How hard to get first assignment

There are places that are very "first traveler" friendly. Most of them are in the compact, so you'll need a license in one of those states eventually. I've never traveled to California, as I make more per hour versus cost of living by working in other states. I do mostly PCU, Med/Tele, Float Pool. My first assignment, however, was 6 months of Oncology Med/Surg for an HCA hospital.

You have a good mix of skills, but most Cali assignments seem to want 24 recent months of experience in whatever specialty you are applying for. A compact license would open a huge pool of jobs for you.

Get yourself written references from charge nurses privately. Have them put their private number on the reference, not the work number so they don't get into trouble. You can download reference forms (easier than a long hand or typed written reference) from PanTravelers under resources>downloads.

You can work in any state. Many state licenses are fast. Start calling agencies to find out where you would be best if you are chasing money. It might well be that the most net earnings will not be in San Francisco. Do SF for the experience.

Get quotes, do a little research on Craigslist for local housing cost and decide.

i would suggest picking your first assignment for success, not the money. Scrutinize high paying assignments carefully. They are often assignments that even experienced travelers won't take.

Scrutinize high paying assignments carefully. They are often assignments that even experienced travelers won't take.

Often? So how does a traveler move ahead financially if high paying assignments are risky?

With more experience. However, some travelers will never be comfortable in some work settings. Such as up to double the patient ratio or floating every four. Or places so nasty that no one extends no matter the pay.

Your first assignment should not be that challenging. Work into it slowly. If you get terminated your first assignment, you may never know how great it can be (especially if it results in a board sanction).

You are also not competitive with no travel experience - which is a great reason by itself to not take risks your first assignment. Common sense if you think it through and not allow greed to govern your career choices.