To double your salary with a new healthcare degree, you must acquire special professional skills and be cognizant of various criteria. Doubling your salary can be difficult, but it is possible when certain criteria are met. Here are some suggestions that may help healthcare professionals double their salary and improve their chances of achieving job satisfaction:
Consider the Cost of Living Where You Will Practice
The cost of living plays a considerable role in a healthcare professional’s salary. For example, a physician making $250,000 per year will have more disposable income in Florida with no income taxes than in New York with higher income taxes and cost of living. Furthermore, a large four-bedroom home in Florida will cost much less than a comparable home in New York.
Not only should the cost of homes be factored into cost of living but also food, transportation, utilities and insurance. All of these factors will determine how much of a healthcare professional’s salary is spent each year. When more of the salary is required to live in a particular state, the effective earnings are smaller.
Choose a state to work in that provides a higher overall effective salary when cost of living is considered. If a healthcare professional makes more in New York but has to spend more to live in New York, it may be better to move to a location where the overall salary is lower but more money can be saved each month.
Upgrade Your Skills
Medical professionals with upgraded skills may be paid more. These professionals can help advance the medical community because they are abreast of the latest technology and science in the field.
Negotiate Your Salary
Use negotiation skills to achieve a salary increase. Try tactics such as asking the hiring medical professional to state the salary first, then begin negotiations from that point. Do not accept the first offer and do not wait five to seven days for a counter offer to be presented. Be prepared to walk away if a higher offer is not made.
Work in a Field That is In Demand
A field that is in demand will also yield higher salaries. For instance, mobile healthcare, cloud computing and virtualization, big data, ICD-10 compliance, patient portals, data breach prevention, meaningful use, and telemedicine are areas that healthcare professionals should know and embrace. Healthcare professionals with advanced skills in any of these areas are likely to get paid more than healthcare professionals who are not as familiar.
Consider Additional Responsibilities
Physicians who take on additional responsibilities in research or assume a leadership role in business or the hospital may earn more than the average healthcare professional.
Know Your Value
If a healthcare professional is the best in the field, he or she may get paid more. There must be some special skills that no other medical professional has accomplished. A medical professional who has mastered a certain technique and is known world-wide for being the best is likely to get paid more.
Have an Invaluable Skill
Likewise, a medical professional who is the only one of his or her kind will be paid more. A neurologist who can perform a technique that only a handful of other medical professionals can perform is likely to be paid more.
Try to Double Your Salary With Your New Healthcare Degree
Continuing your education and earning a new healthcare degree can open up earning options. With a specialized degree, you may earn far more than you earn now.
To double your salary in healthcare, consider following these seven steps. These tips may help some healthcare professionals double their salaries and improve their overall workplace satisfaction.
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Dale Duncan is a trauma nurse and guest author at Accelerated-Nursing.org, where she contributed to the guide to the Top 10 Online Accelerated Nursing Programs.