What's more important: higher pay or reasonable hours?
Given that many of us have a crazy amount of loan debt, I'm curious where the scale tips. Certainly everyone is different, but what's the spread? I have a relatively low cost of living in Atlanta. I would be happy to work fewer hours for proportionally less money. But other people may be trying to eliminate their debt more quickly or may be placing a higher premium on having more time later in their careers. What's the ideal take home for an NP after paying bills and loans each month? 1k, 2k, 5k (in my dreams)... Okay, okay, too many questions. I would love to get some discussion going though!
Cheers, ben
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Dealing with Different
Some times you get the best case scenario and some times you get reality. Right now I have reality. But for a brief moment things were looking well above my expectations.
Within the last week I was offered a job at a higher salary than I expected, with the expectation that I mentor new professionals, and with a choice of which team to be on. And, not incidentally, I thought I stood a real chance of being the next President of the Physical Therapy Association of Georgia (and therefore the youngest component president in APTA history). And then there was reality...
I won't say my opportunities have disappeared but the framing has changed...
My follow up questions to the job offer (sign on bonus for starting early, more time off for professional endeavors, rate of time off accrual, etc.) all came back with negative answers. Then I met with my mentor, the one that at CSM suggested enthusiastically that I run for president. He was less than enthusiastic. He was equivocal. And perhaps he was so for good reason, but, Dah!
My confidence in my ability to win the election has faltered. My desire to try anyway has not.
Life and my plans for the next few years seem less rosy. Admittedly, some of that is just the letting of wind out of my sails. This situation makes me wonder how close other NPs have come to making big career changing decisions and then either gone for it, consequences be damned, or backed off and acquiesced quietly.
I think it's time for a change and I'm not prone to run for challenges. It would just be nice to feel that a) a company is willing to bend rules to bring me on board, and b) that I had a strong advocate in my corner for running for a milestone position for an NP to achieve.
More on that come. And certainly, a blog on my nonexistent negotiation skills will follow.
Cheers,
Ben
Within the last week I was offered a job at a higher salary than I expected, with the expectation that I mentor new professionals, and with a choice of which team to be on. And, not incidentally, I thought I stood a real chance of being the next President of the Physical Therapy Association of Georgia (and therefore the youngest component president in APTA history). And then there was reality...
I won't say my opportunities have disappeared but the framing has changed...
My follow up questions to the job offer (sign on bonus for starting early, more time off for professional endeavors, rate of time off accrual, etc.) all came back with negative answers. Then I met with my mentor, the one that at CSM suggested enthusiastically that I run for president. He was less than enthusiastic. He was equivocal. And perhaps he was so for good reason, but, Dah!
My confidence in my ability to win the election has faltered. My desire to try anyway has not.
Life and my plans for the next few years seem less rosy. Admittedly, some of that is just the letting of wind out of my sails. This situation makes me wonder how close other NPs have come to making big career changing decisions and then either gone for it, consequences be damned, or backed off and acquiesced quietly.
I think it's time for a change and I'm not prone to run for challenges. It would just be nice to feel that a) a company is willing to bend rules to bring me on board, and b) that I had a strong advocate in my corner for running for a milestone position for an NP to achieve.
More on that come. And certainly, a blog on my nonexistent negotiation skills will follow.
Cheers,
Ben
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
How quickly things can change
Since returning from Belize, things have happened rapidly! To get to the crux of it, I have interviewed for a job and been offered a position. I am now having the "should I stay or should I go" theme play out with a very real set of consequences. I could leave my "comfy" 40 hour a week job which is... not 100% fulfilling. Or, I could take a salaried job that involves many more hours but also much more stimulation. (And they have better toys.) The initial offer was better than I expected salary-wise but there is little promise of adequate professional time for leadership activities outside of the facility... Salary is not my motivator. Time is.
So I asked a series of questions, and it's a good thing I did. Essentially every question I asked came back with a negative response. Literally, I had a written out best-case-scenario and not a single condition was met. That being said, the opportunity is so good that I'm not eager to jeopardize it with my shoddy negotiation skills. Although a blog on how not to negotiate could be highly entertaining, for everyone but me. ... ... nah, not worth it.
More to come on the negotiations and why I might need more professional time tomorrow night!
Cheers,
Ben
So I asked a series of questions, and it's a good thing I did. Essentially every question I asked came back with a negative response. Literally, I had a written out best-case-scenario and not a single condition was met. That being said, the opportunity is so good that I'm not eager to jeopardize it with my shoddy negotiation skills. Although a blog on how not to negotiate could be highly entertaining, for everyone but me. ... ... nah, not worth it.
More to come on the negotiations and why I might need more professional time tomorrow night!
Cheers,
Ben
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