Are travelers finding steady assignments in this economy?

bagladyrn, RN · Apr 11, 2010

If you want to be able to find fairly steady contracts in this economy you need to be willing to go just about anywhere and have either a compact license or multiple state licenses.

Even with this you may have gaps of weeks to months between contracts, so it's important to have an emergency fund to cover these times.

AWanderingMinstral · Apr 12, 2010

Or remain casual somewhere and return in between assignments. :)

GalRN · Apr 12, 2010

I am a psych/detox RN, and it's always a challenge to line up back to back assignments. It was possible though if you signed on with a few GOOD recruiters. I was cancelled without advance notice from my last contract- bogus reason, they were actually double staffed. That was at the end of February. I have been networking like mad and signed on with 7 agencies (some I like better than others). I just now have been getting calls about interviews. I don't like to have too many NM's calling at once and have asked that my profile not be submitted until I find out about the interview I just did and have had the next 2 interviews (tmw).

However, I am only licensed in MA and CA. If I had a license in, say, NY,I'd have had a job very soon after the last. In fact one goal for the next assignment is to get my license in NY and other states that take a long time. That is really your meal ticket for any specialty- even if you are in a compact state I recommend getting license in the other states that you need to. The walk through states are a godsend but very competitive- everyone and their brother applies for those ones. In fact I had 4 calls from recruiters- some I had no affiliation with- for the same job all within a day.

Another great option is the VA. The jobs aren't posted nearly as much but I have been cleared by Vetpro which allows me to work in another state on my current license.

It is a time when I've been able to get to know recruiters well enough that I'll ask them to get me a position I see advertised and they'll submit me. The ones who work on commission are like rabid dogs though. They want you at an assignment right away and a lot will say anything to get you there and then you realize that they don't give a hoot about how the assignment works out.

I agree with the above recommendation re: perdiem work in the lag time. You can also apply for unemployment. I did, and although I have to appeal b/c if the "voluntary quit" clause in the contracts, I legally have a right to it per the gov't ppl I've discussed it with. In the meantime I just started getting retroactive pay (I waited too long to file). It's nothing like a regular check, but not horrific for sitting on your bum. In fact I only make $40 a week less than my tow truck driving husband.:icon_roll

Fingers crossed on this interview today almost too good to be true.

So, in my long winded fashion- YES it's very hard to find assignments in my field at the moment!