Do I take a job with no benefits??

Hey everyone!

I'm in a predicament with a potential new job. I graduated as a medical assistant in December 14, 2017 and also took (and passed!) my certification exam on Dec 22. I have been searching for my first medical assistant job. I will also throw in, I was a certified veterinary technician for 6 years...the two jobs are basically the same except one is animals and one is humans so it wasn't too much for me to learn which was nice.

My situation is as follows: My husband and I are currently trying to start a family (no luck yet) and we are looking for me to find a part time job in my field (4 days a week at most) so that when we do have a child, I will be able to be home with him/her a few days. There have not been many openings near my home...actually hardly any. I finally got a call/interview for a "pool" position close to home. Here's the catch though....since it's a "pool" position, there's not set days/hours. The best the manager could tell me was its for sure 3 days a week, but possibly 4 to 5 days because they are really busy and i'd be covering 6 other girls sick/vacation time too (and because of this...i would have to know more because i'd have to know how to work with each doctor for if their assistant is gone).

There are NO benefits with this pool position. I'm really stuck on that.....i could potentially be working a lot of full time hours for NO benefits...ugh. Also, the pay isn't considered that great which surprised me...normally if the position doesn't have benefits, they typically pay a tiny bit more. They have offered me $14.22 an hour. I was making $13.50 at my previous job which was just a receptionist at an oral surgery office with no related degree...it was full time and had full benefits. And would I NOT get a maternity leave down the line if the job doesn't have benefits? That confuses me a little. There are 2 other positions located 45mins away from me that actually advertise the starting wage at $16/hr with benefits. I've applied for these, but have not gotten an interview yet. Downfall here would be I really hate commuting...especially in snowy/icy Wisconsin winters. I've done it 2 other times in the past. I'm not thrilled about it, but for a little more money and benefits..it may be worth.

I'm supposed to give an answer about this pool position by Monday. Does anyone have any feedback on working potentially full time hours without benefits? We are fortunate that my husband's job carries our health insurance...but we do not have dental or vision (which we both are in need of). I feel kinda bummed that I wouldn't get ANY benefit...no holiday pay, no sick days, no retirement plan to put into, etc. HOWEVER, there have not been many jobs....We're doing just fine right now with finances so i'm not desperate, but obviously would like a job in my field soon. I don't know if I just take the job and keep looking/interviewing for others (although i kinda hate that...i feel bad having the company hire me and train me especially if i find a new job in a month or so), or do I turn it down and keep working hard on applying for positions that have actual benefits? I have an application in for one position right now that is about a half hour from my home, its 3 days a week and rotating saturdays...the pay starts at over a $1 more an hour and it has full benefits, but unfortunately i haven't heard from them yet. Do I take the gamble turning down the offer I have to hope I get an interview and get the job at this other one? They told me I wouldn't even start at this job until Feb 26 (about a month)...would it be absolutely horrible to accept the job but keep looking and potentially "quit" before i even officially start?

I've never had a job without benefits before...I've always been able to have a sick day and a few vacation days and insurance options and retirement plan options. I'll be 28 in April and I feel like i should be putting into a retirement fund sooner than later...I'm just so conflicted. My husband doesn't think its a good offer with lower pay than others and no benefits, but I'm so worried I will end up pregnant and no one will want to hire me!

So very sorry for the long post and thank you in advance for any input you all have!!

If the employer offers no benefits, trust me, they are used to people leaving. If they cared about keeping employees long term they would offer benefits.

I wouldn't feel bad at all if I took the job and kept looking.

For the record, I took a job for 3 months while I waited for a start date for another job I'd been hired for. I didn't feel bad at all leaving because they only allowed their workers to work 29 hours a week specifically to avoid having to offer benefits. Companies like that SHOULD have a high turnover.

I've been a contractor for close to 5 years now, so I can't even remember the last time I've been comped with benefits. But I also price it into my rates. As for days off, I of course don't get those paid, but I also get to choose the jobs I bid on and work seasonally.

Now would I ever take accept actual full-time employment without benefits for $14 an hour? I mean, if I needed money to live and didn't have other options, sure. It'd be far from ideal, to say the least. Personally, not having benefits is the price I'm willing to pay to have the freedom of contracting. Not having that freedom and not having benefits would be pretty miserable for me.

Not sure where you're from, but if you're from the US, do yourself a favor and look at private health insurance plans. Catastrophic plans aren't even cheap anymore, and if you're too old to qualify, you're looking at a lot of money for high deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses. Insurance alone could take up a solid week of your pay if you're not getting it through your employer. Just giving you a heads up as someone who pays an ass load for a mediocre plan.

I left a career that I loved just so I could have the security of having benefits.

Matter of fact, when they called to offer me the job and went on to list all the compensation, one of them medical after 90 days, I countered back saying I'd accept if they would consider medical benefits day one. They took a moment to think about it and agreed.

I think the point is you want to get some experience in the field that you just got a certificate for. The reason you may not be hearing from your other job applications is that you have no experience. If you want to be more valuable, take the temp job right now. You need at least a year's experience. Do not start a family and try to put off your vision and dental problems for a while. (If you just need reading glasses, you can buy them for a buck.)

Like j.man, I have never had a job with benefits. No sick days, no health plans. You can get by for a year. I got by for 40+ years without benefits.

I have an application in for one position right now that is about a half hour from my home, its 3 days a week and rotating saturdays...the pay starts at over a $1 more an hour and it has full benefits, but unfortunately i haven't heard from them yet. Do I take the gamble turning down the offer I have to hope I get an interview and get the job at this other one? They told me I wouldn't even start at this job until Feb 26 (about a month)...would it be absolutely horrible to accept the job but keep looking and potentially "quit" before i even officially start?

No its not. But if you are only working 3 days a week, are you making enough? Also, does your husband have benefits? if he does, then you have health insurance.

If you are only worried about maternity leave for a baby you are not even pregnant with yet, i would take the rotating job and put away money every week - that way if you do become pregnant you have money saved up to be off as long as you want. The other job thats three days a week may never come through and if it does you can tell the other you have been offered another position. I have never been at a part time job that offers full benefits -- you have to contribute more to the insurance they get for you when i did have benefits on part time so i didn't take home much. As far as jobs 45 minutes away, to me the extra buck in hour is lost in gas money - and you may come out less as well.

SO for what its worth , what kind of health insurance does your husband have? If you are being paid a buck or two more because there are no benefits - sock the money away

I think the point is you want to get some experience in the field that you just got a certificate for. The reason you may not be hearing from your other job applications is that you have no experience. If you want to be more valuable, take the temp job right now. You need at least a year's experience. Do not start a family and try to put off your vision and dental problems for a while. (If you just need reading glasses, you can buy them for a buck.)

 

Like j.man, I have never had a job with benefits. No sick days, no health plans. You can get by for a year. I got by for 40+ years without benefits.

That's a great point. you DO need experience and there is only one way to get it

I admit I glossed over the bit with your husband. If you've got health insurance through him and you're only working three days a week (kinda alleviates the need for time off), then you'd obviously be much more able to take some liberties with your job choices. Once my fiancee and I tie the knot in August (shoutout to Reinvent-- forgot to respond when you asked in the other thread), I'll be on her insurance and paying a 10th of what I pay now for an exponentially better plan and there will be virtually no drawback for not having benefits.

I work part time with no benefits - it is hourly. I have never worked part time other than when I was in school. The reason I do it is because of my child. I am able to telework more than half the time and we have health insurance through my husband's employer. The flexibility and convenience is worth so much - I only need one day of after school a week to have enough time for me to get work done (he is almost 9, went back when he was 7). I think you take it for the experience and to start to save money for the future. Good luck and best wishes and hope you have fun trying to conceive!

It seems like it could be a good fit since you plan on becoming pregnant at any time and will want time off initially to spend with baby and then do not plan to work full time hours anyways plus you will want hours that accomadate your childcare schedule. Being a new employee , depending where you are it varies, but generally you won't be able to pick and choose which hours you work ( speaking about when baby comes, if you take on a fixed role now).

Pool work could give you experience, opportunity to make connections that could come in handy later, a chance to work in many different positions with different environments in a short time. You could work hard now while trying to conceive and early pregnancy, sock away money to stay home as long as you need and be looking for that perfect flexible post baby position meanwhile too.

I wouldn't feel bad if you need to leave 'early' from the pool job , if you get pregnant sooner than later . People come on and our all the time, it's meant for folks in transition and/or looking for longer term work positions.

However, just to note, I found my full time job I am currently in by picking up a summer of filling in for four! different positions within a workplace ( vacation and maternity cluster !). I learned more in that summer and became of such value to the company because I could already do more than full time staffers there. And was offered a full time job before my time was even up. So there is that too.

But it's really up to you ! If you aren't happy with that idea, and you are not in a rush, you can of course keep looking.

I will say this though - good to see your dentist now and be aware pregnancy can be hard on your teeth, and some dental work should not be done during pregnancy, so if make the dentist a priority now. If there's money to only work a few days a week, there's money for a dentist! And it's important.

Medical assistant jobs are low paying careers unfortunately. Since you don't have experience being an MA, getting a higher paying salary will be a challenge.

Take the job to build experience, network, and start putting away money. Keep looking as you work.

If you have to accept to keep breathing, then yes, else, move on as I think you know you already can.