Please help me decide between two job offers!

[fullmetal]

Hi everyone.

I have two job offers and I am up every night trying to decide which one to choose.

JOB1 is a hospitalist position. 7 on 7 off. 7am to 7pm. $256,000 per year. $10,000 sign on bonus. Two weeks holiday. Small (crummy) town about an hour's drive out of a (small) city that I don't really like. Ok-ish benefits. Claims that the patient load is between 5 and 20 patients per day but I have a feeling its usually on the higher end of things. Crappy EMR. Alternating admissions shared with one other doc. No procedures required. Open ICU.

JOB2 is an outpatient only position. 9-5 M-F + one weekday evening + every other Saturday. Great benefits. 3 weeks vacation + all major holidays. Brand new clinic. Best EMR. Expected to see about 20 patients per day (20 minute appointment slots). 50%+ of the patient population speaks a random other language only. Pays only $160,000. No sign on bonus. Located within 30 minutes of a "Tier 1" city.

My ideal job is probably similar to JOB2 but was hoping to find something that pays 200k+ in a more suburban location with mostly English speaking patients. Haven't found that yet. Probably because I need a visa.

I am single in my early 30s.

Any thoughts?

FullMetal

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[SXMMD]

I'm a pgy 3 fm for reference

Both these jobs sound terrible.

Job 1: small town hospitalist should probably pay better. Probably should be capturing salary in 300k range or more, or negotiating loan repayment, retention bonuses, etc to a similar total. Open ICU in a hospital with 50 beds and 2 rooms is whatever, but tread carefully with open ICU at a bigger hospital. Are you required to run codes and rapids? For 256k and crappy emr, no thanks. Their estimate of 5-20 patients is too wide a range. I smell B.S.

Job 2: I'll let somebody with ambulatory experience tackle this one since I signed up to be a hospitalist, but based on my research and interviews (i did apply heavily to ambulatory practices also) this level of income sounds like you should be IN the tier 1 city, not near it...

 

[yeasports]

Hi everyone.

I have two job offers and I am up every night trying to decide which one to choose.

JOB1 is a hospitalist position. 7 on 7 off. 7am to 7pm. $256,000 per year. $10,000 sign on bonus. Two weeks holiday. Small (crummy) town about an hour's drive out of a (small) city that I don't really like. Ok-ish benefits. Claims that the patient load is between 5 and 20 patients per day but I have a feeling its usually on the higher end of things. Crappy EMR. Alternating admissions shared with one other doc. No procedures required. Open ICU.

JOB2 is an outpatient only position. 9-5 M-F + one weekday evening + every other Saturday. Great benefits. 3 weeks vacation + all major holidays. Brand new clinic. Best EMR. Expected to see about 20 patients per day (20 minute appointment slots). 50%+ of the patient population speaks a random other language only. Pays only $160,000. No sign on bonus. Located within 30 minutes of a "Tier 1" city.

My ideal job is probably similar to JOB2 but was hoping to find something that pays 200k+ in a more suburban location with mostly English speaking patients. Haven't found that yet. Probably because I need a visa.

I am single in my early 30s.

Any thoughts?

FullMetal

I feel badly for you op. I suspect it is a visa issue as I would not consider either job. Hopefully someone with experience can help here.

 

[Lurts]

Agreed, neither sound particularly enticing or even at standard compensation rates.

 

[Fatalis]

I would take job 1 easily over job 2... job 2 is more demanding than you might thing. Weekday call sucks, especially since you gotta work a full day the next day plus working a weekend also sucks especially for low pay. also think about job 2, the language barriers will slow you down

 

[Sushirolls]

Job 1.
Both jobs will be less than ideal. However, at least when you off with Job 1 you will be off. Better for your mental health while you wind down the Visa clock. Try push for more vacation time. 2 weeks? Ouch.

 

[styphon]

You will have trouble finding a job outside a desirable city that would help you get a Visa and also pays well, so you will have to settle.

It seems location matters a lot to you, which makes Job 2 desirable. But that pay rate is horrible, especially since you will work over 40hrs each week. Also, I disagree with what someone says above, 256k would be the expected rate in a rural hospital on the eastern coast. Just work thru Job 1, get your Visa, then jobs will open up for you and you move to your desired area.

 

[callmebrie]

Another thought...what is the minimum time commitment req'd for Job 1 in terms of years? are you required to stay for 2-3 years? might end up hating it and if you want to leave, usually you have to pay it back at least in part. On the bright side, you have 7 days off, enough time to jump on a plane to somewhere far more exciting

 

[fullmetal]

The time commitment is 3 years. That's the problem. I'll try anything for one year. If it sucks I'll suck it up, collect my money, and move on. But 3 years is a big investment in a potentially sucky job.

Location is probably most important to me. JOB1 one does give every other week off, but I don't think it's realistic for me to travel every single off week. That means a lot of weeks I'm stuck at home in a town I hate doing nothing, for 3 years.

JOB2 is located in a better area, but the pay is terrible. I don't like the clinic's set up either. There's no great dedicated space for me to sit and chart. They want me to do it in the patient rooms. And I want to help the under-served, but having to use a translator phone on every other patient is going to be draining.

Sigh.

Well thanks for the input everyone.

 

[Fatalis]

Another thought...what is the minimum time commitment req'd for Job 1 in terms of years? are you required to stay for 2-3 years? might end up hating it and if you want to leave, usually you have to pay it back at least in part. On the bright side, you have 7 days off, enough time to jump on a plane to somewhere far more exciting

as someone needing a visa, you cannot leave; you are stuck there for 3 years. My immigration lawyer said it is a huge deal if you try to leave your job.

 

[Oo Cipher oO]

For Job 1 could you live in a more desirable location a few hours away and then rent a small apartment or motel for the 7 days on inpatient? The commute would suck and you would have to pay for two places but it would allow you to spend your days off in a more enjoyable environment.

Regarding job 2, Take it from a Navy doc that there is nothing like being underpaid and undervalued in a job you can’t quit that really ups the burnout.

 

[Eilat87]

Hi everyone.

I have two job offers and I am up every night trying to decide which one to choose.

JOB1 is a hospitalist position. 7 on 7 off. 7am to 7pm. $256,000 per year. $10,000 sign on bonus. Two weeks holiday. Small (crummy) town about an hour's drive out of a (small) city that I don't really like. Ok-ish benefits. Claims that the patient load is between 5 and 20 patients per day but I have a feeling its usually on the higher end of things. Crappy EMR. Alternating admissions shared with one other doc. No procedures required. Open ICU.

JOB2 is an outpatient only position. 9-5 M-F + one weekday evening + every other Saturday. Great benefits. 3 weeks vacation + all major holidays. Brand new clinic. Best EMR. Expected to see about 20 patients per day (20 minute appointment slots). 50%+ of the patient population speaks a random other language only. Pays only $160,000. No sign on bonus. Located within 30 minutes of a "Tier 1" city.

My ideal job is probably similar to JOB2 but was hoping to find something that pays 200k+ in a more suburban location with mostly English speaking patients. Haven't found that yet. Probably because I need a visa.

I am single in my early 30s.

Any thoughts?

FullMetal

Damn I didn't know they could low ball you that hard if you required a visa. How much do Visas usually cost institutions? Is there a number amount anyone know?

 

[septoplasty]

Damn I didn't know they could low ball you that hard if you required a visa. How much do Visas usually cost institutions? Is there a number amount anyone know?

Fees vary from sponsor to sponsor based on the exchange category, the sponsor’s program, program duration, etc. Can't imagine it being more than a couple of grand. The real thing the systems know is these docs are at their mercy, hence the low ball. But again, its more business related than actual medicine.