You’re not going to like this but you’ve been screwed by COVID. I’ve heard grumblings that the COVID new grads are coming out with broken/minimal clinical rotations and are needing a high level of assistance to get them to be competent. To the point that I’ve heard of some places using the first 90 days as a clinical rotation.

The best advice I can give you is focus on growing your clinical skills. I do chronic pain/spine and cancer. I make a salary at the high end of OP Ortho without being a manager and can demand a lot as far as my schedule and I negotiate aggressively on salary because not a lot of PTs do what I do.

Basically what I’m saying is you don’t have much negotiating power right now. Focus on gaining skills and if there’s a clinical ladder focus on moving up that go get more pay. Work for a hospital system and do PSLF. I did that and got my loans forgiven. I have a house and before that I bought a condo at year 3 out of school.