Considering traveling; your wisdom appreciated!

[Hambo]

Hi all,

I've been an RN since 2014, but have been working my first acute care job since November '15. My wife and I are wondering if I should do travel nursing (she can work from home) and save up for a down payment on a home that way. Is this reasonable? we also just got married recently so we haven't got much money saved up, and we have our first child on the way. For that reason I'm a little concerned about gaps in income. Are there generally always assignments available? Should I sign up with more than one agency at a time? Also, I'd like to stay in the California area; is this common/doable?

Any other input and wisdom would be super appreciated.

[Argo]

Acute care, what area are you referring to? You need more experience.

Yes you can go without gaps.

You can save money traveling but you should make better budget habits now.

Are you in California already and licensed there?

[Barkow]

You probably need more hospital experience before traveling, as well as more savings to account for unknowns. Also, you can possibly make more money in Cali as a staff RN vs traveler (assuming that is where you live currently), plus you get the staff benefits such as PTO, sick time, better health insurance.

[bagladyrn, RN]

Hi all,

I've been an RN since 2014, but have been working my first acute care job since November '15. My wife and I are wondering if I should do travel nursing (she can work from home) and save up for a down payment on a home that way. Is this reasonable? we also just got married recently so we haven't got much money saved up, and we have our first child on the way. For that reason I'm a little concerned about gaps in income. Are there generally always assignments available? Should I sign up with more than one agency at a time? Also, I'd like to stay in the California area; is this common/doable?

Any other input and wisdom would be super appreciated.

Here's my advice based on many years of both life and travel nursing:

Plan on staying at your current position until at least Nov. 2017. That will give you a solid 2years of experience in your area. This will also mean you are at home until your baby is born. It would be harder to go through even a normal first pregnancy and birth without having consistent care with a provider who is familiar with you. It would be even worse if complications occurred while in an unfamiliar setting.

Doing the above will also give you time to put away a bit of a financial cushion. Do not go on the road without enough money to cover expenses and potential problems such as a major car repair away from home.

You can also use this time to research various companies and decide which ones suit you.

I'm sure it feels like this would be putting off your desires for a long time but it really will pass quickly if you are working toward a goal.