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
Ben,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I'm proud of you for thinking through all of your options professionally and financially and making the final decision to change jobs. I think that it sounds like a good move, but even if not, I think it's important to expand your horizons in our profession.
As for your questions in this particular blog, I'm of the mindset as an experienced (4 years under my belt now) PT, that you should primarily be satisfied with your job as far as how it makes you feel professionally, ie are you challenged every day and feel like you're making a difference. If not, would a million dollars a month be worth it? Well, maybe :-P And if this satisfaction is in line, the hours don't matter as much, but you don't want to be taken advantage of either. Second, you should be compensated for your skills, both professionally and personally. Enough to pay the bills, live comfortably (we deserve that after 7+ years of school), and enough to save for the future. I personally think loans should be paid off ASAP because they suck! What I've found as a traveler is that companies that hire contract PTs tend to pay their full time employees much much less. Now, why wouldn't they increase the pay for full timers and maybe they would have more interest in the positions so they wouldn't need expensive travelers? It's a dilemma that is good for me as a traveler, but I might consider starting a business with this idea in the future :)