What does going part-time actually cost?
At 0.8 FTE, the model nets about $207,000 for 44 hours a week — roughly $45,600 less than full-time, for 528 fewer hours a year. The number that matters is not the salary cut; it is how benefits, bonus, call and the wRVU threshold prorate, and whether the loan payment changes.
All answers · Career · checked October 21, 2026
Employers rarely prorate everything the same way. Base salary usually scales with FTE; bonus and wRVU thresholds may not; health premium, retirement match, PTO and CME may be fixed or cut. Call may stay the same. Ask for each line in writing before you ask for the schedule.
The salary cut overstates the cost of the hours. In the model, full-time nets about $252,700 for 2,640 hours — roughly $96 an hour — and 0.8 FTE nets about $207,100 for 2,112 hours, roughly $98 an hour. So the 528 hours you give up were paying about $86 an hour, below your average, because fixed pay and benefits do not scale down with them. That is the number to compare against what the time is worth to you.
Check the benefits-eligibility threshold before the schedule. At many employers it sits at 0.5 or 0.75 FTE, and dropping below it changes health coverage, retirement match and sometimes call obligations — a bigger swing than the salary line.
A lower AGI changes income-driven loan payments and may change the filing decision. Recertify after the change, not before, and check whether the lower payment still counts toward PSLF.
Part-time can also change the career track: partnership eligibility, committee roles, and the assumption that you are available. That is a contract question as much as a financial one.
The numbers
- Full-time model
- ≈$252,700 net
- $320,000 gross, 55 h/week, 48 weeks
- 0.8 FTE model
- ≈$207,100 net
- $256,000 gross, 44 h/week
- Difference
- ≈−$45,600 net
- For 528 fewer hours a year
- Marginal net per hour given up
- ≈$86
- vs ≈$96 average at full-time; fixed pay does not prorate
- Full-time
- ≈$252,700
- 55 hours/week
- 0.8 FTE
- ≈$207,100
- 44 hours/week
Actions that follow from the numbers
- Ask how base, bonus, wRVU threshold, call, PTO and benefits prorate. Career model
- Model the loan payment at the lower AGI. Loan brief
- Put the schedule and proration in a signed amendment.
What could change this
Each condition below would change the conclusion above. If one applies, re-run the numbers before acting on this answer.
- Your employer prorates base, bonus, call, and benefits differently — each line moves the gap in either direction.
- Your wRVU threshold does not scale with FTE — effective pay falls faster than hours.
- Your lower AGI reduces an income-driven loan payment — the net cost shrinks; recertify after the change.
- Partnership track or call coverage does not adjust — the cost shows up in career terms, not pay.
When the numbers aren't enough
- You are on a partnership track with hours requirements.
- Your benefits or call would not prorate with the schedule.
- You are considering part-time to manage a health issue or caregiving.