Old Mil: Are you sure its not just "my first job sucks" syndrome that's what's got you down?
I'm not asking to flame; I'm wondering what the details are that you hate.
I work for a large CMG in urban Florida. 175 hour. Employee position; full benefits.
Also *just thought* - maybe its the 1099 status that you hate. I'd hate having to deal with all the ins-and-outs of buying my own insurances, etc. That would suck me dry seeing all of "my" money go to the intangibles.
EF is dead-on, though. If I didn't "have" to work for a CMG (they own my area; there's two warring factions), I wouldn't. At all.
agree w/ RF about being a 1099... not for me at all.
i think it would help to say what you don't like about your current gig... there are warts in nearly EVERY job, you just have to figure out what warts you can tolerate and evaluate what you'd have to give up to get different warts.
i loved the location of my first gig out of residency, except for the crazy COL and i was underpaid. i have major student loans and had health issues... moved to where i am now (my hometown fwiw)... i now work fewer hrs for a bit more $$ and my COL is much, much lower. i can travel more and have more time to de-stress. still in a metro area but not a top 5 for COL anymore.
the metrics that were emphasized are different at these gigs too... gig 1 went goo goo ga ga over door to doc, total LOS, and pt satisfaction. they went to a hybrid base/RVU pay structure after i signed so that came into effect later.
gig 2 also has hybrid base/RVU pay but they care more about % dc'ed under 3 hrs but i never hear about door to doc. the pt satisfaction compensation is greater than in gig 1 and paid out monthly instead of yearly in a bonus.
there are also differences in partner structure and how you qualify, what business expenses are paid, how much directors work, how the schedule is done, how much call i take, etc etc...