FT Staff + regular per diem vs. FT staff + agency per diem????

Traveling Blue · Oct 27, 2006

I'm moving to Cali next year. I'm trying to decide whether to travel, get a FT staff position, etc.
Specifically I'm interested in hearing from people who hold either
1. full time staff position PLUS a regular per diem position, or
2. full time staff position PLUS a per diem position through an agency.
How much do you make per shift? Do you get killed at tax time?
Right now I'm a full time ICU staffer at one hospital, and have in the past worked per diem shifts at another hospital in the city, where I pulled in about $400 for each per diem shift worked. Curious about how this compares to Cali Bay area per diem rates!!

I do not know about the per diem rates in the Bay area but in L.A. the going rate is around $500 per 12 hr shift with the agency I worked thru. Your best bet may be to take a full time position at a facility that staffs 8 hr shifts and pull 2 or 3 doubles. Then, if you have the energy to work agency, have at it!! I've heard of nurses working between 4-6 double shifts/wk in the Bay area bringing home killer paychecks. I do not know any of them personally, however.

suespets · Nov 26, 2007

what is a per diem nurse?

RN1980 · Dec 2, 2007

what is a per diem nurse?

it's a nurse that works basically without any bennifits. so all the money that the hospital would otherwise put into retirment,insurance and so forth would goto your pay. ie..your paycheck would be much larger than a regular paycheck with bennefits. alot of folks who already have a fulltime job may work partime at another place and try to work out a per diem deal with the parttime gig. yes the partime nurse gets paid more, but it's a incentive for the nurse to work as many shifts for the hospital as the hospital has opened.