If you're finishing up residency or fellowship, you've spent the last 4, 5, 6, 7, maybe even 8 years being paid about 18 cents per hour. Now you're out there looking for your first "real" job. So when someone comes along and offers you a 6-figure salary, it's tempting to accept it, no matter how unfair the offer actually is. Unfortunately, some employers are anxious to take advantage of young physicians who are desperate to take any job that will help them begin to pay off their enormous student loans. So many times young physicians wind up accepting compensation under their physician employment agreement that is not up to par with market standards. After all, it's hard to know what the market standard is when you don't have access to national physician compensation benchmark data. That is where a physician agent can help you. In providing our Premier Opportunity service to our clients, Lauth O'Neill utilizes our access to the MGMA and other important surveys to ensure that our clients receive the compensation and benefits they deserve. Before you accept a physician employment contract offer, be sure someone is looking out for your financial and legal interests.