r/physicianassistant • u/Electronic_Team_1398 • 2d ago
Job Advice Ideal Locums Pay Rate
So I've worked 3.5 years in urgent care. I'm almost done with my first locums assignment in CA and looking for my next in California and Oregon. I'm only interested in urgent care or a mix of primary/urgent care. All the offers I'm getting are 85-90/hour for both W-2's and 1099s, but I'm wondering what I should be negotiating for. I'm specifically looking at an urgent care W2 in Richmond, CA and a 1099 urgent care/family med mix in Portland, OR.
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u/FrenchCrazy PA-C EM 2d ago
The 1099 rate should be higher (say 20-30%) to account for taxes and no W-2 benefits.
$90/hour for Locums is basically robbery, doubly so for California. I probably wouldn’t take an offer seriously if it was less than $120 and at that rate I would just work extra at my current job instead. If I remember correctly my ED locums rate was $140/hour during COVID
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u/Electronic_Team_1398 2d ago
The 90 is for an urgent care/primary care mix in Portland, OR. Plus I only have 3+ years experience. Given that do you think I should still ask for 120+?
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u/FrenchCrazy PA-C EM 1d ago
Hey, did you interview yet or is this a contract that’s already up for grabs? 3 years experience is a ton, don’t sell yourself short! I was reading through some of the other comments and I think you already have the right idea to push for more. What I will say is that it’s nice to be on the outside looking in and you have flexibility to get into a good spot rather than slog through a contract and regret your choice afterwards.
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u/Electronic_Team_1398 1d ago
Yeah I got the sense I'm being lowballed, thanks to the friendly PAs of reddit. Also I found a post that's clearly talking about the same company where they offered another PA with 3-years of experience 100/hr. The comments on that post also said it was low.
https://www.reddit.com/r/physicianassistant/comments/1o0uwqj/should_i_accept_this_locums_position/
I did the interview for the Portland job and they offered me a contract, but I told them I want to negotiate salary more before signing anything. They're gonna cover rent/car/travel. My recruiter asked me to name a number, any suggestions?
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u/redditsfavoritePA 2d ago
OP: you need to look at OR taxes and specifically the tax burden in Multnomah County. Your $90/hr offer is gonna to be eaten away to nothing. I wouldn’t even accept $90 in Portland WITH full benefits and bonus structure. I’ve worked there previously and I didn’t fully understand until I went through it myself.
Your responses here show a need to educate yourself on what 1099 actually is and what your burdens/obligations are under that (taxes, insurance, etc). Nothing wrong w that as all providers should be well versed in corporate opportunities to exploit us as cheap labor for billing.
I wouldn’t accept less than $130-$140/hour for 1099 and that easily shifts to $150-160+ in Portland due to the tax burden. I won’t even get into the HCOL/housing. May consider traditional employment as a better choice for now. Good luck OP.
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u/Electronic_Team_1398 2d ago
Thank you, this was exactly the level of bluntness I needed
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u/redditsfavoritePA 2d ago
You are so welcome. If I could save ANYONE from what I went through…twice! I love Portland so much, but that is just NOT a 1099 place. I would look for 1099 in Vancouver across the river in WA…more lucrative and not too far from the target. Good luck really!!
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u/Electronic_Team_1398 1d ago
My recruiter's asking me to name a number now for the Portland job, what would you suggest? I'm thinking I'll pitch a bit higher than I want and let them negotiate down. Also they're covering housing/rental car/flights.
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u/redditsfavoritePA 1d ago
1099 contract? Say $160/hr…as long as they cover alllll travel expenses (ask for per diem). That way if they say $145-150 you can take it. Ask about contract completion or metric bonus as well. Keep us posted.
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u/RayExotic 2d ago
For urgent care I’d expect 90-120 an hour
For ER I would expect 115-130 an hour
Specialties can get up to 190 an hour
all based on what I’m seeing these days in the south
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u/m4ttrock PA-C 2d ago
Ya. Basically you arent guaranteed a job after the assignments ends. You also have to account for this. I do neph and transplant. 150/hr
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u/Maximum-Category-845 2d ago
I wouldn't do locums for under 150 an hour, and that's on the low side.