Earliest/fastest signing bonus?

[torreyho]

For people in fellowship, what is the fastest they have signed a contract and been given a signing bonus or "stipend" pending the completion of their program and starting at the new position? I figure the last year of fellowship is usual but has anyone gotten anything the first year of a 3 year fellowship?

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[chessknt]

You can find places that will do this in the form of a dribbled stipend but it is very likely you will come out way behind. Places that do this are desperate which means they probably dont pay well or have some other major problem that makes it impossible to recruit without extraordinary measures.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

You can find places that will do this in the form of a dribbled stipend but it is very likely you will come out way behind. Places that do this are desperate which means they probably dont pay well or have some other major problem that makes it impossible to recruit without extraordinary measures.

Also, the way the deal usually works is that your pay for your first several years as an attending is reduced (sometimes substantially) to “pay back” the stipend. You are also thus “locked in” at that job for several years (unless you want to pay back $$$), so if the job sucks it can be hard to leave when you need to. Keep in mind that something like 60-80% of docs leave their first job within the first 2-3 years.

Usually these types of places pay well but are in the middle of nowhere, which is the “problem” that makes it hard to recruit.