Job Security in Today’s Market
Have you been at your job for a long time? Or have you been job hopping? No matter which one you are, do you feel that your position is secure?
In today's market, jobs seem plentiful for therapists. Some of these jobs might be a position you don't want to take, but they are still out there. But then some of these jobs entail working for contractors, and their only security is usually a year to year contract with the facility. From experience I can tell you that I've started several different positions only to be let go three to six months later because the facility decided to switch to a new contractor. The funny side to this is when I was living in a small Indiana town I covered one facility for three different companies.
Job security in the medical field in this day of economic failures seems to be holding its own. At least I haven't heard of any hospitals or nursing homes asking the government for a bailout. People don't plan to get sick or injured, we just happen to work with the unfortunate ones who need our help. When most of us need medical care, we seek it and worry about the cost later. The average American spends 5-10% of their annual income on medical care, but some people need to spend up to 25% of their income to cover health care costs.
If the security of job availability was left up to me to decide, then at this time I think things seem fairly good out there. From the number of phone calls, cards, letters and e-mails I get there must be plenty of jobs around. And as much as it's always comforting to the mind to know if your current position ends there are more jobs out there, you just hope you won't have to resort to finding out how many really exist. I do, however, shy away from any offers where sign on bonuses and high salaries get mentioned right away. It makes me wonder if the facility is that bad or if the caseload is too difficult, that this is the only way they can lure a therapist in.
So how's your job security today? Feel pretty useful and needed in your current position? Or is your company so big that anytime they feel like changing staff new people show up? Is the contract about to run out? With the many different factors that can affect a person's job security in today's world, it makes you wonder who's next.
Until next time, hope all your "Thoughts" are Good-
Tim