Leave management for bedside contract?

[TXPARAMURSE, BSN]

Contemplating leaving a nursing management position for a contract as bedside at another hospital. Not gonna lie, it's about the money. I make OK pay (high 30s/hr), but I have a family to feed. It seems like I'm missing an opportunity if I'm an experienced nurse in 2021 and I'm burdened with debt bc of bills. I'd be leaving: a good hospital, good health insurance but no pension or retirement, medium pay, and a good position as a manager, but my hourly pay would be tripled for at least four months. Tripled. It's self scheduling and in the same town in Texas. Should I leave a mid-level management position for a way higher paying bedside position?

[turtle 1]

Hi, I’ve been in management for 5 years now and am looking into doing the same. What did you end up doing?

[TXPARAMURSE, BSN]

I left. Did a six-month contract, then took a 5 week vacation. Now I'm considering going back; they've improved conditions and pay, meanwhile agency pay has dropped precipitously. 

Part of my thought process is that working for the team I helped build is more fulfilling to me for the time I'm at work. Yes, as bedside I could put in my hours and leave it all at work, but I didn't feel like I was building anything bigger than myself. So it all came down to cost vs. benefit. How much money is it worth to leave a job that's more fulfilling? This includes the cost of benefits. It's an individual question. I have a family, for example, so the money that I can use to take care of my kids may more quickly outweigh job satisfaction than it might for a single person who only needs to keep the lights on for one.

Other factors included the facility, which I didn't think would matter to me, but the environment where I previously worked was much better and less oppressive feeling than the small, outdated hospitals where contracts tended to send me. This has less to do with leadership vs. bedside, but just an example of other factors to consider.