SpikeDaCat Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Greetings, I was approached by an urgent care chain in my area a few months ago, and just yesterday they made me an offer (no specifics, just a "we want you" call and email). I haven't seen the contract yet - that should be coming via email in the next couple of days. I have been working in a one-doc (and me) family practice for 7.5 months, making... *cough* ...$35/hr... with no benefits. The doc is totally nice and this has been a great learning experience for me, but I know that the pay and lack of benefits are pretty lousy. I had a very difficult time landing a job after finishing PA school in another state, so yes, I did take the first thing I could get. Anyway, my question is this: what kind of hourly rate should I expect (or try for) for a busy urgent care clinic? Please note that this is in Utah, where competition is pretty fierce, and pay is a bit lower in general. Thanks in advance! PAChristine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JMPA Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 100K a year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted January 17, 2013 Moderator Share Posted January 17, 2013 no nights no weekends urgent care - $50/hour nights and weekends $65/hour 1.5 time for over 40 hours productivity of some type STOP working for $35/hour that his insulting and hurting every other PA out there... full time UC as trained PA should be about 100-110k/year learning starts at about $80k at the bottom with full bennies - full health $2500 CME 5-7 weeks PTO 2 weeks holidays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdumoch Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 ventana- do you have justification for this from any type of salary report? I work UC and feel I'm being underpaid, however, can't seem to find any real comps out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 17, 2013 Moderator Share Posted January 17, 2013 we have an affiliated urgent care and start our new grads out at 45/hr + full benefits + production for days, 50/hr for nights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 we have an affiliated urgent care and start our new grads out at 45/hr + full benefits + production for days, 50/hr for nights. Save a spot come this fall please...will be looking for gainful employment...assuming I pass the program/boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 17, 2013 Moderator Share Posted January 17, 2013 Save a spot come this fall please...will be looking for gainful employment...assuming I pass the program/boards. might have one actually. send me a pm a few months before you graduate. This is at the place our mutual friend used to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iman Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 ventana i wish i can find a job with the benefit you just listed !!! i did many interview before landing a job (hospitalist) (not very happy with) .. no one wants to offer any type of decent benefit to a new grad.. actually the best i could get was my current job with 2 wks vacation 1 wk cme and no holidays no sick days and no health benefit ... pay is 85K for a supposed 40 hrs (the actual time spent is 55-60 hrs) ... and all the other offers were no benefit period and pay was about 40$ !!!!! all i want to do now is gain some experience and re-try my job hunt again ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDaCat Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share Posted January 17, 2013 ventana - trust me, I'd love to make more than $35/hr, but as I said before, I had an extremely difficult time finding a position after I graduating (the reasons why are long and complicated). In fact, it took an entire YEAR, during which time I was working a horrible $9/hr call center job. There was no way that after a year of tirelessly searching, I would EVER turn down an offer, even if it was for less than I would have liked. You may find my wage "insulting," but what was I supposed to do? The market is tight in Utah and that's not good for new grads. Before I landed my current position, I did have many interviews, but every single rejection I got was because I had no work experience, and they chose to hire someone else who did. From a simple supply-and-demand perspective, it shouldn't be surprising that when the market is saturated, PA pay will drop, especially for new grads. Employers don't have to compete and try to woo potential PAs with impressive salaries because there are so many PAs out there looking for new or different work. I do thank everyone for the input on what an appropriate wage might be. Since this particular urgent care chain is pretty busy and is open on all weekends and most holidays, and since I still have less than a year of experience under my belt, it sounds like I should aim for about $45/hr. I'll see what the initial offer is when I get the contract, and that will help guide my negotiations. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iman Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 we have an affiliated urgent care and start our new grads out at 45/hr + full benefits + production for days, 50/hr for nights. where are you guys located? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted January 17, 2013 Moderator Share Posted January 17, 2013 ventana - trust me, I'd love to make more than $35/hr, but as I said before, I had an extremely difficult time finding a position after I graduating (the reasons why are long and complicated). In fact, it took an entire YEAR, during which time I was working a horrible $9/hr call center job. There was no way that after a year of tirelessly searching, I would EVER turn down an offer, even if it was for less than I would have liked. You may find my wage "insulting," but what was I supposed to do? The market is tight in Utah and that's not good for new grads. Before I landed my current position, I did have many interviews, but every single rejection I got was because I had no work experience, and they chose to hire someone else who did. From a simple supply-and-demand perspective, it shouldn't be surprising that when the market is saturated, PA pay will drop, especially for new grads. Employers don't have to compete and try to woo potential PAs with impressive salaries because there are so many PAs out there looking for new or different work. I do thank everyone for the input on what an appropriate wage might be. Since this particular urgent care chain is pretty busy and is open on all weekends and most holidays, and since I still have less than a year of experience under my belt, it sounds like I should aim for about $45/hr. I'll see what the initial offer is when I get the contract, and that will help guide my negotiations. Thanks again. The reason you could not get more in hourly rate is that new grads before you would take rates that were to low - you first hand felt the effect of it and for that I am sorry As I have stated before you can try to take everyone's advice but when it comes down to paying your own bills you just have to do what you need - $9 versus $35 is a clear choice. Now you need to start working on getting you pay higher - one way to do this is make sure that new hires are paid MORE then you - then you get a raise - you are in a tough spot - educate yourself on what you are generating for $$ (not billings but collections as they are FAR different) try to work hard, quickly, and do not work for free (staying late with out pay) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsc983 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 As a newer grad (only working 2 months now).....I'm working in Pennsylvania (also high competition, lower pay scale) in urgent care for $32/hour and that was after fighting for it. I have average benefits with nothing special..... Honestly, since you have some experience, you should definitely be making more than what I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEPA Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 What's the market like in Utah for PAs with experience, still crappy? I'm surprised to hear this difficult situation b/c of all the hype surrounding PAs having plentiful job offers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 17, 2013 Moderator Share Posted January 17, 2013 where are you guys located? pacific nw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted January 17, 2013 Moderator Share Posted January 17, 2013 where are you guys located? New England - MASS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDaCat Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share Posted January 17, 2013 What's the market like in Utah for PAs with experience, still crappy? I'm surprised to hear this difficult situation b/c of all the hype surrounding PAs having plentiful job offers. I haven't really explored the market as a PA with experience, since I've only been working for 7.5 months. I was planning on checking things out again after I had a full year under my belt... because just that one year makes you much more marketable. The interesting thing about this urgent care gig is that they contacted me based on an old application and resume that they had kept on file for about a year. This time, I wasn't really looking, but they were. There might be other Utah PAs around here who know the (experienced PA) market better than I do. All I know is that if you're a new grad looking for work in Utah, you'd better do rotations here, you'd better do some serious networking, and you'd better know someone in a position of power. If not, you could have a hard time finding something as a new grad. PAChristine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDaCat Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share Posted January 17, 2013 @ventana - sound advice. Thank you. I know I still have a lot to learn about the business aspect of being a PA... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen0508 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 There might be other Utah PAs around here who know the (experienced PA) market better than I do. All I know is that if you're a new grad looking for work in Utah, you'd better do rotations here, you'd better do some serious networking, and you'd better know someone in a position of power. If not, you could have a hard time finding something as a new grad. PAChristine Thats how it is nearly everywhere. Finding a good, well-paying job with no experience takes legwork and making connections. Just sending out applications isn't enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medic207 Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 It really bothers me to hear of all the low paying jobs you guys have been having to deal with. EMED up in WA stated what the hourly rates should be and usually are for most areas up in the NW. Not that our profession is any "better" than others but seriously a PA making less than 45 an hour is being screwed. I know moving can be tough, but I would highly recommend moving away from those areas that are ripping the PA profession off with insulting wages. Your likely are making some system/doc big bucks, if not they can't afford a PA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDaCat Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 **Now that I have explored the site more, I think this thread might be better located in the contracts/negotiations area of the forums, and I apologize for posting in the wrong place. If a moderator wants to move it, that's fine with me.** Update and new question - I still haven't received the contract yet (it should be coming by email any time now). Please rest assured that I will do my best to negotiate for great pay and benefits, but also know that unless something really concerning pops up in the contract or in my interactions with the company, I do plan to accept. So, since I haven't seen the contract and I don't know the details, would it be unwise for me to tell my current SP about the offer tomorrow? Would I be better off waiting a few more days or weeks or however long it takes to solidify the deal before I tell him? I just hate keeping secrets... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDaCat Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 I got the contract, and the hourly rate offered is definitely low. As someone who will have 8 mos experience when beginning this position, how hard should I fight for higher pay? How many dollars per hour leeway do I have in negotiations? I don't want to come off as greedy or hard to please. I don't think PAs here in general make as much as they do where many of you are located. I need to look at the salary report again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paula Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 First, don't tell your SP about the offer until you are absolutely sure you want the job and are able to negotiate a decent salary for the new position. Secondly, DO NOT WORRY ABOUT LOOKING GREEDY OR HARD TO PLEASE. Do not listen to that mantra and stand up for a decent wage that PAs shoud be paid. Doctors do not worry about if they look "greedy". I worked 3 years in an urgent care/walk-in clinic at $51 per hour, with benefits, retirement, health insurance and the clinic was located in a very small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, with a Critical Access Hospital. The three of us who covered the clinic should have been paid more. I left the position to work in FP in a similar small clinic, and am getting a better hourly wage now than at the UC. You worked hard for your degree and should not settle for nurse wages. $50 minimum, ask for time and a half on holidays, and weekend differential, plus benefits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDaCat Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 Median UC PA salary in utah is $100k, or about $48/hr. That number includes all UC PAs regardless of experience. 25th percentile is $80k, which is about what I was offered. I do have a couple of other significant concerns with the contract that I will definitely need to discuss before I sign anything, so I won't tell anyone just yet. All advice is greatly appreciated... I've never negotiated a contract before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAtheTIK Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 wow (at the range here)... my wife makes $55/hr at an UC clinic. Though, this is only per-diem, and in southern ME Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_me Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 I cant speak for the negotiations at all but yeah I wouldnt say anything to your SP until you have a solid contract in your hand that you would be wiling to sign.....at that point you may be able to use that to get your current SP to increase for your worth (if you want to stay where you are for more money and better bennies) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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