I'm motified with the RT pay scale in Austin, Texas

I recently relocated to Austin, Texas from California. Before relocating, I had contacted a registry (will remain nameless) in Austin, TX. I told them I was certified with 22 years experience in all levels of respiratory care. I was quoted a hourly rate of $40/hour and was told there was high demand for RT's in Texas. Well after making the move to Texas, I was told a completly different story than from initial phone conversartion. The rep. from this registry did some back peddling and revised her quote of $40/hr to $28/hr. Then when on to say, "they haven't had a need for RT's in months." With this in mind I decided not to sign up with them. As a result, I submitted my resume to various hospitals in Austin. Within a week I received two interviews from two major hospitals. One hospital quoted me $20/hr and the other $22/hr. That's 50% less than what I was making in CA. Huge difference!

How do fellow RT's make it on such low wages? Are unions utilized in Texas healthcare?

RC in Texas in Georgetown, Texas said: I recently relocated to Austin, Texas from California. Before relocating, I had contacted a registry (will remain nameless) in Austin, TX. I told them I was certified with 22 years experience in all levels of respiratory care. I was quoted a hourly rate of $40/hour and was told there was high demand for RT's in Texas. Well after making the move to Texas, I was told a completly different story than from initial phone conversartion. The rep. from this registry did some back peddling and revised her quote of $40/hr to $28/hr. Then when on to say, "they haven't had a need for RT's in months." With this in mind I decided not to sign up with them. As a result, I submitted my resume to various hospitals in Austin. Within a week I received two interviews from two major hospitals. One hospital quoted me $20/hr and the other $22/hr. That's 50% less than what I was making in CA. Huge difference!

How do fellow RT's make it on such low wages? Are unions utilized in Texas healthcare?

what does "motified" mean?

MORTIFIED!!!!

Unfortunatley CA pays high due to the high cost of living. You have to realize that RT's may not be in great demand as they were in CA due to population differences and cost of living differences.

michaines29 in Garden Grove, California said: Unfortunatley CA pays high due to the high cost of living. You have to realize that RT's may not be in great demand as they were in CA due to population differences and cost of living differences.

Michaines29,

I will agree housing here is about 50% cheaper than CA; however, groceries, clothing, entertainmet, and car insurance. All these necessities are all equal in cost to what it cost in CA. In addition, not all of Calif. is highly populated. Northern Calif. overall is less densly populated, yet the wages are higher and the cost of living is cheaper than So. Cal. In my opinion the difference between No. and So. Cal. there is an over saturation of RTs in So. Cal. Lot's of trade schools putting out RTs. This is the primary reason why I had to move from So. Cal. No jobs!!

Thanks
RC

RC in Texas in Georgetown, Texas said: Michaines29,

I will agree housing here is about 50% cheaper than CA; however, groceries, clothing, entertainmet, and car insurance. All these necessities are all equal in cost to what it cost in CA. In addition, not all of Calif. is highly populated. Northern Calif. overall is less densly populated, yet the wages are higher and the cost of living is cheaper than So. Cal. In my opinion the difference between No. and So. Cal. there is an over saturation of RTs in So. Cal. Lot's of trade schools putting out RTs. This is the primary reason why I had to move from So. Cal. No jobs!!

Thanks
RC

A good freind of mine landed a job in dallas, 10 years experience they started her at 31.00 hour....22-20hr thats a joke!!!

I'm diffinately going to have to look into Dalles. I totally agree 20-22/hr is a JOKE.

Thanks
RC

RC in Texas in Georgetown, Texas said: I'm diffinately going to have to look into Dalles. I totally agree 20-22/hr is a JOKE.

Thanks
RC

Im in the NYC area, i was planing to check out socal, for the warm weather, The pay over there is starting around $30-3? i have 4 years experience, but im debating to move if there is a pay cut of half.....thats crazy,
Why the move?

You might want to check with some of the registries in the Los Angeles area (Mediscan, AHP,and Maxim Medical Staffing) these agencies generally pay between 36.00-40.00/hr. I found that most registries play favorites and will supply you with full-time work if you have a very flexible schedule and are willing to any shift any day of the week. If anything, it gives you exposure to various hospitals. Yes, the weather is truly great!!

I moved to Texas because the RT jobs in Orange County have become non-existent. And found traveling to LA from OC was a bit much due to traffic. Since I have family in Austin, I thought this is the perfect time to make the move to Texas and check out the job market. I found there are RT jobs here but the pay , as you said, is a joke. So I'm now pursuing my BS degree with the intention of landing a better paying job.

Thanks RC

RC in Texas in Georgetown, Texas said: I recently relocated to Austin, Texas from California. Before relocating, I had contacted a registry (will remain nameless) in Austin, TX. I told them I was certified with 22 years experience in all levels of respiratory care. I was quoted a hourly rate of $40/hour and was told there was high demand for RT's in Texas. Well after making the move to Texas, I was told a completly different story than from initial phone conversartion. The rep. from this registry did some back peddling and revised her quote of $40/hr to $28/hr. Then when on to say, "they haven't had a need for RT's in months." With this in mind I decided not to sign up with them. As a result, I submitted my resume to various hospitals in Austin. Within a week I received two interviews from two major hospitals. One hospital quoted me $20/hr and the other $22/hr. That's 50% less than what I was making in CA. Huge difference!

How do fellow RT's make it on such low wages? Are unions utilized in Texas healthcare?

I work in Seattle and making 29 dollars/hr in my 3rd year as an RRT working day shift. Graduated 2006. My fellow classmate who also work in Seattle (differnt hospital) only gets paid 23/hr. So it also depends on the hospital. Does this place offer RRT pay?Is it a private hospital. Public hospitals tend to pay a few dollars less. Also NEVER trust any agency until you get everything in writing. Some of them trick you to gettn your foot in after exausting your time/days doing paperwork. I was once told 44/hr via email. But after I had done all paperwork they needed, the final offer was only 34/hr. 10 dollars difference! I confronted him and his reply was " im sorry i didnt make it clear to you" WTF? I had proof in the email.

civicsi099 in seattle, Washington said: I work in Seattle and making 29 dollars/hr in my 3rd year as an RRT working day shift. Graduated 2006. My fellow classmate who also work in Seattle (differnt hospital) only gets paid 23/hr. So it also depends on the hospital. Does this place offer RRT pay?Is it a private hospital. Public hospitals tend to pay a few dollars less. Also NEVER trust any agency until you get everything in writing. Some of them trick you to gettn your foot in after exausting your time/days doing paperwork. I was once told 44/hr via email. But after I had done all paperwork they needed, the final offer was only 34/hr. 10 dollars difference! I confronted him and his reply was " im sorry i didnt make it clear to you" WTF? I had proof in the email.

thats pretty good for seattle washington, the funny thing about respiratory is that every hospital has different rolls for RT. I work in the NYC area, certain hospital wont let respiratory change vent settings, and you go two blocks down respiratory intubates and has full control of vent management. No RT wants to be a vent or neb jockey. But usually the prestige hospitals pay the most but limits respiratory role. The small hospitals pay less and you do more. Is this true on the west coast or the midwest?

RC in Texas in Georgetown, Texas said: Michaines29,

I will agree housing here is about 50% cheaper than CA; however, groceries, clothing, entertainmet, and car insurance. All these necessities are all equal in cost to what it cost in CA. In addition, not all of Calif. is highly populated. Northern Calif. overall is less densly populated, yet the wages are higher and the cost of living is cheaper than So. Cal. In my opinion the difference between No. and So. Cal. there is an over saturation of RTs in So. Cal. Lot's of trade schools putting out RTs. This is the primary reason why I had to move from So. Cal. No jobs!!

Thanks
RC

You moved from So. Cal due to no jobs. Do you/anyone know how the job outlook in Northern CA is?? The pay scale? I'm thinking about relocating but due to the economy, not sure if its such a smart move. A lot of hospitals I know of are on a hiring freeze.

Julie
I have worked in Northern Cal. approx 8 yrs ago, and at the time the job market for RTs was very good. In addition the pay is a bit more than So. Cal. I'm not sure what part of Northern Cal your wanting to relocate to? But you might want to look into San Fransisco or the surounding area. You'll find that these areas have more jobs with better pay.

Best of Luck...

Motified? Don't you mean mortified.

RC in Texas in Georgetown, Texas said: I recently relocated to Austin, Texas from California. Before relocating, I had contacted a registry (will remain nameless) in Austin, TX. I told them I was certified with 22 years experience in all levels of respiratory care. I was quoted a hourly rate of $40/hour and was told there was high demand for RT's in Texas. Well after making the move to Texas, I was told a completly different story than from initial phone conversartion. The rep. from this registry did some back peddling and revised her quote of $40/hr to $28/hr. Then when on to say, "they haven't had a need for RT's in months." With this in mind I decided not to sign up with them. As a result, I submitted my resume to various hospitals in Austin. Within a week I received two interviews from two major hospitals. One hospital quoted me $20/hr and the other $22/hr. That's 50% less than what I was making in CA. Huge difference!

How do fellow RT's make it on such low wages? Are unions utilized in Texas healthcare?

I here you my friend respiratory therapy in Texas sucks, no respect, poor wages and alot of crap. that is basically a going rate, the reason is to many therapist, in Texas there are to many schools that teach RT. It floods the hospitals with students trying to find jobs and they keep the wages low. Also the Respiratory therapist in the hospitals only hire there buddies, they dont go with what you know anymore, it's who you know. The best thing to do if you are in Austin, is to hook up to a traveling service only in Texas, and get to know people in the hospitals you work in and try and squeeze in that way. In texas it a right to work state so they can fire you for no reason so be careful dont rock any boats, and try to make a living on 20 bucks an hour, if you travel to the bigger cities ie Houston, Dallas, their pay is better at least 23-26 per hour even that is low but maybe you can find a home for low rent.

goodluck jesset

Not just Texas- this is happening all over the states, hospitals are cutting pay for their current therapist up to 3% and if hiring at all, looking for the cheapest wages, claiming this is better than lay offs. Very disturbing, we can only hope patient care won't suffer and hospitals won't use the economy as an excuse for poor wages. New grads won't stick around at these hospitals either once things recover.

Does anyone know what the market is like in houston for new grads? I am considering getting into the field and starting a program this fall but after reading some of the posts on here it makes me nervous.

RC in Georgetown, Texas said: Julie
I have worked in Northern Cal. approx 8 yrs ago, and at the time the job market for RTs was very good. In addition the pay is a bit more than So. Cal. I'm not sure what part of Northern Cal your wanting to relocate to? But you might want to look into San Fransisco or the surounding area. You'll find that these areas have more jobs with better pay.

Best of Luck...

Thank you. I'm looking into the Sacramento area right now. I know that the bay area pays more, but the cost of living is also higher. I eventually want to be a home owner, and I just don't know if I can afford a decent home in the bay area. In the last three months, there hasn't been much coming up in Sacramento area...

Thanks Jesset for the inside scoop. I did not know Texas is a right to work state. That explains the low wages and why there aren't any health care unions here.

I am learning to make due on 20.00 bucks an hour. I'm also persuing my BS degree so I can get the heck out of Resp. and maybe get into medical sales.

Thanks again,

I have worked a number of years in Sacramento. I can tell you that most hosp. HR depts in that area tend to be a bit slow. So if I were you I would place a call to the RT dept manager. You'll find that there are three major hosp. conglomerates in Sacto: Sutter, Mercy, and Kaiser. I have worked at all of these hospitals and found Sutter General to have fairest and most flexable dept. manager of all of them.

The Mercy systems tend to make too many changes in response to economical changes. They're big on cut backs. As for the Kaiser sytem they have a two tier pay wage. What that means if you were hired by Kaiser after 1986 then your pay is significantly lower than another RT who was hired before then. I found this to be problem for me because I was doing the same exact job, yet I was getting paid 10.00 dollars less than an uppper tier RT.

Hope this helps...

RC in Georgetown, Texas said: I have worked a number of years in Sacramento. I can tell you that most hosp. HR depts in that area tend to be a bit slow. So if I were you I would place a call to the RT dept manager. You'll find that there are three major hosp. conglomerates in Sacto: Sutter, Mercy, and Kaiser. I have worked at all of these hospitals and found Sutter General to have fairest and most flexable dept. manager of all of them.

The Mercy systems tend to make too many changes in response to economical changes. They're big on cut backs. As for the Kaiser sytem they have a two tier pay wage. What that means if you were hired by Kaiser after 1986 then your pay is significantly lower than another RT who was hired before then. I found this to be problem for me because I was doing the same exact job, yet I was getting paid 10.00 dollars less than an uppper tier RT.

Hope this helps...

I work for Kaiser in the Sac area. You may want to check facts,things may have changed, as my friends who work in RT here get paid pretty well. Kaiser pretty much sets the standard for pay in Northern CA. It has also been a good place to work

KP
I am not disputing Kaiser's work enviroment nor the decent pay; however, you can't deny the fact there still exist a two tier system within the RT dept. I bet there are still a few of those higher tier therapist making a substantial higher pay . And as far as Kaiser setting the stardard of pay, you have the union to thank for that

I work in Corpus Christi and have only been out of school a few years. I make $30.00/hour there. That's why I didnt move to Austin. The college in Corpus puts out a very few mediocre therapists so they pay well for the ones they get.

Ann,
Thanks for the input. If things don't work out here, I might check into Corpus Christi. The pay sounds much better than 20 bucks an hour.

RC in Georgetown, Texas said: I have worked a number of years in Sacramento. I can tell you that most hosp. HR depts in that area tend to be a bit slow. So if I were you I would place a call to the RT dept manager. You'll find that there are three major hosp. conglomerates in Sacto: Sutter, Mercy, and Kaiser. I have worked at all of these hospitals and found Sutter General to have fairest and most flexable dept. manager of all of them.

The Mercy systems tend to make too many changes in response to economical changes. They're big on cut backs. As for the Kaiser sytem they have a two tier pay wage. What that means if you were hired by Kaiser after 1986 then your pay is significantly lower than another RT who was hired before then. I found this to be problem for me because I was doing the same exact job, yet I was getting paid 10.00 dollars less than an uppper tier RT.

Hope this helps...

Thanks a bunch!! I will definitely make a few calls!

Hey Guys, I want to start a new topic, Do you all believe that an RT can be black balled in a city which he or she resides in, Do any of you know how they might be doing it. I only wonder because here in El Paso, I left my old hospital in good standing and now I come back after several years they have new administration and the manager for some reason or another does not like me and wont give me a chance no matter how I left, what do you guys think, let me know your stories, or how I may overcome this problem. I ve tried everything except going to the news.

This is very common, management sometimes can take quitting personal. Even if you where the best therapist in the department. They feel that if you quit do not come back! Its pretty sad, thats why you have to be careful when you leave a job. Some places have been know to stamp an employee's profile do not rehire.
There is really nothing you can do but look for a different place. hope this helps.

Thanks for the Input 458, I've tried locally but no one is hiring me, regardless of my experience, this is why im being black balled. I just dont know how they are doing it. There use to be rumors saying that when other company's are calling for reference they use a code word to let the other company know not to hire you. Have you or any of your fellow RT's know of such a word or do they know how the hospitals black ball personnel.

Thanks,

Jesse

I have not heard of a blackball code word, but like i said if management puts a do not hire on your employee profile you, will never get hired by that hospital. There are laws to what Human Resources can and cannot release. You have to understand respiratory is a small field so if you made a mistake in one hospital, your co-workers might talk about it in another hospital and your name might get spread around, all it takes is one RT to say no he is not a good worker, and the director or hiring supervisor may go by their word alone,.....

has anyone heard anything about texas childrens, advance always has them ranked as the top RT department? If the staff voted, it must be a really a great department!

goodluck jesset

"I here you"
"therapist"
in Texas there are "to" many schools
only hire "there" buddies

Can you honestly say that you should be making more than $20/hr?
Your sentence structure is less impressive than your vocabulary.

civicsi099 in seattle, Washington said: I work in Seattle and making 29 dollars/hr in my 3rd year as an RRT working day shift. Graduated 2006. My fellow classmate who also work in Seattle (differnt hospital) only gets paid 23/hr. So it also depends on the hospital. Does this place offer RRT pay?Is it a private hospital. Public hospitals tend to pay a few dollars less. Also NEVER trust any agency until you get everything in writing. Some of them trick you to gettn your foot in after exausting your time/days doing paperwork. I was once told 44/hr via email. But after I had done all paperwork they needed, the final offer was only 34/hr. 10 dollars difference! I confronted him and his reply was " im sorry i didnt make it clear to you" WTF? I had proof in the email.

DId you graduate from Seattle Central's RT program? Would you recommend it?

RC in Texas in Georgetown, Texas said: I recently relocated to Austin, Texas from California. Before relocating, I had contacted a registry (will remain nameless) in Austin, TX. I told them I was certified with 22 years experience in all levels of respiratory care. I was quoted a hourly rate of $40/hour and was told there was high demand for RT's in Texas. Well after making the move to Texas, I was told a completly different story than from initial phone conversartion. The rep. from this registry did some back peddling and revised her quote of $40/hr to $28/hr. Then when on to say, "they haven't had a need for RT's in months." With this in mind I decided not to sign up with them. As a result, I submitted my resume to various hospitals in Austin. Within a week I received two interviews from two major hospitals. One hospital quoted me $20/hr and the other $22/hr. That's 50% less than what I was making in CA. Huge difference!

How do fellow RT's make it on such low wages? Are unions utilized in Texas healthcare?

Well as far as pay in Austin, pay is capped.Which is illegal,but still exists.But I would never relocate to somewhere new, without true pay rates and in writing. Texas has more jobs for RTs, due to size, but all depends where.
El Paso and surrounding is all seasonal, Dallas also, but still some occasional openings. Austin is same, but you have to keep up with ads, for St-Davids and Seton.San Antonio,has the lowest pay, they claim due to cost of living,all bs.
Houston pays the best, but who wants to live in Houston.
But overall its all about the cost of living,I know , it has a bearing on pay.Its amazing how low pay can be from state to state. But Texas,has decent pay,and honestly better hospitals,but also depends on the city.I live in East part of Wa state,and have never , met such rude nurses,and rt's. So my plan is to start traveling again.Due to not having to deal with politics of the hospital,and rude employees.But will return to TX.

amn in Victoria, Texas said: I work in Corpus Christi and have only been out of school a few years. I make $30.00/hour there. That's why I didnt move to Austin. The college in Corpus puts out a very few mediocre therapists so they pay well for the ones they get.

I just graduated from an accredited two year registry program. I was nominated by the staff as RT student of the year 2009. I live in Little Rock; and my plan has been to always leave the country life for the city life. I am ambitious, energetic, positive and professional; with 10 years of customer service experience; enable me to excel in patient care.Just need the opportunity.

good life01 in Sherwood, Arkansas said: I just graduated from an accredited two year registry program. I was nominated by the staff as RT student of the year 2009. I live in Little Rock; and my plan has been to always leave the country life for the city life. I am ambitious, energetic, positive and professional; with 10 years of customer service experience; enable me to excel in patient care.Just need the opportunity.

Wow, what "country" are you looking to work at Europe, Canada or Mexico?? You want to go international?

No, No, Not the Country the country (the slow life).

faboo7 how is the job market in the Bay area for new grads

Well from what I hear there are a few hosp. that hire new grads and that's in the Sacramento Area Mercy Hosp. but I heard that working there is a pain and you get treated bad by the RN's(though a source on this site). But there are always looking for therapist in long term acute homes if you like that. Overall No. Cal is not the funnest place to live and work that's for sure, but yeah So. Cal is alot a better place to go if you find work that's for sure!!