nguye862 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Hello, I'm a hospitalist PA with current practice in MN but I am moving to CA (Sacramento area) to be with my sig other. I was offered a position at a cardiology clinic in town and they have never hired a PA or NP before. Can anyone tell me what is the average annual salary for a PA in CA? Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aimyhtixela Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 I can't comment on cardiology in CA but if it helps you get a bit of perspective, I'm a graduating PA-S who recently received multiple offers in FM all over CA (northern, central, and southern) from community health centers and none of them were below six figures. PAs seem to be on the higher salary range in the state. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
924er Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 I work as a respiratory therapist and make six figures. Nurses make more money than me. It seems like FM or private practices pay PAs low.. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystaltide Posted February 23, 2017 Share Posted February 23, 2017 Check out the AAPA salary report. Fairly helpful in estimating salary. If you're in California working as a PA in a specialty, I don't see any way you could take a job for under $100k even as a new grad. As far as nurses' pay, I agree that there are a lot of nurses that get paid more than I do, but that's including overtime and way more hours to be full time than I work. NorCal pays their nurses very, very well, and the traveling nurses even better. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyfall Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 One of my friends started with 90K doing orthopedics in SF. I started off with 120K in outpatient primary care in SF. The rent is high in the city. I heard Stanford pays news PAs starting at 130K. So it depends on location and the practice but I think 90K+ is fair for a California PA in general. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eian01 Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 For a new grad $100K is the average salary it also depends on your negotiation skills and associated benefits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
924er Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 Where are you working as an RT making 6 figures? You're either working 80 hours a week or doing sales. Definitely not the norm. I'd go back to being an RT if I could make 6 figures, I'd be able to catch up on my sleep I work at Barlow. Sorry to mislead you, I didn't specify that I'm putting in overtime. But if a PA salary monday through Friday job will pay the same, I don't see the benefit? Anyways, too late now I'm starting PA in august and I'm excited nonetheless Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbeTheBabe Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 California is a big state, it would help if you were more specific. I made 95K + 10% of collections as a new grad. Just got a 5K bump after 1 year. This is in LA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
924er Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 California is a big state, it would help if you were more specific. I made 95K + 10% of collections as a new grad. Just got a 5K bump after 1 year. This is in LA. That's great as a new grad. Was this salary or hourly? I think I would prefer 12hr shifts and hang on to 2 jobs. I'm just that kind of guy when it comes to work. I grind hard. The great thing about this profession are the endless opportunities for growth. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbeTheBabe Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 That's great as a new grad. Was this salary or hourly? I think I would prefer 12hr shifts and hang on to 2 jobs. I'm just that kind of guy when it comes to work. I grind hard. The great thing about this profession are the endless opportunities for growth. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk This is salary, M-F. No call/weekends though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sscheinfe Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 Wowwww. In NYC, the average starting salary for a PA is about $80,000!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bike mike Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 I was looking at cardiology in SF/Bay Area and offers were between $130-144 K but then again I have completed a cardiology residency. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annika Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 Some of these salaries make me sad! I wish I started at over 100K. 5 years out and I have my first salary over 100K. And I am grateful! I started in the beautiful town of Asheville NC, making about 84/year. Moved to UC, made a bit more. I guess you have to compare cost of living. but wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbeTheBabe Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 Considering I'm looking at houses around $700K, I guarantee you're better off in Asheville NC making $84K/year :) Good thing my wife works too! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katera Posted April 26, 2017 Share Posted April 26, 2017 Considering I'm looking at houses around $700K, I guarantee you're better off in Asheville NC making $84K/year :) Good thing my wife works too! $700k lol ....Sweet mercy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
south Posted April 26, 2017 Share Posted April 26, 2017 They still doing a lot of interest-only loans over there, or did that go away in the big blowup? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbeTheBabe Posted April 26, 2017 Share Posted April 26, 2017 Haven't heard of people doing it, but not sure. I know getting approved is a lot harder, but there's always ways around it. 165K is what my wife and I make before my bonuses and this was enough to be qualified for a 700K house with 10% down through a major bank. Mortgage/taxes/PMI will be around $4K/month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nguye862 Posted May 25, 2017 Author Share Posted May 25, 2017 Thank you everyone. I ended up accepting a position with Kaiser Permanente with excellent pay and benefits for a 35h work week. The bigger health care systems will pay you so much more compared to these small private clinics (ab ~50k difference in base salary?) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joelseff Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 @aimyhixtela: Not necessarily... I know of a place that starts PAs at about 135k for FP/IM. Nurses here make more IF they work overtime or they've been working for a hundred years... And working OT. Edit: for some reason the Tapatalk app doesn't copy the quoted post on replies since the website update [emoji848] Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aimyhtixela Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 13 hours ago, Joelseff said: @aimyhixtela: Not necessarily... I know of a place that starts PAs at about 135k for FP/IM. Nurses here make more IF they work overtime or they've been working for a hundred years... And working OT. Edit: for some reason the Tapatalk app doesn't copy the quoted post on replies since the website update Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk My comment was to show OP values to relate to. I emphasized 'FM in community health centers' because when people hear those words they hear 'low wages'. My highest offer was 120K starting as a new grad. Surely specialties and for-profits ought to pay more. I agree that nurses make a killing here but that's after a lot of work. My uncle's a retired RN after working nearly 2 FT jobs at Kaiser and Sutter for 25+ years. He was bringing in around $250K which is just ridiculous. I will say though, when your state income tax alone is around 10% or higher it's gotta make you want to cry a little. lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbeTheBabe Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 Out of curiosity, what is Kaiser paying you and how many year experience do you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger777 Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 Im a new grad and work in the central valley. My blended rate for 3 12s is $68. Additional 12 is $73.33. $87 for anything after that plus any holidays which i try to work. So about 170 for 48 hrs/wk. Next year i get 7% 401k match (12k) and bonus est 5k so about 190. 4 wks pto. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PACJD Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 On 12/16/2017 at 5:44 AM, roger777 said: Im a new grad and work in the central valley. My blended rate for 3 12s is $68. Additional 12 is $73.33. $87 for anything after that plus any holidays which i try to work. So about 170 for 48 hrs/wk. Next year i get 7% 401k match (12k) and bonus est 5k so about 190. 4 wks pto. what speciality is this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dod21 Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 This is why the PA Profession is so divided. We need to stick together and tell the truth upfront especially to new grads. This is exactly why we cannot form bargaining groups or unions. As a PA in the SAn Jose area with about 10 years experience in urgent care I am getting 165K. In the SF city area it’s much hire about 195k. In Sacramento area it’s about 150 K. In Bakersfield because it is much cheaper to live there it’s about 125k. In Los Angeles it’s about 150 K. That’s from some of my colleagues throughout the state. Please be upfront so we can all know how to negotiate better pay. 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wahwahwei Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 On 8/24/2021 at 5:38 PM, Dod21 said: This is why the PA Profession is so divided. We need to stick together and tell the truth upfront especially to new grads. This is exactly why we cannot form bargaining groups or unions. As a PA in the SAn Jose area with about 10 years experience in urgent care I am getting 165K. In the SF city area it’s much hire about 195k. In Sacramento area it’s about 150 K. In Bakersfield because it is much cheaper to live there it’s about 125k. In Los Angeles it’s about 150 K. That’s from some of my colleagues throughout the state. Please be upfront so we can all know how to negotiate better pay. Thanks for being transparent. As a new grad, it is so hard for me to find current pay rates in CA. All we have to rely on is UCSF or UC system payscale or transparent california website. The AAPA salary report is not really useful and it's so generalized, especially for CA where living cost varies city to city, even if they are closed to each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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