You passed boards, your license is on the way, and a clinic wants you. That is a great feeling, and it makes it tempting to sign the first offer that clears your loan payment. But the first job shapes more than your bank account. It sets your clinical habits, your confidence and, very often, whether you still love this work three years from now.
The good news: most of what matters can be learned in one honest conversation. Clinics that invest in new clinicians are usually happy to answer these questions. Clinics that dodge them are telling you something too.
Caseload and schedule
1. How many patients will I see per day, and how fast does that ramp up?
Ask for a real number, not "it depends." Then ask how the number changes over your first 90 days. A thoughtful ramp-up (a lighter schedule while you learn the EMR, the referral sources and the clinic's flow) is one of the clearest signs that an employer has hired new grads before and wants them to succeed.
2. Will I ever be double-booked or treating more than one patient at a time?
Overlapping patients is not automatically a red flag, but you need to know how it works, which payers it applies to and who decides. Ask a staff PT, not just the director, what a typical overlapping hour looks like.
3. When does documentation happen?
Ask whether there is protected documentation time in the schedule, or whether notes are expected between patients and "after hours." Then ask a current clinician how often they finish notes at home. Paperwork that spills into the evening is one of the most common complaints you will hear from outpatient therapists, so it is worth asking about directly.
Mentorship and growth
4. Who is my mentor, and when do we actually meet?
"Everyone here is really supportive" is not a mentorship program. Ask for the name of the person who will mentor you, how many hours a week or month are protected for it, and what happens if that person leaves. Formal mentorship matters: a study of U.S. physical therapists found that those who received formal mentorship reported significantly lower burnout than those who didn't. We covered that research in our feature on PT burnout.
5. Is there a residency, fellowship or CEU budget?
Ask what the clinic pays for: continuing education dollars, paid days off for courses, certification support or a pathway into an accredited residency. Also ask whether any of that money comes with a payback clause if you leave early. Read that clause carefully.
6. What does year two look like here?
Strong clinics can describe a path: a specialty area, a clinical instructor role, a senior PT title, a move toward leadership or a raise schedule tied to clear criteria. If no one can describe what growth looks like, assume it doesn't happen on a schedule.
Pay and the fine print
7. Is pay straight salary, hourly, per visit or productivity-based?
Each structure rewards different things. A salary with a high productivity expectation can quietly turn into a per-visit job. A per-visit rate can look generous until you count cancellations and unpaid documentation time. Ask how cancellations and no-shows affect your pay, whether a bonus is tied to visits or units, and what happened to the last person who missed the target.
8. What is in the benefits package, line by line?
Get specifics on health insurance cost-sharing, paid time off, holidays, license and membership fees, malpractice coverage and retirement match. Two offers with the same base pay can be very different once you add these up.
9. Is there a non-compete or non-solicitation agreement?
Ask to see it before you accept. Note the radius, the length of time and what counts as "competing." Non-compete rules vary by state, so if anything looks broad or unclear, a short review by an employment attorney is money well spent.
Culture
10. Can I shadow for half a day and talk to a staff PT?
This is the single most useful request you can make. Watch how the front desk treats patients, how the aides and PTAs are used, whether therapists eat lunch and how the team talks about leadership when the director isn't in the room. Ask the staff clinician one simple question: "Why did you stay?"
How to ask without sounding difficult
New grads often worry that asking questions will cost them the offer. In practice, the opposite is usually true. A few ways to keep it smooth:
- Lead with interest. "I'm excited about this role, and I want to make sure I'm set up to do well here" frames every question that follows.
- Ask for it in writing. If a promise matters to you, such as a ramp-up schedule, CEU dollars or a mentor's protected time, ask for it in the offer letter.
- Negotiate one or two things, not ten. Pick what matters most to you: a start date, CEU support, a signing bonus or a 6-month pay review.
- Compare offers on the same sheet. Put caseload, mentorship, pay structure, benefits and fine print side by side so you are comparing the whole job, not just the salary line.
For PTAs: three extra questions
If you are a new physical therapist assistant, add these:
- Who is my supervising PT on a typical day, and how do we communicate? Supervision rules vary by state and by payer, so ask how the clinic handles them.
- What will I document, and what does the PT document? Clear roles prevent rework and protect your license.
- Is there a path to a lead PTA or clinical instructor role?
The bottom line
The best first job is not always the highest offer. It is the one where you will see a manageable caseload, get real mentorship and finish your notes before dinner, while being paid fairly for the value you bring. Ask the questions now, and you will spend your first year getting better as a clinician instead of just getting through the week.