Newbie starting negotiations, need advice

scanderson1987 · Mar 1, 2012

I usually go to paycheckcity.com and figure out how much take home taxable i will be getting. Also, if those states aren't paying well then other companys or states might have a better take home rate. I know new jersey pays great right now in most spots, although a license takes a few months to get. Ask the recruiter what the breakdown of your pay is (example: pay rate 15.00/hr taxable, $245/week tax free stipend, plus housing OR housing stipend. Taking the stipend pays well but you have to think about what types of furniture, appliances, etc are going to be at a place that isnt usually frequented by travelers. Look at different companies. I use nursesRX and cross country. If you sign up for information from them tell them susan anderson sent you!

79Tango · Mar 2, 2012

Im just going to tell you straight up $8/HR anywhere is bad news! You will see multiple threads on here discussing the PRO/CONS of taking a very low taxable rate and very high Perdiem.

You need to go back and ask your recruiter what the Local & 1099 rate is. Forget all the confusing low tax this, Perdiem that, takehome rate this.. Load the contract with the max allowed for the area.. Yeah ok. Your OT rate will be like $20/HR (if your lucky).

RNERHOUSESUPOR · Mar 3, 2012

Again and again I will say get the most money you can in your hourly wage. Sure you will pay taxes on it up front and maybe you will get a large refund at tax filing time, but what if you don't. Where will you come up with the money to pay income taxes on double that? If a recruiter say's anything is free they are lying. Nothing is FREE. Except this advice. Use it as you like.

Rod

ChiBearsGirl · Mar 4, 2012

Thanks for the advice everyone. It helps to have those with experience give me tips. The OT rate is $40, but the breakdown of pay does make me uncomfortable. Now I have a better idea of what I need to ask.

bostonbakednurse · Mar 5, 2012

I received hourly rate of $24. I took the tax stipend which was $2400 monthly. They divide that weekly. I worked 36 hours per week. My take home pay was about $1350 per week. Onward Healthcare. Good luck!

mveldma3 · Mar 13, 2012

Thanks for all of the advice everyone. I had a similar situation too, and decided to go with a different company that didn't try to tell me that a low hourly wage and "tax free" stacked pay was the only way to go. I try to up my hourly wage as much as I can right now, as I am trying to figure out this whole 'tax home' thing... I don't want to think I'm saving money just to give it all back in taxes at the end of the year.

dorie43rn · Mar 13, 2012

Thats funny, I started with Medical solutions and they low balled me also. I'm thinking they aren't on the up and up. I'm looking elsewhere. These companys all advertise paid beautiful housing but talk you into taking the stipend and looking for your own housing. I'm thinking these companys are crooked and I may not travel nurse at all.

ChiBearsGirl · Mar 14, 2012

I'm glad I posted Dorie, so I could get advice from the seasoned travelers and hear from people in similar situations like you. After the offers started rolling in my gut was telling me something was wrong. My recruiter is a very nice guy and all, but then again so are most car salesmen and you know their job is to get the maximum out of you. In the end, he works for Medical Solutions first, with me as a distant second (or third if you consider the facilities). I really don't want to find my own housing, but I also don't want to bring home 650 a week for having them find my housing. There is just something wrong there.

I feel like a lot of these companies are crooked too, and I too am having second thoughts. I'm going to contact some other companies and I'm going to see what they have to say. I have a full-time job and it wouldn't be a shame if I had to stay there longer. They just gave me an unexpected raise and made me a fill-in charge nurse and besides that I enjoy my job. I'm not going anywhere for less money than what I make now, and I would expect to make a noticable amount more.

sbn116 · Mar 16, 2012

I am currently taking my 6th assignment now. From what your company told you, it sounds about right with the pay grade. However, they should set you up with housing. I have never taken an assignment without taking the housing provided by my travel company. So if housing was $1000/month, that is $250/week. You would see close to $1000/wk in your paychecks. Don't worry about the breakdown of the wages with meals and incentives, taxable vs. non-taxable, etc..... All I worry about in negotiations is take home in my paycheck after housing has been accounted for.

For the other part of your question.....they will always say there is no wiggle room for you in the budget in the contract. There is wiggle room 98% of the time. The wages usually cannot be adjusted but you can usually ask for things such as more travel money, parking fees, washer and dryer, pet fees and deposits, etc.

My recommendation for you as a first time traveler is to call up some other companies and see what they are offering. Don't let them push you around. Play 2 companies off of each other. Sometimes, despite some of the reviews on here, it's best to go with a bigger travel company (AMN, Cross Country) during your first one or two assignments and go from there. Remember, it's not always because the company is bad, it's the recruiter. Plus, since some of the bigger companies have more RN's working for them, there will naturally be more complaints.

Hope this helps!

Hello travelers! I've been a nurse for a few years now and I'm looking to start travel nursing. I tried researching the field and travel companies for a couple of months before I contacted any companies. I decided I'd like to go with Medical Solutions as they seem to have good ratings and they are "pet friendly".
I'm ready to be submitted to potential assignments, and from reading around I thought it would be appropriate to negotiate prior to being submitted. I was told that my take home pay for a job in Kansas or Maryland would be around 1250/weekly. The breakdown of the pay is mainly in the housing stipend and per diem pay with an hourly rate of $8.50. Now I know that companies are doing this with the low pay rate and giving you money in other areas, but it still scares me a little. And because they are stacking my pay this way I can't really tell if I'm getting a bum deal. It seems comparable to take home rates for other companies which pay a typical nurse hourly rate though. I was also hoping they could set up my housing since I have a dog and don't know these areas and would like the convenience of having it set up for me. My recruiter tells me that over 95% of his clients accept the stipend and set up their own housing. If I don't accept the housing stipend it seems like I would be getting paid peanuts and might as well stay where I am in my full-time position. I feel like I'm being left with no choice other than to accept the stipend, which is almost 3k/month. The pet friendly aspect also wouldn't matter because if I took the stipend I'm sure they would have me pay all fees associated as well which would include the hefty pet fee.
Also, I tried negotiating a little and there was nothing doing with that. The recruiter said that they load the contract with the max allowed per area for housing and per diem to give me tax free benefits and that all the money is tied up with that. I asked if I could negotiate the hourly rate/overtime rate and there was a long explanation as to why but the answer was no. Do they just tell you the rates and that's that??
I feel it necessary to ask some seasoned travelers what they think about all of this. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I'm new to this and I've tried to prep myself the best I could by reading boards like this and the travel nurse sites but I guess when it comes down to it I'm still fresh meat and I don't want to be taken advantage of. I'm not just doing this for the money but I do want to make more than I do at home. Right now I make about 28/hour in a full-time setting. Thank you for any thoughts you have on the situation, much appreciated!