Part-time work is admittedly easier to arrange in some situations than in others. Factors that make such an opportunity more likely include being part of a large group, working in a shift-based specialty, and perhaps being an employed physician.
Likewise, the financial impact of part-time work will vary depending on your situation. If you’re lucky, the drop in compensation will be commensurate with the decrease in your workload.
– Work four days (usually consecutive) at our outpatient surgical center. That’s about a 40-hour workweek. – Work 72 hours at our hospital. – Enjoy the remaining three-plus weeks of the month off.
Working half-time at 50% less works out to $200,000 in total compensation, or a 60% reduction in net income to work half as much after accounting for the $50,000 in fixed costs.
In our first month of partial freedom, I attended a couple of four-day conferences in the latter part of the month — one for anesthesiologists and the other for bloggers.
In November of 2017, we took our first big trip, spending three weeks in Guanajuato. The getaway was a wonderful family experience. We learned some Spanish, explored Mexico’s central highlands, and spent all of our days together, rather than running in different directions as we so often do at home.