Author Topic: need advice for potential lay off  (Read 4341 times)

abpa

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need advice for potential lay off
« on: February 10, 2014, 10:04:03 AM »
I am pretty certain that I will be laid off by the end of the year from the job that I just started in December. I'm a Physician Assistant and it wouldn't be difficult to find a new job quickly but I want to really take some time and find a place that aligns with my values and will let me work part time.  I'm starting to feel the icy-cold fingers of burnout around my throat and do not want to approach people who need my help from a place of resentment.

 My only debt is the mortgage (balance of $150k, payment of $1050 per month) which I split with my fiance. The rest of my bills are pretty minimal: car and health insurance($300 per month for both), utilities (between $100 and $200 per month depending on the time of year, split with fiance.  We're in New Mexico and it's been pretty warm this winter), phone (virgin mobile $100 for both) for my self and my daughter who is in college, gym membership($39) (I have a back injury and swimming seems to be the only thing I'm able to do that helps).  I have $50k in an index fund and $80k in a traditional IRA, about $5k in cash.  The car is paid off, no credit card or student loan debt.  Right now I'm making $75k, which may be reduced to $60ish before I'm laid off.  My fiance makes $57k with no assets and no debt (we're working on the assets part).

I'm looking for alternate income streams to cushion me through this transition.  Any suggestions?

phred

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Re: need advice for potential lay off
« Reply #1 on: February 10, 2014, 12:19:54 PM »
Laid off as a Physician Assistant?  So much for jobs for the future!  If you just want to work part-time you might consider working in a mini-clinic at some grocery store or big box.  Perhaps some GPs seek overload help for their two busiest days of the week.  Hard to answer without knowing what values you are seeking.
  Your cellphone expenditure seems a little high.  Mr. Mustache wrote two different articles on cheaper cellphone plans.  With your income potential I would be contributing to a Roth IRA instead  of a conventional IRA.  Sorry, I don't know of any instant income streams.

  Have you tried the McKenzie exercises for your back?

abpa

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Re: need advice for potential lay off
« Reply #2 on: February 10, 2014, 01:42:46 PM »
Yeah, it's a really weird situation.  The whole practice has slowed down somewhat but my patient load is...  well, tumbleweeds.  Part of it is problems with insurance companies and the other part we haven't figured out yet.  My employers, a small private practice, really don't do any marketing so we're not getting any new business either.  They are also planning to drop insurance altogether in January 2015.  I think this is going to bring down the patient load even further.  As it is now, I'm going to lose 30% of my salary in a month or two because the work I am doing doesn't even cover my salary right now.  In my city most of the private practices and urgent cares have been swallowed up by the monolithic healthcare corporations.  I'd like to go back to working with the underserved or in rural medicine, which was always interesting though not exactly stress free. 

I'll look into some cheaper cell plans as well.

Cheddar Stacker

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Re: need advice for potential lay off
« Reply #3 on: February 10, 2014, 02:37:54 PM »
3 things come to mind:

1) Save everything you can while you are working so you have a bigger emergency fund. This includes the cell phone as phred mentioned. Look into car/home/health insurance carriers to see if you can some a bit. Cut anywhere else you can without going crazy.

2) Look into refinancing your mortgage, getting a home equity line of credit, applying for credit cards, etc. while you are still working since all of this will be harder to do if/when you get laid off.

3) I'm not sure the pay would be the same or your skills would transfer, but I would think there is plenty of demand for people to assist with the implementation of the AFA. Don't mean to open fresh wounds as a lot of people in the medical field were very much against this law, but it's here so let's accept it. If demand for jobs is there for some reason, and it would provide you with a fresh new industry to cure your burnout, maybe it's worth looking into.

frugaldrummer

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Re: need advice for potential lay off
« Reply #4 on: February 10, 2014, 03:05:23 PM »
There should be lots of part-time job opportunities for you.  What about urgent care centers (always interesting stuff)?  Work for the prison system (def an underserved population there, I know docs that were well paid for part-time work there).  Get involved in holistic medicine (check out the Institute for Functional medicine, it will revitalize the way you look at medicine).  Market yourself even if the bosses don't? 

abpa

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Re: need advice for potential lay off
« Reply #5 on: February 10, 2014, 03:34:25 PM »
The interest rate on my mortgage is crazy low but my property taxes have gone up significantly, about $150 per month since I bought the house.  Refinancing at current rates would actually make my payments go up.  I'm going to look into urgent care centers for part time gigs and possibly locum tenens work (temp work for medical people) for a while and take some time to find my next permanent location.

Gggirl

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Re: need advice for potential lay off
« Reply #6 on: February 10, 2014, 03:35:09 PM »
Have you thought about working for mobile type doctors?  I have seen a trend where PA and NP are being utilized more with doctors who see patients in their homes.  It can be interesting because you see how well the patient is doing in their home and what obstacles they have.  It is surprising how some people live.  It is one on one treatment and you would work alone. You spend more time with them which can lead to a better patient relationship.   The population is mostly medicare recipents.