Pay rates vs staff rates

Specialties Travel

Published

Of course it's not all about the money. But money is a fact of life and with it, life is easier.

With that said -

Are the rates really low for travelers? I am med/surg and tele. I have 6+ years and over a year of travel experience and the pay seems to be getting lower.

Of course where you go matters but I have been open and been anywhere from NM, AZ to FL and I find that the staff nurses are making more hourly. In some cases such as right now in NM there are positions offering 28-36 I am getting 23. I have gotten as little as 17/hr.

Ok, yesI do get housing and per diem but I am just talking about the base rate. I can't tell if my companies are low-balling or what... It just seems like traveling is not paying very well at all. I make almost 15k less than my former staff med-surg position.

So comparing base rates... Am I missing something or maybe I have the wrong agencies. All of which play crazy games when it comes down to the financial end.

Advice would be appreciated.

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I'm curious as to what others are going to say about this. I've only done one travel assignment so far, but I can make $40 an hour working prn in rural NC (without benefits), and my base pay as a full time employee here is $32 because Ive been a nurse so long. Traveling in Phoenix, I made $27 plus housing and per diem. My take home pay at home working prn, if I work 36 hours a week, is about $200 a week more than I took home when traveling. I traveled for the adventure, and will probably do it again, California next time since I have my CA license now. But can I really expect take-home pay to be better in CA, considering the high cost of housing? I'm thinking that for new-ish nurses who are the bottom of the pay scale at home, traveling might be a good deal, but for experienced nurses at the top of the pay scale, pay is not the reason to travel.

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Are you paying for your own rent and utilities out of that $23? What about mileage? Stipend? Airfare?

The staff must exist on what their base pay is which includes paying all of their bills. $28 is very little when you have to pay for rent, utilities and don't get anything extra for food or travel. If they want to take a vacation to a nice city, they pay for everything.

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New nurses with 1-2 years experience start to travel and accept anything pay wise because it seems better than what they make at home...so of course if they see you will accept less they will offer less!

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Yes but I am also losing PTO (paid time off), health benefits (as a 2500 deductible applies every 3 months) and if anyone thinks you don't incur extra expenses traveling your crazy. This time I didn't even get travel money. And since I travel with pets I pay 200-400 every 3 months in non-refundable deposits.

I am just wondering if I am being low-balled or is this just how it is... I like to travel and love new challenges but don't want to be a fool taking low pay either.

One particular agency told me the pay was $38/hr. But when it came down to it the actual pay was low 20's. When I asked why the difference the recruiter had the worst song and dance I have ever heard. "It's LIKE making 38 if the per diem was taxed and you take into account the housing." That might be the worst offer I have ever heard. I felt badly for wasting the hospitals time and my time on a job that paid (in ACTUAL pay) half of what was quoted. I felt that was very shifty and will not work with that recruiter again. Live and learn.

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In my opinion, they should ask you take the housing into consideration, especially if you are still paying a mortgage and utilities for your TAX HOME. And I agree, no PDO's, no insurance to speak of, and it cost me a lot of money to travel four days across the country with my teenagers and dog in tow, not to mention the time off between assignments for travel. I'm not saying travel nursing is for the birds, but it certainly isn't the money-making proposition that people think it is. I did it for the adventure, not the money. Again, I haven't been doing it for long, so maybe there's a way to "make a killing" (like some people think) that I haven't figured out yet.

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"The staff must exist on what their base pay is which includes paying all of their bills." Travelers have to pay all of their bills too. Most of us have tax homes to maintain.

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Your pay does sound a little low compared to what i have been making as med/surg tele , but it def makes on where you are at in the country. And i would not advise california if you think it is going to signifificantly make you more money. yes, you will make more per hour, but make sure you are realistic on how much housing, parking, payment if you have to drive across golden gate, bay bridge ( that adds up!). The best thing to do is play your agencies off each other, and whoever offers you the most money ( including per diem, housing, 0T) wins the golden ticket of you. :) Just make sure you calculate everything out that is important to you, just not the money. I have known a couple nurses who went to california, and when all was said and done they wound up making almost 0 money, and would never go back. It doesnt have to be like that if you go into it ( any assignment) with your eyes wide open..

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"The staff must exist on what their base pay is which includes paying all of their bills." Travelers have to pay all of their bills too. Most of us have tax homes to maintain.

Traveling is not for everyone. Traveling is an option. You do not have to travel. Stay at home and take a staff position.

People who travel do it to see other parts of the country. Are you able to save up enough PTO to take a 3 month vacation in Hawaii or Alaska?

A lot of people who travel claim a family member's home so their outside expenses are small. Don't travel if you are worried about money. Those who travel for any length of time know what insurance to get so they don't depend on the agency and how to work the taxes. Keep records. Get reimbursements hashed out before you sign.

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From what I've learned so far travelling is that float pool and prn nurses make better rates than travellers, even with tax-frees factored in. We may be given a housing allowance, but unless you want to share with a creepy random off of craiglist or live in a hotel, our rent is usually 3x the cost of usual rates for the area because it's short-term and furnished.

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There is a myth to travel nursing about high pay. It starts with ads - like displaying while I write this - !! up to 2860/week, free travel, free housing !!

I started traveling six months ago. I have not seen great money packages. That said, I have decided to continue simply to enjoy some travel.

The things everyone is describing ring true to me.

Recruiters: What you don't know about contract negotiation will cost you money. If you don't know to ask for paid parking, you won't get it..even if your recruiter is sending people to that assignment all the time..even if they seem like a "friend" or coworker with the company.

They admit the way they describe pay packages is impossible to make comparisons. You have to drag the info out of them in a form that can be used for comparison. It feels like negotiating a car purchase every three months..

Taxes: Unless you are using a family members closet as your tax home...Maintaining a home in another state, that meets the guidelines takes money, or time residing there. Most people I have met simply roll the dice...they are not maintaining a home or are renting it out.

Housing: I told a friend recently I could have put a lot of money in the bank in my old staff job if I chose to live in a card board box. I have met people who have good luck on craigslist and those who have put up with rotton roomate situations just to pocket extra per diem.

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