Q: Dr. M I am a recent grad. I looking to associate. Can you tell me what to expect or ask for as far as a salary is concerned. A: Thanks for the e-mail. I get many e-mails and phone calls from graduates concerning this one issue .. associateships. My purpose while teaching my class is to shake the 14th quarter student that has the attitude they know everything and can't wait to finish school .. I realize that many students appreaciated my class and paid attention .. but I had to shake all from their comfort zones and give a dose of reality .. school really starts when you grduate. That in mind .. I always felt that being on your own is best .. money is the biggest hurdle .. but if you place a timeline on yor working for others .. it could be a good experince. I recently received a call from a previous student who is looking for an associateship in metro Atlanta. She spoke with a successful doctor out in practice for about 8 years and this student of mine wanted to know if a starting salary of $150 a week was normal .. that's $5 an hour. I spoke with another graduate who signed an associate contract .. written by a well known consultant .. that just about signed his future income away. I received an e- mail from another that was told one thing from the father of the clinic and another from the son and each situation was worse than the other. It goes on and on Therefore .. be careful when you sign anything and if you want me to review it .. fax it to me at 770-491-3799 (be sure your e-mail address is on there somewhere so I can write my impression and send my reply back to you. This is if you feel another opinion is necessary). Okay .. associateship. First .. what do you want to get from the experince? If you need experince with patient flow .. find a busy doctor and walk right into success. If you want the experince of building a practice .. then find someone with energy just needing help. If you need to gain experince while making an income then just find someplace to place your hat for a while and save. How much is the bare minimum you need to survive and begin paying off your loans? When you arrive at this number .. you'll have a handle on where to start in terms of salary. A 60/40 split (60 either way) is normal. I would encourge you to dust off my Smart Start Book and offer to do some marketing and request a bonus on new patients coming from your efforts. Also .. if you will be adjusting his/her patient's .. will there be a bonus fee .. these are questions to get answers for. Understand .. that you are usually at the short end of the deal .. therefore a timeline of 12 months should get you the experince and then move on .. unless you feel this is where you need to be. There is nothing wrong about working for others. As far as other opinions .. visit my webpage: http://www.mindspring.com/~chirosmart look under Practice Tips and Cyberconsulting. Scrool down and read some of the items there Good Luck and you are always as close as your keyboard Have a Great Day Dr. M