Pay rates, contracts, stipends, Oh my!! Please help....

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Okay travelers! I have been reading and studying your posts for weeks now and I am getting ready to interview for San Diego. After reading all your posts on contracts, taxes, stipends, pay rates, etc.. I really feel like I am bound to get taken advantage of. Its all so confusing. I do not have the type of personality to just say ok at whatever is thrown my way, i question everything and I feel like after reading all this, I dont even know what to ask. I think for sake of ease, i would prefer for them to provide housing instead of the stipend. However, I was quoted at a rate of approx. $30/hour for San Diego!!!! That seems very low to me. Thats with my per diem for incidentals but not incl. any type of housing stipend. So, it is appropriate for me to ask when I interview with the hospital, what their per diem rate is? Also, if you work as a traveler for one of the big hospital systems, does that mean when your contract is up you would not be able to work as a full time employee there if offered. Any and all advice is very appreciated!!

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Specializes in OB.

If you are going through an agency the hospital wouldn't have anything to do with your per diem for M&I. The hospitals pay a negotiated amount to the agency and they determine how it is parceled out. If you are contracting directly with the hospital it would be appropriate to ask them this.

Most agencies have in their contract that any permanent employment with the facility for a set period of time after the contract must be arranged through them. This generally involves the hospital paying a fee to the agency. I have known multiple travelers who have gone to staff at hospitals, so it apparently is doable.

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Specializes in CVICU, SICU, Tele, NI, PACU.

I've been doing travel nursing on and off for several years and sometimes the whole pay thing is still confusing to me sometimes! My best advice is to make sure you have good recruiter AND build a good relationship with them. I've found that the better the relationship, the more likely they are to do whatever they can to keep you from switching companies; i.e. giving better rates on contracts, etc.

SoCal is known for having lower payrates than NoCal, so expect that upfront. Have your recruiter break down the numbers for you so you know your hourly taxable rate and the per diem amount you will take home tax fee each week. Also ask for a weekly take home pay amount. Check out paycheckcity.com too. You can enter your taxable hourly rate and figure out a net income based on your w-4 filing and the state you are working in.

The government sets the maximum per diem rates (Per Diem Rates ) but all this means is that you should not go over what the govt sets as the per diem...it doesn't mean that is what your company will offer to you. Check out pantravelers.org they have some good resources that are free and if you want to upgrade your membership (I haven't but other travelers I know have) you get even more resources. PM me if you need more advice. I don't know rates in San Diego right now b/c I haven't looked for positions there but I do have some idea of what the NoCal rates are going for.

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Hi. I'm going through the same thing. I am getting ready to interview for a Kaiser hospital in San Diego and I was quoted $30.14/hr with a housing stipend of $1650. I actually registered with one of the companies at the top of Highway hyperdermics and they quoted a stipend rate higher in addition to a rental care/higher travel reimbursement and a few extras. I was also quoted a weekly pay check using CA taxes even though my permanent residence is in VA....I know I'm getting shafted, but I'm not sure what to do either except let the lower company know that I know I can get a better rate. Everyone wants to work in San Diego so the jobs go pretty fast so good luck with your choices and maybe I'll see you out there. Which company are you using?

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Hi. I'm going through the same thing. I am getting ready to interview for a Kaiser hospital in San Diego and I was quoted $30.14/hr with a housing stipend of $1650. I actually registered with one of the companies at the top of Highway hyperdermics and they quoted a stipend rate higher in addition to a rental care/higher travel reimbursement and a few extras. I was also quoted a weekly pay check using CA taxes even though my permanent residence is in VA....I know I'm getting shafted, but I'm not sure what to do either except let the lower company know that I know I can get a better rate. Everyone wants to work in San Diego so the jobs go pretty fast so good luck with your choices and maybe I'll see you out there. Which company are you using?

Hi, I sent you a private message!

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Hi, I sent you a private message!

Hey! I can't send private messages right now, but that is exactly what I'm going through with them. I have a phone interview today at 9am so we'll see how it goes. It seems like they have that area locked down according to other agencies that I have tried so if you want to go there they are your best chance. If my interview goes ok and I'm offered a job I am going to negotiate hard because I know I should be getting more with my package than that. I have had other agencies offer rental cars and higher travel reimbursement. I have registered with the top 3 companies on Highway hyperdermics and they aren't even showing the job that I'm applying for. Negotiate, negotiate....Northern CA has more jobs and better pay that other agencies can get you in to if you wanna go that route. Check out the HH website. Good luck! :)

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