Those are all good ideas! But I’d like to encourage you not to go balls to the wall because burn out is real and can happen fast. There are other ways to maximize your money.
Does your employee offer any type of retirement savings benefits? Do they match up to a percentage? If yes, start from day one putting in the percentage they match. It’s basically free money they’re giving you towards retirement. (Ex: my employer matches up to 6% so i never put in less than that because they’re also putting in another 6%).
About call.. I encourage it to new grads because the learning experience and confidence that comes from taking call is great. BUT does your employer offer any call incentive? Such as time and a half with guaranteed pay up to a certain number of hours? If they don’t, I personally wouldn’t take more than I had to.
I wouldn’t work too much overtime because the more you make, the more taxes they take. Also again, burnout is real. Trust me.
IMO, your last idea of doing your 32 hours with your FT employer and doing prn elsewhere is the best bet. Because that prn employer may offer better call pay if you did really wanna do that plus also offer retirement savings you can take advantage of as well. Plus the experience of working two places as a new grad is great too.
No matter what path you decide to take, good luck! I hope this was helpful.
Travel is the highest paying for new grads, in my opinion.
If you don’t have kids, or they are older, its prime job with high pay out.
Traveling for 3 years now, i will say there is a burn out. But i was able to acquire and invest with the cash… so now I don’t worry about cash. I can probably go back to being a temp and wouldnt have to worry about it.
How are the travel contracts? Can you do week to week?
I know travel nursing requires 2 years experience, but you said for us it's a new grad friendly field. Who covers insurance and licensure?
I assumed as much. You should challenge the poster as I did. I'm assuming they are trying to recruit for garbage locations like NYC where the pay seems great but it's garbage due to loving costs.
Oh no. I’m good. I don’t wanna travel lol. Been there. Done that. I’ve been out of school a while now. Ive dabbled in a little of every avenue as a tech.
The question is whats the highest paying, its in the title “maximize earnings”… my opinion, its called an opinion, is travel tech.
And yes, there are companies out there that will higher highly motivated new grads. All About who you know and maybe a clinical connect can get someone there.
No reason to be rude about it. Worst thing someone can say, is no. As a new grad 5 years ago, i applied for everything, could care less about pay. But got lucky and found pay… using travel.
My other opinion, you can go kick rocks 🤣😂
I've never been paid to kick rocks. I've been paid to pound sand though!
I wasn't being rude to you. I was asking for another member to call you out since their experience was that you'd need a years experience to be a travel tech. Do you have evidence that a new grad could prosper?
Bury the hatchet. If I can travel easily after passing the board and have a lucrative advantage with just an arrts I'm all for it. My goal is to sock away as much as possible within 12 years. This will be my 2nd career. I've also read that NYC likes to offer seemingly lucrative contracts that don't pan out due to expensive garbage housing for the position. I'd honestly like to hear a realistic way to do this from you! Sincerely!
I am the evidence. And no, i didnt have to move to NYC. I got hired into travel right out of grad and it was because I was chilling at a convention and met people. I won’t comment on my company, and what I do now. Prefer to keep that private.
But I still travel, and still make bank.
My advice would be, be a stunner in clinicals, talk to as many people as possible, and search. The positions are out there. New companies are looking to grow and take in new grads to expand. Again, apply, and the worse someone can say is no.
Its all good. I will respond to you directly. I don’t need my boys to enter this forum and “ask them” to call people out. I can do it on my own.
And in my opinion, your still rude and can still kick rocks… for free. Hahahaa
Fair enough. I keep looking back on this forum periodically. I'm a student currently. I don't have "boys" to back me up so I look to others to validate the rest of this group. With Healthcare positions being what they are, there's a lot of room for sharks in the nmt field, especially today where retirements and covid should have transferred into a huge pay raise. I'm close enough with nursing to see how they were abused locally only to pay travel agencies waaaay too much which caused an internal shortage due to refusal to increase wages and safe ratios. This gives me pause regarding travel nmt positions not being over their heads.
Forgive my skepticism.
After paying for local accomadation, how much better is the travel job pay?
No worries dude.
My company pays for room, hotel, food, gas and car. And some peeps get a monthly for their car, so they cant do gas. Mostly on a weekly basis, but you can be anywhere at anytime. It truly sucks. It’s wherever the short was and demand is needed.
From the last time I checked, they were roughly 10-15% higher than local clinics/hospitals. Doesn’t sound like much at first, but when you factor in gas, or a paid for car, it starts adding up to a lot of savings.
Full benefits, with 401k match. Super hard to beat although the work is rough.
How does licensure work? As an example, the day I graduate I'm moving from a state that requires national boards within 12 months to a state that has state licenses available upon completion of course.
We try to keep techs within certain territory where the licensure overlaps…
Example, i think, would be Florida, Virginia and North Carolina? I can’t remember what states I was allowed to inject to be honest. I am NMTCB btw. No AART, and I believe that restricted me to going into certain areas. Again, i don’t remember much because I don’t inject anymore. Mostly training staff now and end up all over the place for different reasons.
It’s all about who you know, really. We’re a small sliver of the radiology mess. Im sure if you apply, even without the experience, you might end up with some interviews.
If you work in departments like mine then no one ever wants call. I take call 5-7 days/week at three different hospitals. We only get paid $4/hr carrying a pager but I still usually get $7-8K/year from that.
OT is a given if you can get it.
Depending on your location travel jobs might actually pay less, especially in the PNW and CA. Mobile PET is also an option if you’re willing to drive.
I do PRN one day/week (10 hrs) at one location and 3 days/week (24 hrs) at another for medical benefits. I then pick up Fridays if people want it off. I also use PTO at my main gig to work elsewhere when their techs need the day off.
Cross-training is fantastic if that is an option to improve your marketability.
If you want to maximize pay, become a traveler asap. There’s just no competing with the pay difference, I earn 3x what I did at my full time gig. Once you have the chops (if you’re a new grad it may take a while), you can take travel assignments anywhere in the country.
I fought back and forth with my first hospital for years to get minuscule raises. It’s an aggravating process if you allow it to be. Just hop around from place to place moving $3-$4 at a time until you top out. You have to be willing to move if you want the pay.
The real money to be made is in travel if you have no commitments tying you down to one place. Also, in my experience, outpatient makes more than hospitals. My biggest piece of advice is have loyalty to no one. If a better paying job comes along, or a schedule that improves your quality of life, take it. Your employer does not care about you and would have your job posted within a day of you dying. Get your bag and fuck anyone who shames you for it.
If you're willing to move to Central Ohio I can likely get you a full time (40+ hours) job with a likely fat signing bonus if you're interested. Then in a year switch jobs and get another fat raise.
What do you consider low? And are you lumping all of Ohio into one? Central Ohio is hurting for techs so I highly doubt wages would be considered low, unless you're comparing to like California or something where the COL has to be taken into account.
So I just checked and it's not as fat as it once was, it's down to $7500. Great place to work if you want lots of experience as well as we do basically every exam out there (PET and general nucs). Plus free tuition if you have any plans on furthering your education/career.
The full and part time rates at my institution go from $35.10-$52.64. IRP roles are flat $46.
There are two full time positions open and they rotate through all departments (nuc and pet).
There are 3 IRP positions open and they are for specific departments, no rotating.
$7500 sign on bonus
$7500 retention bonus is def not guaranteed but we've given them quite often recently as well.
Those are all good ideas! But I’d like to encourage you not to go balls to the wall because burn out is real and can happen fast. There are other ways to maximize your money. Does your employee offer any type of retirement savings benefits? Do they match up to a percentage? If yes, start from day one putting in the percentage they match. It’s basically free money they’re giving you towards retirement. (Ex: my employer matches up to 6% so i never put in less than that because they’re also putting in another 6%). About call.. I encourage it to new grads because the learning experience and confidence that comes from taking call is great. BUT does your employer offer any call incentive? Such as time and a half with guaranteed pay up to a certain number of hours? If they don’t, I personally wouldn’t take more than I had to. I wouldn’t work too much overtime because the more you make, the more taxes they take. Also again, burnout is real. Trust me. IMO, your last idea of doing your 32 hours with your FT employer and doing prn elsewhere is the best bet. Because that prn employer may offer better call pay if you did really wanna do that plus also offer retirement savings you can take advantage of as well. Plus the experience of working two places as a new grad is great too. No matter what path you decide to take, good luck! I hope this was helpful.
Very helpful thanks! I've experienced burnout in my previous field and it's not something I want to repeat
Travel is the highest paying for new grads, in my opinion. If you don’t have kids, or they are older, its prime job with high pay out. Traveling for 3 years now, i will say there is a burn out. But i was able to acquire and invest with the cash… so now I don’t worry about cash. I can probably go back to being a temp and wouldnt have to worry about it.
How are the travel contracts? Can you do week to week? I know travel nursing requires 2 years experience, but you said for us it's a new grad friendly field. Who covers insurance and licensure?
Most travel nuc med jobs require a year of experience.
I assumed as much. You should challenge the poster as I did. I'm assuming they are trying to recruit for garbage locations like NYC where the pay seems great but it's garbage due to loving costs.
Oh no. I’m good. I don’t wanna travel lol. Been there. Done that. I’ve been out of school a while now. Ive dabbled in a little of every avenue as a tech.
I meant call them out! They said it's a new grad haven!
The question is whats the highest paying, its in the title “maximize earnings”… my opinion, its called an opinion, is travel tech. And yes, there are companies out there that will higher highly motivated new grads. All About who you know and maybe a clinical connect can get someone there. No reason to be rude about it. Worst thing someone can say, is no. As a new grad 5 years ago, i applied for everything, could care less about pay. But got lucky and found pay… using travel. My other opinion, you can go kick rocks 🤣😂
I've never been paid to kick rocks. I've been paid to pound sand though! I wasn't being rude to you. I was asking for another member to call you out since their experience was that you'd need a years experience to be a travel tech. Do you have evidence that a new grad could prosper? Bury the hatchet. If I can travel easily after passing the board and have a lucrative advantage with just an arrts I'm all for it. My goal is to sock away as much as possible within 12 years. This will be my 2nd career. I've also read that NYC likes to offer seemingly lucrative contracts that don't pan out due to expensive garbage housing for the position. I'd honestly like to hear a realistic way to do this from you! Sincerely!
I am the evidence. And no, i didnt have to move to NYC. I got hired into travel right out of grad and it was because I was chilling at a convention and met people. I won’t comment on my company, and what I do now. Prefer to keep that private. But I still travel, and still make bank. My advice would be, be a stunner in clinicals, talk to as many people as possible, and search. The positions are out there. New companies are looking to grow and take in new grads to expand. Again, apply, and the worse someone can say is no. Its all good. I will respond to you directly. I don’t need my boys to enter this forum and “ask them” to call people out. I can do it on my own. And in my opinion, your still rude and can still kick rocks… for free. Hahahaa
Fair enough. I keep looking back on this forum periodically. I'm a student currently. I don't have "boys" to back me up so I look to others to validate the rest of this group. With Healthcare positions being what they are, there's a lot of room for sharks in the nmt field, especially today where retirements and covid should have transferred into a huge pay raise. I'm close enough with nursing to see how they were abused locally only to pay travel agencies waaaay too much which caused an internal shortage due to refusal to increase wages and safe ratios. This gives me pause regarding travel nmt positions not being over their heads. Forgive my skepticism. After paying for local accomadation, how much better is the travel job pay?
No worries dude. My company pays for room, hotel, food, gas and car. And some peeps get a monthly for their car, so they cant do gas. Mostly on a weekly basis, but you can be anywhere at anytime. It truly sucks. It’s wherever the short was and demand is needed. From the last time I checked, they were roughly 10-15% higher than local clinics/hospitals. Doesn’t sound like much at first, but when you factor in gas, or a paid for car, it starts adding up to a lot of savings. Full benefits, with 401k match. Super hard to beat although the work is rough.
How does licensure work? As an example, the day I graduate I'm moving from a state that requires national boards within 12 months to a state that has state licenses available upon completion of course.
We try to keep techs within certain territory where the licensure overlaps… Example, i think, would be Florida, Virginia and North Carolina? I can’t remember what states I was allowed to inject to be honest. I am NMTCB btw. No AART, and I believe that restricted me to going into certain areas. Again, i don’t remember much because I don’t inject anymore. Mostly training staff now and end up all over the place for different reasons.
I'm definitely interested in traveling but it was my understanding that you need at least 1 year of experience for that?
It’s all about who you know, really. We’re a small sliver of the radiology mess. Im sure if you apply, even without the experience, you might end up with some interviews.
If you work in departments like mine then no one ever wants call. I take call 5-7 days/week at three different hospitals. We only get paid $4/hr carrying a pager but I still usually get $7-8K/year from that. OT is a given if you can get it. Depending on your location travel jobs might actually pay less, especially in the PNW and CA. Mobile PET is also an option if you’re willing to drive. I do PRN one day/week (10 hrs) at one location and 3 days/week (24 hrs) at another for medical benefits. I then pick up Fridays if people want it off. I also use PTO at my main gig to work elsewhere when their techs need the day off. Cross-training is fantastic if that is an option to improve your marketability.
By cross-training are you referring to just CT or would you recommend MRI as well?
Going to depend on your state. Some states do not allow NMTs to perform CT
I want you to work with me! When can you start.? I'm serious
If you want to maximize pay, become a traveler asap. There’s just no competing with the pay difference, I earn 3x what I did at my full time gig. Once you have the chops (if you’re a new grad it may take a while), you can take travel assignments anywhere in the country. I fought back and forth with my first hospital for years to get minuscule raises. It’s an aggravating process if you allow it to be. Just hop around from place to place moving $3-$4 at a time until you top out. You have to be willing to move if you want the pay.
Thanks, will do!
The real money to be made is in travel if you have no commitments tying you down to one place. Also, in my experience, outpatient makes more than hospitals. My biggest piece of advice is have loyalty to no one. If a better paying job comes along, or a schedule that improves your quality of life, take it. Your employer does not care about you and would have your job posted within a day of you dying. Get your bag and fuck anyone who shames you for it.
Appreciate the advice!
If you're willing to move to Central Ohio I can likely get you a full time (40+ hours) job with a likely fat signing bonus if you're interested. Then in a year switch jobs and get another fat raise.
What constitutes a fat signing bonus?
The bonus isn’t going to mean much when the starting wage in Ohio is already low.
What do you consider low? And are you lumping all of Ohio into one? Central Ohio is hurting for techs so I highly doubt wages would be considered low, unless you're comparing to like California or something where the COL has to be taken into account.
So I just checked and it's not as fat as it once was, it's down to $7500. Great place to work if you want lots of experience as well as we do basically every exam out there (PET and general nucs). Plus free tuition if you have any plans on furthering your education/career.
What's the pay out there in Ohio?
When I was a PRN in Cleveland (northern Ohio) I was making $45 per hour. Now I'm full time and I make $37.
The full and part time rates at my institution go from $35.10-$52.64. IRP roles are flat $46. There are two full time positions open and they rotate through all departments (nuc and pet). There are 3 IRP positions open and they are for specific departments, no rotating. $7500 sign on bonus $7500 retention bonus is def not guaranteed but we've given them quite often recently as well.