What are we worth?

[bemarine]

So I have been offered a new position as a Blood Bank Technical Supervisor in San Antonio, TX. It is a brand new hospital right now only 60 beds and shooting for 300. I would be responsible for training everyone and maintaining competency etc. I have been stressing out what they would offer pay wise. Since, this is my first new supervisory role, I am unsure as to what I should be worth. I have been in B.B. 5 yrs, train new employees, students, assist with minor administrative duties, coordinate my shift, and have my SBB. I was told I should expect salary however, I was offered an hourly rate only. What should I be expecting?

Really need some advice from people in these types of positions. Thanks everyone!

[bennette]

usually when you are promoted to a new position there will always be a corresponding salary increase that goes with the position. Just weigh the pros and cons. well, its a challenge for you and an opportunity to wider your areas and test your supervisory skills. go!

[David Saikin]

This is one of those conundrums which plague our profession . . . remuneration often is associated with the demograhic area of the position. Ask for the moon, you can always negotiate (you probably will have to). I have found the South to be notoriously underpaying for allied health positions. If you were in a major metropolitan area, you should be getting 6 figures. If you can get 75K from them in SA I think you'll be doing well. Places contact me for positions fairly regularly, esp bed size of <200. I ask them why they want an SBB? They really do not know and they offer pitiful salaries. Even the temp orgs want to pay SBBs a pittance. Ask for more than you want and work down. Good luck. PS - I am salaried but my check has an hourly rate.

[tbostock]

There are so many variables with pay from hospital to hospital it's hard to say what your pay should be. Even hospitals within driving distance of where I live vary a lot with what they pay. Some things to consider:

1. You seem to have some experience, and also your SBB. You're a "hot commodity", at least in my part of the country (Northeast); not sure how plentiful SBBs are in Texas.

2. Factor in travel time and other costs of moving to this new hospital.

3. Remember if you are now salaried, you most likely will not get any overtime, etc. As most supervisors will tell you, we work a lot more than the 40 hours (or 37.5) hours that we get paid for.

4. Since annual increases are usually based on a percentage of your salary, it's best to get the best startiing offer possible.

5. Benefits: look closely at benefits and how much you are responsible to pay for health, dental, etc. That could significantly affect your take home pay.

Sounds like a great opportunity for advancement for you...wishing you the best in your decision.

[Malcolm Needs ☆]

Two, maybe three years ago, the NHS in the UK went through something called Agenda for Change.

This, supposedly, was to make pay equal throughout the NHS for equal work and responsibility. There are nine grades (although there are "sub-grades" to Grade 8). If you are a Grade 1 you pay to work (virtually - the pay is so bad). If you are a Grade 9, you are paid very well.

Most Biomedical Scientists are between Grade 4 and Grade 8. I'm an 8b myself, with Grade 8C and Grade 9 above me - but no positions - even my boss, who is charge of RCI throughout the NHSBT is only a Grade 8C, so you can imagine how many positions there are in blood transfusion throughout the country who are Grade 8 (particularly for pure transfusionists, who do not also do haematology).

The Grade is not based on the person, but based on the person's Job Description.

Guess what? Most people's Job Description was changed to make them into a lower grade, and this was particularly so in certain parts of the country. I know of one person in charge of blood transfusion over five hospitals who was "offerred" a Grade 7 Job Description.

Equal pay? Don't make me laugh. There are many very bitter Biomedical Scientists over here (although I fully admit I did quite well out of it myself).

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

[grace]

Hospitals tend to want to pay whatever the other hospitals in the market area are paying. It would be most useful, if you could find out what the job you're going after pays in one or two other hospitals in the area. Most likely it would be a range. If the offer you've gotten is way off, you'd be armed with a compelling negotiation point.

It's not so bad if the job is not salaried. This means you must be paid extra, if you work OT, which is very likely, if you have staffing problems.

Best wishes for a great offer!

[L106]

I understand your question about an appropriate salary, but I think the most important thing is to consider what your goals and objectives are and what things are most important to you, Bettina. It sounds like a great opportunity in many ways; it would be supervisory experience and beneficial on your resume'. What did you think of the person who would be your superior? Would you be expected to work in other areas of the Lab? Other shifts? How do you feel about that? Would your lab be handling antibody workups, etc.? How many people would you be supervising (or would you be expected to handle the vast majority of BB work?)

This new, small hospital may have only the top Lab management on salar. I wouldn't be too concerned about getting an hourly wage. (If I was on hourly wage instead of salaried all these years I could have retired before now!) Back to the pay question.....hard to say.....are they recruiting for an SBB? If you settle too low, it can be very frustrating when you think about all the additional projects, deadlines, hassles, and added responsibilities. On the other hand, if your main objective is the experience, you can always get 2 or 3 years under your belt, then move on.

[LG53]

This is one of those conundrums which plague our profession . . . remuneration often is associated with the demograhic area of the position. Ask for the moon, you can always negotiate (you probably will have to). I have found the South to be notoriously underpaying for allied health positions. If you were in a major metropolitan area, you should be getting 6 figures. If you can get 75K from them in SA I think you'll be doing well. Places contact me for positions fairly regularly, esp bed size of <200. I ask them why they want an SBB? They really do not know and they offer pitiful salaries. Even the temp orgs want to pay SBBs a pittance. Ask for more than you want and work down. Good luck. PS - I am salaried but my check has an hourly rate.

Of all the Texas cities, San Antonio has the lowest pay scale. We think it's because of all the military and retired military techs that want to live there - lots of supply for the demand.