Cozy 9-5 job Vs Travel Nursing

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:uhoh21:

Hi all, I really need an opinion from people who've done travel nursing....

This is my current situation.. I have a 9a-5pm PACU job a small brand new Heart hospital, There are only 2 PACU nurses, and the only patients we recover are AV grafts, Fem Pops, and some EP Ablations, TEE's and Cardioversion patients. The hearts and thoracotomies go straight to the CVICU. On our busiest day we have 4 -5 patients. I mean, it's a really sweet job,:1luvu: especailly the fact that it's just two nurses and so less people to butt heads with. The whole hospital is very clean and the management is very nurse friendly, i mean even on the Tele floor the maximum patient load is 4 patients,even at night, most of the time they have 3 patients. ( I do pick up extra shifts in tele during the weekends).

My question is, i have a project that i'm working on that will cost me abut $90,000 over the next 12 months, i've been seriously considering travel nursing so i can make $ 8000-10,000/ month including overtime ( I was considering California, or local contracts) I could do tele or Pacu if available. Right now i make a net of $3500.month for 40hrs per week, with ot on weekends i can net $ 5397 for an extra 12hr weekend shift, or $ 7274.00 if i work both saturday and Sunday, i can do without straining too much coz my week days are soo easy.

I was thinking travel nursing would be a good idea coz i can make more with less days of work coz i could work 12 hr shifts.

I don't have kids, so even though 9-5 is a great shift, for me, financially, it doesn't seem very good financially, coz i can't work much OT.

I guess my main question is, is it worth the risk to leave my current job that i really like, in hope of making more money as a traveler or contract RN????

Please give me your opinions, feel free to email me too.

Thanks!

Lucy

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Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.

You're going to have to work A LOT of overtime to make $10,000/month!!! You would have to work 48-60 hours a week EVERY week, plus take a housing stipend instead of free housing (stay with family or friends), and even then, it's going to be tough, if not nearly impossible, to pull in $10,000/month.

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Well, right now i'm already working 60-74 hrs a week, that's why i figured with the travel rates and the huge tax breaks that travelers get, it could add up to close to $10,000 a month.

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Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.

That's fine if you are willing to work that much overtime, but a lot of hospitals won't let travelers pick up that much overtime- especially in California. And if you do pick up extra, as a traveler, you will be the first to be sent home if census is low, so you can't really count on overtime all of the time- the only hours you can truly count on are those you are contracted for.

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Anyone else have an opinion?

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I think you would have to work a LOT of hours to pull that kind of money in. Is it really worth it working yourself that hard for??

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It's only short term though, 9 months max, and the point i'm trying to make is that at my current job, i'm already working that many hours, but it's worse because M-F i work 8 hour shifts, so for OT i have to work Saturday and/or Sunday for 12hrs at a Tele unit, so i was thinking of i got another job, Travel contract maybe, i could work 12 hour shifts, this way if i did work 60 hrs a week, i'd still have 2 full days off, which i don't right now when my main job is 8 hour shifts...

Basically, that's the only thing i don't like about my job, the 8 hour shifts. Otherwise i love it, and i wonder if i should risk leaving it just to be able to work 12 hour shifts??

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Specializes in Med/Surg/Tele.

I think you'll NEVER find a job that is as cozy as the one you're in right now.

i would stay. What sort of project are you talking about?

Maybe you could finance differently?

Or maybe you could just live life on the wild side and pack up and leave :)

I'm sometimes a little skeptical that 8,000 a month is possible with the traveling nurses option. I'd have to speak to someone face to face and hear them tell me that they made 100,000 dollars as an RN...

I dunno. Money doesn't make the world go round. I'd have to know what sort of project you're talking about to really give my whole 2 cents. :o)

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lucy - you probably will not be able to get 60 hours a week..... The hospital I am traveling at right now will not let me work any OT at all. The last one only needed someone extra about one day a week. You should not count on working that much on any contract.

Totally agree with Juicy jake - would need to know what you are planning to give a full opinion.

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JuicyJAke

Thanks very much for your thoughts. Yeah, that is my main concern, that if i leave my current job, i may not find another one like it.....

About my project, i'm building a 15unit Flats/apartments, in my home country, i've already bought the land and spent an additional $ 40000 for the foundation and First floor, the rest of the money is to finish the project. i can't finance with a bank here coz the project needs to be within the US for me to be approved. I could finance with a bank in my home country, but the interest rate is like 16%, I think that will just eat up most of my potential profit! The project is in a high rental demand area and i expect to make about $ 4800 a month once all the units are occupied, so that's why i'm very willing to sacrifice a lot for now, to finish the project ASAP.

Lucy

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Thanks Dairy Girl,

It's good to get an opinion from an actual Travel nurse, since i've never done it before. Maybe i did over estimate how much travel nurses make...

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Specializes in Med/Surg/Tele.

Hmm...Interesting. Very nice plan BTW. Nice to see such a business oriented woman.

Now you can imagine running your apartment complex with your current stress free job, but life may be a lot different supervising that complex and working 3 hellish 12 hour shifts..

Just a little something to think about. It would probably be no big deal, though.

I was wondering if this project was some sort of unnecessary amenity. Now that I see it's a business prospect, I say do whatever you can to make that money and get started!

Good luck to you!

What is your home country?

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