question about CT first assisting and reimbursement

[lauraadora]

I've been in the peds cardiac world since I graduated so I'm a little out of touch with regards to the adult world... I am interviewing at an adult hospital who utilizes NPs for all clinic/floor work and RNFAs in the OR, and they now want to introduce a PA in the mix. The position will be heavily OR-based which is what I want, but I want to make sure they don't want me to just harvest veins all day and then do floor work/clinic. I know vein harvesting is a CT surgery PA's bread and butter so I'm aware that I'll have to learn that skill but my question is, timing-wise: how long does it take to harvest and prepare the vein? Once it's prepared, do you then take over the first assist position? If so, how far into the procedure is the surgeon (is the patient on bypass yet)? What percentage of your case-load involves vein harvesting versus valve replacements or other surgeries? Does every CABG utilize saphenous veins or are mammaries used some of the time? I hope I don't sound naive... I have tons of knowledge with regards to heart failure, hemodynamics, rhythm, etc and I have some surgical assisting experience so my skills should translate once I am in the field but I just don't know the adult world yet.

Separately, peds also pays very differently so I wanted to see if there are any CT or other surgical PAs in the greater Philadelphia area that could weigh in on salary expectations. I interviewed awhile back for a job in Wilmington DE (~45 minutes outside Philly) that paid WAY more than I was expecting (ultimately turned that one down because it involved a lot of ICU coverage which is not my cup of tea) but Philly is a little different because it's a little more saturated with PAs. 

Also, if I end up taking this job, recommendations are welcome for learning resources! Thank you all in advance for your help and insight