Am I Getting a Bad Deal?!?!?

babynurselsa, RN · Dec 14, 2005

I think your pay rate sounds pretty low.

Many agencies will divide your pay out so that the hourly looks lower. Just remember that the hourly pay rate is your TAXABLE. The meals & incidentals is tax free.

Personally I would not take an assignment with an overall payrate of only $24 an hour.

You are not committed to anything until you SIGN a contract. If he is bullying you like this I would find another recrtuiter and probably another agency.

That is just my opinion.

GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN · Dec 14, 2005

If you did not sign anything, you are a free man/woman. I wouldn't do it for that little pay. You can get that in a hospital!

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Dec 14, 2005

A lot of agencies are doing what they call a "combined" rate. I have refused to take assignments from agencies doing this.

Also, as a traveler, you should be getting $30. per hr minimum.

You have not signed anything and are not obligated to take the contract.

jamminworld · Dec 14, 2005

I have asked similar questions here and also on another forum and usually I get very vague answers. I am looking for work in the South East Specifically NC and was being offered $25 I did not take this and have yet to take anything through American Traveller as all the rates I have been quoted have been 22-25 I refuse to work for less than I am making now at home. If anyone is willing to PM me with an agency that is fairly well paid, with good benefits, and a nice recruiter I would be happier than can imagine. If ou feel you are being underpaid then you probably are. I myself would NEVER work for 18

jillhall · Dec 15, 2005

bad deals come in many ways. first of all the pay rate is important. for specialty areas, i thinking the lowest pay rate i have seen is about $26. however, i would not accept that low of pay unless i decide that i want to go to a particular place for the fun of the particular area and my ability to go there is based on finding a job. another words, i would take the low rate for a "working vacation".

i prefer a company that breaks down the pay so that the government only see's a portion of what i get paid. it saves me tax work at the end of the year. some companies do that and other companies don't.

the conditions of your work assignment are important. for example, my current assignment is the first assignment that i have not been happy. in fact, the assigment was grossly misrepresented. :angryfire i'm struggling right now to decide what to do. i am two months into the assingment and it is a 17 week assignment. i accepted lower pay for this assignment because it sounded so wonderful.

we can't really control what we don't know and some things we just don't know until we arrive on site. but, the contract is something that we should look at and never sign until we know for sure everything is in place. i think it is important to sort of journal the steps you take in making the contract. if someone is giving you different quotes, that is not acceptable in the industry.

there are a lot of travel positions out there and many many companies. there are so many companies and choices that it can make us a little leary of which ones are good. but on the flip side of the coin, it gives us lots of choices. if you are interested in an assingment but you aren't in love with the agency, you can always just call angencies and see if they contract with the particular hospital you are looking at.

good luck

suzanne4, RN · Dec 15, 2005

Per diem allwance for food is something that you can take off of your taxes at the end of the year, it should not be deducted form your rate of pay, and if it is, run from that agency. The price that you are quoted for your salary is what you should be getting, not with a bunch of different things taken out of it. The only thing that you should have to pay for is upgrade in housing, upgrade in cable service. The rest should be included.

k_cole21 · Dec 17, 2005

RUN LIKE THE WIND!!!! LOL. Don't sell yourself short. The southern states usually pay less for travelers...Don't expect too much even from the companies that typically pay well. You are not obligated to take that assignment with a verbal agreement, especially if the contract doesn't state what you two "verbally" agreed to. Yes you are right about the OT. Your OT rate would be time & a half or double time (what ever the contract states) of that $18.17. Be careful with RN Network. They advertise double time on most assignments but when you interview be sure the hospital allows OT for travelers b/c most done.

Good Luck!

AtlantaRN, RN · Jan 16, 2006

you don't have a DEAL until you sign on the dotted line...

don't take it, it sells you short and the recruiters job is to make money for the company, not you

linda

sawbones · Jan 25, 2006

If you settle for less than $30/hr, thats exactly what you are doing, settling. It doesn't matter where you are in your travel career, that is to low of an hourly wage to settle for.

I will normally not work for less than $35, but thats me and I do make acceptions. Right now I'm making less, but the institution also put me thru their cert classes for 5 different VADS and trained me up on transplant, fair trade in my book. Don't sell yourself short.

P.S. perdiems are added after the hourly wage.

IdahoNurse · Jan 26, 2006

If they are going to pay you only $18/hour then you should be getting about $12/hour for meals and incidentals (per diem) pay. I won't go anywhere for less than $30/hour either. You shouldn't have to.

Brownms46 · Feb 3, 2006

There are many who have no idea how the "Tax Advantage" works, too agencies or recruiters who give it, and do it wrong. The IRS allows you to take what is called "per diem", when you are working away from home, and have a valid tax home, and it is not feasible for you to return to that home daily.

Per diem is a combination of a housing allowance, and Meals & Incidentials. Incidentials meaning, newspaper, etc.

The "per diem" rates, varies by the state and county you are working in, and varies even more, depending on the time of year you are there working. The hourly rate of the untaxed amount you are given, "should" be divided by the amount of hours you have contracted to work. Anything over that amount should be the same as the tax and untax hourly rate combined, and all it should be taxed. However, not everyone follows the rules.

In order to determine the amount of your "per diem" rate the IRS allows you to take, go to http://www.gsa.gov, and click on per diem rates on the left hand side of the page. It will take you to a US map, click on the state, and then look for the City or country, you are, or will be working in.

The agency does not have to give you the entire amount of the per diem rate stated, and remember, your first and last day, you do not qualify for the entire day's allowance.

Best thing to do is to consult a Tax person, who deals primarily with Travelers, and keeps up with the IRS changes.

JMO

Edited to say: If you can not find the city or county you are working in, then you must take the CONUS rate, which means "Contintial (sp)?? U. S., which is $60 a day for housing, and $39 a day for Meals &Incidentials.

Edited because I can't spell1