Just accepted to Nursing School. Looking to Travel

NedRN · Feb 22, 2017

In any career, paying your dues is a requisite. Working for two years in a specialty is the recommended minimum before becoming a traveler. Which given your post here, is what you are thinking about. While you can earn great money as a traveler, there are some downsides. Very bad to no benefits, including good health insurance, holiday pay, sick time, vacations, education, and career advancement. If you are considering travel for anything other than a specific lifestyle, think again. A staff employee can do just as well or better than a traveler over a full career.

Worth your consideration for financial benefit is exactly where (which location) to become staff. Your choices will be limited right out of school as the best choice is a teaching hospital with a long fellowship in your chosen specialty. Once you have paid your dues, the world is your oyster. A good strategy is looking for areas just outside urban areas that pay well. Generally the area competition will have outlying areas paying similar wages, but with much lower housing costs (usually the largest portion of your disposable income). As an example, consider Sacramento California. Nursing pay is directly impacted by pay in the San Francisco Bay area, one of the highest paid regions for nursing in the country. Yet housing costs are far more reasonable, and if you move a bit outside Sacramento, even better with still high pay. This scenario plays out in a number of areas in this country.

There are other ways to reduce debt including government service. But I don't think they do better than picking the right area to live in.

Mlee81 · Feb 22, 2017

In any career, paying your dues is a requisite. Working for two years in a specialty is the recommended minimum before becoming a traveler. Which given your post here, is what you are thinking about. While you can earn great money as a traveler, there are some downsides. Very bad to no benefits, including good health insurance, holiday pay, sick time, vacations, education, and career advancement. If you are considering travel for anything other than a specific lifestyle, think again. A staff employee can do just as well or better than a traveler over a full career.
Worth your consideration for financial benefit is exactly where (which location) to become staff. Your choices will be limited right out of school as the best choice is a teaching hospital with a long fellowship in your chosen specialty. Once you have paid your dues, the world is your oyster. A good strategy is looking for areas just outside urban areas that pay well. Generally the area competition will have outlying areas paying similar wages, but with much lower housing costs (usually the largest portion of your disposable income). As an example, consider Sacramento California. Nursing pay is directly impacted by pay in the San Francisco Bay area, one of the highest paid regions for nursing in the country. Yet housing costs are far more reasonable, and if you move a bit outside Sacramento, even better with still high pay. This scenario plays out in a number of areas in this country.
There are other ways to reduce debt including government service. But I don't think they do better than picking the right area to live in.

Thank you. I just read about the two year requirement. Currently working in EMS, I like the acute / emergency care part of treatment.

I have the freedom to move literally anywhere in the world currently within a two weeks notice. I wonder how the dating scene is in Sacramento. :) Maybe I'll have to check out the scenery some time.

So it seems the best bet is to obtain a staff nursing position in an area where the pay is good in a specialty that I want to have a career in before traveling nursing. I actually have a passion for EMS work. Some states allow RNs to challenge the Paramedic exam. I'm not shy of living in an area with a need for EMS response. Given the circumstance, I wouldn't mind helping the EMS crews out from time to time even when I get through the RN program.

I would like to further the education on to NP status also eventually. My biggest bottleneck has become student loans. I don't regret any of the education I've received, but it's come at a hefty cost.

Have to devise a plan to pay this off.

NedRN · Feb 22, 2017

Paramedic pay sucks big compared to RN pay (or almost anything else). I doubt you will find that option useful. For more of an adrenaline rush, flight nursing is an option and either ED or ICU is your entry. But specializing in trauma ED is likely to be as good as a paramedic experience.

Mlee81 · Feb 22, 2017

Paramedic pay sucks big compared to RN pay (or almost anything else). I doubt you will find that option useful. For more of an adrenaline rush, flight nursing is an option and either ED or ICU is your entry. But specializing in trauma ED is likely to be as good as a paramedic experience.

Thanks. Yep I know the pay is miserable in comparison, which is why I'm glad I got accepted into the nursing program. Paramedic was a backup option, and even though I'd enjoy it, it doesn't have as much versatility or long-term career prospects I don't think. We have a couple paramedics that are also RNs. One is a NP. I've heavily considered pursuing that also.

How does one go about specializing in trauma ED? I definitely would be interested in learning for about that.

NedRN · Feb 22, 2017

Inner city hospitals.

Mlee81 · Feb 22, 2017

Inner city hospitals.

To specialize, is there additional schooling or certification that one needs to get that would make one more marketable? Or is the demand such that you don't need to be certified?

Thanks for the help?

NedRN · Feb 22, 2017

TCRN. Same BCEN organization that does the general CEN cert for ED. I've never knowingly met anyone with trauma certification. For travelers, the more certs to put in your profile gives you a competitive advantage (as it should also do with looking for a new staff job), but otherwise, recent experience in a level one hospital goes a long way.

Wolf at the Door, BSN · Feb 22, 2017

you're looking far far ahead. To scratch your itch for travel during nursing school work at a camp. Do it during the winter session just look for student nurse work at one of many camps around the nation.