Going to DFW! Need advice on starting out

[GreenGeek]

I’m an off cycle Psych PGY4 (previously Anesthesiolgy) finishing up in UCLA-Harbor in February 2019 (will take boards next fall). I’m originally from northeast and liked CA but have ultimately decided to move to the big D to be close to family (and get me a nice big house for my 5 dependents). I enjoy ER, inpatient, addiction, and outpatient (in that order) but am open to anything right now. I have telepsych experience and my bup waiver.

Some questions are just annoying noob queries while others are more specific to TX and DFW.

Licensing

Should I go ahead and apply and pay for a Texas license right now, 5 months in advance?
Or should I wait for my future employer to take care of all that for me?
Does it increase my chances of getting offers if I already have my TX license and DEA before I move?


Starting Out
Anyone know any good company/hospital/group that is looking to hire?
Should I go through a recruiter or just start cold calling places?
Any places to definitely stay away from?
Any good locums/telepsych/moonlighting gigs to start off with while I’m job hunting?
Do you recommend going straight W2 or starting off as 1099 to get a feel for multiple facilities?
Are there any lucrative “remote areas” that would be within commuting distance (1 hr-ish) from DFW?
Any corp that has standard contracts in DFW area similar to a Kaiser in CA (which just starts everyone off at 280k for all outpatient?
I currently moonlight in CA that pays about $220/hr for 16 hour inpatient shifts. Anything similar out there?


Living
Is commuting bad in the DFW area? Or is 30 minutes the max you’d drive anywhere?
I have a sister with MR and CP and from what I’ve researched thus far, Dallas county seems to have a 14 year wait list for her services (yes, multiple SWs have confirmed that) and I’m probably better off planting myself in other counties. From what I’ve researched, I was favoring Collin County - Plano/Frisco/Allen vs Tarrant County - Southlake/Grapevine areas to be close to family + good schools. Any thoughts/suggestions?

Last one: Anyone wanna be friends? lol

As always, all advice (and even criticism) is appreciated. Thank you all.

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[TexasPhysician]

Licensing in Texas can take forever. 2-6 months to license is not a surprise here.

I’ve yet to see a gig in Texas paying $200/hr without being in a well run private practice or your own clinic. One of the best moonlighting gigs I’ve seen is 2+ hours from a major city and paid $175/hr.

Telepsych here generally pays about $130/hr, but negotiating well can get you $160 if you look around enough. I know many that are taking $130 rate.

The last time I was moonlighting in Dallas, the hospital was easily finding people to round on 40 follow-ups for $900.

Texas certainly doesn’t pay as well as Cali, but we have no income tax (high property tax though) and homes are much cheaper.

The regions you mention are the most popular in DFW. I enjoy Texas, but the pay is not the best for contract gigs.

 

[trophyhusband]

Licensing in Texas can take forever. 2-6 months to license is not a surprise here.

I’ve yet to see a gig in Texas paying $200/hr without being in a well run private practice or your own clinic. One of the best moonlighting gigs I’ve seen is 2+ hours from a major city and paid $175/hr.

Telepsych here generally pays about $130/hr, but negotiating well can get you $160 if you look around enough. I know many that are taking $130 rate.

The last time I was moonlighting in Dallas, the hospital was easily finding people to round on 40 follow-ups for $900.

Texas certainly doesn’t pay as well as Cali, but we have no income tax (high property tax though) and homes are much cheaper.

The regions you mention are the most popular in DFW. I enjoy Texas, but the pay is not the best for contract gigs.

DFW is somewhat cheaper than California home prices but they're still pretty expensive for what you get unless you're in the far flung 'burbs. It used to be much cheaper than California but then all of the corporate relocations (quite a few from California actually) started happening and housing prices have shot up.

It's part of the reason we left for the Midwest. Just couldn't justify spending that much on a house to live relatively close in to where we work.

It also didn't seem like there were a ton of jobs available compared to the size of the city. Most of the hospital systems in DFW don't really seem to value Psychiatry (BSWH has something like 1 or 2 Psychiatrist total in North Texas for example). Which I guess is good if you want to open your own practice (my wife was planning to if we stayed) but not great if you're looking to be an employee and probably not great if you're looking for moonlighting gigs. I'm sure there are some available just not as many as you'd expect for a city of its size.

Edit: Oh and OP you're going to need to get your license first. My wife's took toward the longer end of the 2-6 month timeframe and no one is going to wait that long for you to start and pay for your license.

 

[GreenGeek]

Have regisrted for license, submitted all necessary items (except for fingerprint cards) and passed the JP exam! Now it's time to find a job by Feb!!

 

[WisNeuro]

Have regisrted for license, submitted all necessary items (except for fingerprint cards) and passed the JP exam! Now it's time to find a job by Feb!!

I imagine finding a job by February will be pretty easy. Now, having all of your credentialing done by that time, that could be a challenge depending on the HR staff.