Current Job Market For Soon to be Psych Grads: My Situation

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twospadz

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To give you a good idea of the job market, here is my current situation. I’ve accepted two per diem jobs and one full time starting in July. I’m not saying it’s good but yea. Even with all of these shifts, I’ve made it that I will always have a 10 consecutive days off so that will allow me to travel internationally every month. I will be grinding during the 20 which I like.

-Full time at hospital 1: (I do alot of all the shifts): 155 per hour (day shift), 181 during weekend shifts, and 205 overnight shifts

-Per diem at home program (Weekend shifts): 200 per hour

-Per diem at other hospital(weekend and week days shifts): 150 per hour (holidays is 225 per hour)

I know this not great but for a new grad, I’m content. Should be able to hit 400k+ a year

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Are these all 1099 positions or are you actually employed? Typical patient loads?
I’m seeing if I can ask for 1099. Would that be better since I can write off more on taxes?
 
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I'm sorry. Are you planning 80 hours a week for 20 days then 10 days off? LOL Jeez.
Lol. Yea I do long shifts during those days. But honestly I prefer long shifts and requested for them. Literally asked my schedule to be like that. If I do my work early, then I can relax for the few hours I’m there and get paid. Like I said, I like to take sweet vacations and I’m single, so traveling around the world is well worth it. These are ER psych shifts basically which I really like doing because of the fast paced nature.
 
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Lol. Yea I do long shifts during those days. But honestly I prefer long shifts and requested for them. Literally asked my schedule to be like that. If I do my work early, then I can relax for the few hours I’m there and get paid. Like I said, I like to take sweet vacations and I’m single, so traveling around the world is well worth it. These are ER psych shifts basically which I really like doing because of the fast paced nature.
Just be sure you don't burn out. I could see that getting old real quick, but maybe that's just me.
 
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This is not really that great tbh, iv seen some jobs at 200/hr+ for those long hours so 155 is kinda crappy..good luck man..if u PM there’s a job in SC at 250/hr 12 hr shifts for as many shifts as you want
 
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Assuming a conservative 170/hour average rate, you need 50 hours/week to get 400k. If you work 24 hour shifts you obviously aren't working 24 hours, same with overnight. That's equivalent to 3 weekday regular 8-4 days.

I do something similar on a part time basis but only overnight shift. Get paid 300+ / hour if you don't count sleeping time. This is a smart deal if one is willing to tolerate the relative job insecurity, no benefits.
 
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I’m seeing if I can ask for 1099. Would that be better since I can write off more on taxes?

I mean, if one of those positions offers great benefits it might be worth being employed for one and 1099 for the other two. Agree with @robellis that the $155/hr isn't great, but if you're working 8 hours with a patient load of <8 I could see why the pay would be lower. If this is a true 40hr/wk position, then this alone should gross you near $300k at the $155 rate alone. If you're legitimately working that many hours you'll likely gross near or above $500k. Not a bad gig if you're able to stick with it imo.

Just be sure you don't burn out. I could see that getting old real quick, but maybe that's just me.

True, but if it becomes too much OP can drop one or even two of the positions and still have a solid yearly income. It's actually a pretty nice situation to be in as a single, new grad. Especially if the long shifts have several hours of downtime.
 
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Lol. Yea I do long shifts during those days. But honestly I prefer long shifts and requested for them. Literally asked my schedule to be like that. If I do my work early, then I can relax for the few hours I’m there and get paid. Like I said, I like to take sweet vacations and I’m single, so traveling around the world is well worth it. These are ER psych shifts basically which I really like doing because of the fast paced nature.
I will be in a similar position to you when I'm in residency. Hope this all works out for you! Keep us posted.
 
If this works for you, great! The hourly rate isn’t great, but it isn’t bad either. It’s pretty average for my region. If there aren’t patient quotas, you can get some sleep, and the hours work for you, I think that’s great.
 
Remember to strike a good work life balance. Our time on this planet is quite limited.
 
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I guess it depends on the area but if locums-1099 the rates are low for where I live and any time someone knowingly accepts low rates it drags things down for everyone. It doesn't make sense to accept a rate if you know it isn't great and attempt to make up for it by working excessive hour in my opinion. Consider working smarter not harder.
 
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That sounds to be on the low side? I'm a PGY-4 and my telepsychiatry moonlighting is $175/hour with 25% admin time for notes. Only end up using about half that admin time so effectively comes out to $200/hour. They bump up by $10/hour when you finish residency.
 
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Thanks for letting me know guys. Before the end of my first year, I will search out different positions. Appreciate the feedback.
 
That sounds to be on the low side? I'm a PGY-4 and my telepsychiatry moonlighting is $175/hour with 25% admin time for notes. Only end up using about half that admin time so effectively comes out to $200/hour. They bump up by $10/hour when you finish residency.
where are you doing telepsychiatry to offer that?
 
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where are you doing telepsychiatry to offer that?
A community health center, you can DM me if you’re interested, I think they still have openings.
 
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I am getting $220 an hour at an FQHC one day a week. My contract limits me to 6 days a month but I am not interested in doing more. To help get this rate, I sent them my forensic psychiatry expert witness fee schedule. I also used the fee schedule with success negotiating a medical director side-gig. I also informed the FQHC that I can set up a suboxone program and that they may get additional funding for that. Due to covid, they have not implemented it yet. However, it helped with the negotiations. I don't believe they will offer the same salary full time. Many times, it is hard to hire someone one day a week. I also see patients two days a week at an academic center. It does not have the highest pay but comes with awesome benefits. I pay a little more than if I was full-time for these benefits. It allowed me to find another job with high pay and no benefits. Essentially, my base yearly pays for three days a week is 200k. That is not bad as it allows me a guaranteed base income and two days a week for expert witness work which is very interesting and well paid. At both of my clinical job follow-ups are 30 minutes and new patients 1 hour. So there is none of that "four followups an hour" pressure.

I would consider non-clinical income sources to augment your income. If you find a low-volume job, you can possibly do the non-clinical work on your down-time. Some pay less than clinical and some, such as IMEs, pay more.
 
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Thanks for letting me know guys. Before the end of my first year, I will search out different positions. Appreciate the feedback.
One of the problems with that strategy is future offers often start with an increase of your current salary. If you come to the table having previously accepted a low salary there is a chance you will have difficulty convincing someone you are worth significantly more in the future.
 
OP 400k+ earnings is a lot but that sounds like one hell of a workload... pace yourself and good luck!
 
Update guys. Within my first week working in July as an attending, my main job ended increased up increasing the rates to 200 per hour during the day shift and 220 for overnight. I will still keep my eyes open for other jobs too. I also might cut my work schedule to 17 days a month working. Thanks
 
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