"Generous" sign on?

[jamesearlejones]

Hi all

A recruiter is advertising a full time inpatient psychiatry position with a "generous sign on" bonus. Does anybody have a sense for how much this might be and/or how much I might be able to negotiate this? Is generous $10,000, $50,000? I just want to know what I should expect and what would be reasonable/acceptable for me to ask for. Thank you for any help!!

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[OldPsychDoc]

$50 and unlimited refills on coffee.

 

[postbacpremed87]

Hi all

A recruiter is advertising a full time inpatient psychiatry position with a "generous sign on" bonus. Does anybody have a sense for how much this might be and/or how much I might be able to negotiate this? Is generous $10,000, $50,000? I just want to know what I should expect and what would be reasonable/acceptable for me to ask for. Thank you for any help!!

There are certain physician job posting sites that can give you a better idea about this.

 

[Trismegistus4]

Hi all

A recruiter is advertising a full time inpatient psychiatry position with a "generous sign on" bonus. Does anybody have a sense for how much this might be and/or how much I might be able to negotiate this? Is generous $10,000, $50,000? I just want to know what I should expect and what would be reasonable/acceptable for me to ask for. Thank you for any help!!

Why don't you ask them? "Generous" is a superfluous adjective they use to try to make you feel good about their ad. There's no way to predict a dollar amount based on a word like that. You might as well ask what the range for a "wonderful" salary is (something I've also seen them advertise.)

 

[Information Underload]

Of my job offers, 25k was the lowest sign-on bonus. Some provided 50k upfront and annual retention bonuses. I am guessing this is extremely variable. Some of my colleagues had zero sign-on bonus.

 

[Shikima]

Saw a job that was 300k+150k sign-on.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

$50 and unlimited refills on coffee.

So about $30k?

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[Shikima]

So about $30k?

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Too little for the high demand of psychiatry.

 

[smalltownpsych]

My first job offer as a licensed psychologist was described as a substantial and generous compensation package. I think it was around 46k per year salary. I declined as it wouldn't have even paid for my own coffee. When someone uses a word like generous, I tend to be skeptical.

 

[Shikima]

Pay us what we are worth or piss off.

 

[vistaril]

Hi all

A recruiter is advertising a full time inpatient psychiatry position with a "generous sign on" bonus. Does anybody have a sense for how much this might be and/or how much I might be able to negotiate this? Is generous $10,000, $50,000? I just want to know what I should expect and what would be reasonable/acceptable for me to ask for. Thank you for any help!!

Ive never gotten a 'sign on' bonus and in fact the job I decided to take this week I have to pay them $350 to go through their credentialing process.

 

[st2205]

Ive never gotten a 'sign on' bonus and in fact the job I decided to take this week I have to pay them $350 to go through their credentialing process.

How are you finding all these jobs? I know you've talked about the market both where you're at now as well as where you did residency, but either you're a significant outlier or some other variable is closing doors for you.

 

[vistaril]

How are you finding all these jobs? I know you've talked about the market both where you're at now as well as where you did residency, but either you're a significant outlier or some other variable is closing doors for you.

it's the same job...the inpatient job I have to travel a ways for. I have to eat and pay loans.

It's not really a 'job' at all. It's an eat what you kill thing, so I still have to get credentialed there to see patients there.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

it's the same job...the inpatient job I have to travel a ways for. I have to eat and pay loans.

It's not really a 'job' at all. It's an eat what you kill thing, so I still have to get credentialed there to see patients there.

So you're going for that job rather than the community job?

 

[vistaril]

So you're going for that job rather than the community job?

I just really wanted to do mostly inpatient instead of outpatient. Another thing is that this really isn't an 8 hr a day job. It's maybe a 4 hr a day job. When I'm there I'm not going to be shooting the **** over coffee with the staff or whatever. The problem is I have a long commute, but I'm still going to try to carve out some time in the afternoon when I get back for a little outpatient work if I can scrounge some up somewhere.

 

[xavier2000]

I had one offer $150k, $50 now, $50 divided over interim from now until start, and $50 after 2 weeks working. Kind of rural - they need 3 really and only have 1 psych now on staff. Salary is not bad either and of course they offer millions extra with RVUs.

 

[jamesearlejones]

Thanks everybody for the replies. Once I get some specific info I'll post it.

 

[michaelrack]

that's a common amount for hospital staff privileges

 

[milesed]

I'd be careful with this type of "bonus". It's often in the small print of the contract that it's more like a loan that you will have to earn to receive later (or pay back if fronted and then not earned).

 

[nexus73]

I got a $20K x 4 years (80K total) towards loan repayment which is solid I think.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Around here, I've seen a few $15k offers which don't seem to come attached with payback conditions if you don't work there long enough. I've also seen $25 to $50k offers contingent on working there 2 years. With one, it was prorated, so I guess you keep what they give you but won't get the full amount unless you stay?

My current job also gives me $18k x 4 years for student loans -- it's specified as a loan payment, but it's clumped in with the rest of my pay. I think it's a hospital wide benefit open to physicians in all specialties.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Are loan repayment bonuses taxable income?

 

[nexus73]

Are loan repayment bonuses taxable income?

Yes. Only government funded loan repayment is tax free.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Are loan repayment bonuses taxable income?

Yeah, it's essentially just income that gets added to my paycheck like everything else.

 

[Trismegistus4]

Around here, I've seen a few $15k offers which don't seem to come attached with payback conditions if you don't work there long enough. I've also seen $25 to $50k offers contingent on working there 2 years. With one, it was prorated, so I guess you keep what they give you but won't get the full amount unless you stay?

Mine is structured as a "loan," literally--the contract included a promissory note specifying a 2-year repayment period, interest rate, everything. When I first saw it, I thought "why are they offering me a loan? I wanted a sign-on bonus just for extra money. It's not that I need a ton of money up-front. If all they can offer is a loan, I'll just turn it down." But then I read the paragraph at the end that states that for each consecutive month I work there, that month's payment will be forgiven.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Mine is structured as a "loan," literally--the contract included a promissory note specifying a 2-year repayment period, interest rate, everything. When I first saw it, I thought "why are they offering me a loan? I wanted a sign-on bonus just for extra money. It's not that I need a ton of money up-front. If all they can offer is a loan, I'll just turn it down." But then I read the paragraph at the end that states that for each consecutive month I work there, that month's payment will be forgiven.

That sounds complicated. I wonder how that works with taxes assuming you do wind up repaying some of it. You get this lump of money which is taxable income, but then it's not really income if you have to pay it back. Maybe it makes more sense to just give you a chunk of money after you are there for however long they want to make sure you stay for, except I understand people coming out of training might really prefer money now rather than later.

 

[keifernny2]

That sounds complicated. I wonder how that works with taxes assuming you do wind up repaying some of it. You get this lump of money which is taxable income, but then it's not really income if you have to pay it back. Maybe it makes more sense to just give you a chunk of money after you are there for however long they want to make sure you stay for, except I understand people coming out of training might really prefer money now rather than later.

Money now will allow for the down payment on a house, or for a chunk of student loan payoff, both of which are less useful if you have to wait a year or two for them.


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[Trismegistus4]

Money now will allow for the down payment on a house, or for a chunk of student loan payoff, both of which are less useful if you have to wait a year or two for them.


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And it's beneficial to the employer to do it that way, too. As TexasPhysician pointed out in the CMHC thread, they're hoping the new grad will use the bonus precisely for something like that, and then be unable to pay it back, and you'll be their indentured servant for the next 2 years.