Travel nursing questions ( novice)

[rnrn08]

Hello ,

I am considering taking travel nursing here in about a month . SO I basically looked up a few agencies and reached out . I need to really understand the pay of this particular job . And Agency offered me $20/hour . Saying that with an extra $6/day and an extra maybe $200 that could be left over from doing my own housing , it is worth it . Well this is not what I see. I asked why the pay is so low ? they say because of their fees.... Meanwhile another agency is guaranteeing a minimum of $30/hour and I do have to pay taxes. I asked bout their fees, and she had no clue, stated that their fees do not come from the nurse paycheck.

Also anybody can give me feedback about IHS jobs ( as far as travel assignment) ?

Thank you all for your time .

[NedRN]

There are no fees. All businesses have a gross profit margin to cover all their expenses (all of the bill rate they don't pay to the traveler) and hopefully pay the owner a net profit. The travel industry average gross profit margin is currently around 24% but varies widely (explaining part of why different agencies pay differently).

That recruiter is just making stuff up. Recruiters are in sales and it is likely she is doesn't understand financials. Total compensation is all you care about when it comes down to it (as far as "fees" go). There is a nifty calculator on PanTravelers that should help.

[rnrn08]

Thank you so much NedRN . I went to the tool and am not clear about some terms. What exactly is per diem ?? and what is the travel pay ? Do the agency cover the whole cost of your ticket or whatever to get to the assignment ?? It is suggested that for my initial assignments If i know nobody there , I should let the agency do the housing. And do you suggest insurance with the agency ?? I am thinking about just having my own insurance and not worry about that considering the possibility of assignments through various agencies. Are overtime mostly after 8 hours or 12 hours in many places ( interested in the 3- 12 hours shift per week.)

[NedRN]

Can't really give you a good answer this weekend. Swamped! In the meantime, go back to the calculator and read one of the linked guides. A better place to get most of your questions answered are agency websites that usually give you a quick big picture. I believe there is some article on PanTravelers that goes into the basics in a more in depth way without all the hype though.