What Influences PA Salaries
If you want to maximize your opportunity to earn a high salary, check out these top 5 factors impacting PA salaries from the AAPA. The list includes: location, specialty, employer type, work setting and locum tenens.
Location can be a big factor in PA salary, but salary alone is not the only thing to look at. The cost of living is also important to how much you should be earning. If the cost of living is higher in one area, the same salary might not go as far.
The top five states for PA salary includes: Washington, New Jersey, Nevada, North Dakota and Hawaii. The highest paying cities for PAs included: Cedar Rapids, West Palm Beach, Olympia, Spokane and Mount Vernon.
After location the specialty you work in is the next factor that affects PA salary. Different specialties get reimbursed differently based on the work they do. Surgical specialties get reimbursed based off what surgeries they are doing, which can be much different than the reimbursement for an office visit in a family practice office.
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Locum tenens is listed as a factor impacting salaries, but I would almost categorize this as a type of employment and not a separate factor affecting salaries. Locum tenens can help you earn more income on an annual basis as it may provide opportunities to work more. It not just that you’re getting paid more for the work you’re doing; you’re working more so you get paid more.
Another thing to keep in mind is that locum tenens often does not provide all the benefits other positions might provide. If you’re comparing two positions you must keep total compensation in mind and not just base salary. They might be offering more salary with fewer benefits.
If you’re on the search for new job keep these factors in mind when looking at the salaries.
Can you think of other factors that impact PA salary? Please comment below the original post, sign up to receive future posts by email and share with your friends!
