good salary now.
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