Why I Decided Not To Go Perm

My previous post demonstrated all of the good reasons I should become permanent at my current assignment. I’ll now explain why I chose not to go that route.

I actually spent a few days leaning towards going permanent. There are two main reasons that I chose not to. The first reason is that I received my extension bonus and realized after taxes I was only going to take half of it home. This reminded me that one of the main reasons I love working in locum tenens, is that I can alternate between being a W2 employee and being a 1099 contractor. This allows me to deduct more taxes at the end of the year.

I am currently working as a W2 employee and was reminded that I needed to work the remaining 3 months of the year as a 1099 contractor, or else I would be paying $60k in taxes at the end of the year! As much as I love my current job, I don’t think any job is worth working just for your income to go to uncle sam.

The idea of becoming a partner at the clinic initially sparked my interest. I compared my current salary and benefits with those I would earn if I were to become a partner. An experienced nurse practitioner at my job confided in me her current salary, and just by being a traveler I was making $20k more than her. In addition, by being a partner, after the initial raise and the quarterly bonuses, this would equate to an extra $20k. I calculated the cost of my living arrangements for the past year and recognized that my job had paid $20k over the past year for my rent, furniture rental, cable/internet, and electricity.

So just to review, becoming a permanent employee could possibly push me back $20k. Even if it didn’t, becoming a partner wasn’t even worth it because I was already receiving the financial benefit through my covered housing costs alone.

The other main reason I decided not to go permanent is because the longer I stay at my assignment, the more drama I began to notice. I observed that the working environment isn’t always quite fair. Some physicians have an easier case load than others, while the most hard working physicians often go unnoticed. I also had some issues with a couple of my medical assistants, where they get too comfortable with you that they think they don’t need to do their job. I had been working in locums for so long, that I had forgotten about the annoying bureaucratic issues of working at a permanent job.

I asked a handful of people for advice; most people told me that if I liked my job then I should consider staying. I never saw myself settling down in Virginia, but wondered if the job was worth it. We do spend the majority of our time at work. And it would just be a year or two, and I am pretty sure my job would still allow me to travel abroad all of the time.

My sister who knows me best was the only person that told me not to stay permanently and to continue being a traveler. She told me not to think about the patients because they come and go. She told me that I am living the best kind of life being able to travel and have constant new experiences, as well as tons of freedom. She told me that I am still young and should think a bit more selfishly.

That pretty much sums up the main reasons I decided not to stay permanently. What do you guys think? Did I make the right decision?