letsgosavelives85

I was offered a great position in a great town by a reputable company. However, I travel with my boyfriend and we don't make big decisions without talking to each other. I make that clear when I first start talking to recruiters. When my boyfriend and I came to a decision I said something like "after giving it a lot of thought and research, it's not the right location for us. My boyfriend and I would like to be closer to the city..etc." And at that point I had an offer from another company in a much better location. I told her that, as well. The recruiter wasn't rude, but she was very pushy and borderline inappropriate. She made a comment along the lines of "maybe it's better for you to not be so attached at the hip, maybe you guys need some space". .... Wait, what? You want me to take an offer to a place that I decided would not be right for not just my significant other, but for myself, as well? I need a job, not relationship advice. If she had been doing hers, she would have found me something I wanted. For some reason, her manager called me the next day to go over why I had made my choice to work with another company. I told her that aside from receiving a better offer at a better location, I didn't think that particular recruiter recognized professional boundaries. The bottom line is that sometimes people will do or say anything to make a sale. Sometimes they say offensive/inappropriate things and maybe they don't recognize that we're human beings VS a paycheck in their pocket, maybe they don't care. But there are so many great recruiters who know how to treat people AND do his/her job. Hopefully, recruiters like this get a chance to change or grow up and are few and far between.

It's true. They are no cancel.. And I have no clue how they make that work. When the ice census had 4 patients... I still worked. Floating is chaotic at first but you get used to it. I agree with palmbeachrn.. It's been a pretty good first assignment.. But you have to be flexible and think positive.

thank you! I am hoping we don't have any issues with our tax home. We rent, but we've been here awhile. I'm hoping to come home to it :) NedRN, you seem to know quite a bit about all of this and I really appreciate your input. I will be leaving soon for my Kaiser Oakland position. Any advice you have for finding a place of our own? We get more in the housing subsidy that way. Thanks!

Thank you, NedRN for the positive words. I did choose to go to Kaiser, Oakland, for the location and the experience. I have also heard mixed reviews. palmbeachRN... remember... it's only temporary. 13 weeks can be a long time if you make it that way. That's what I keep telling myself. This is my first travel assignment and I'm really not expecting to thoroughly enjoy everything about it. I experience cold feet every 15 minutes. I think this is part of why they say your first travel job is always the hardest. I am going to try to find the positive and make it the best experience I can. I appreciate everyone's input very much!

SO have any of you ever taken the non-taxed money for meals/incidentals and for housing subsidy through a tax advantage plan and then had to owe money come tax season? We are keeping our tax home here in michigan, mainly because I would like to get the full advantages... Any thoughts?

Thanks for the responses. I really appreciate it. Sorry that I wasn't clear. Blended pay is the base rate blended with the daily overtime hours like NedRN was saying. Apartment will already be provided. Then the extra non-taxed M&I. So it does average out to be 30/hr. This seems to be the average "quoting" I am getting from most companies as a first timer. I am gathering though, that because of the area, I may not make the money I expected. It's just good to hear other experienced travelers responses. Thank you.

I'm a critical nurse with 4-5 years experience. Just got my Cali license. I've been working with Travel Nurse Across America. I picked them because they had high ratings on multiple sites. But the examples of pay rates my recruiter has been sending me seem low. For example: Oakland ICU position at Kaiser starts at 20/hr. The "blended rate" ends up being like 24/hr. That's what I make in Michigan with a much lower cost of living! M&I is about 31/day... That's around 11000 for a 13 week assignment if I go with their housing. There is a 1000 dollar travel reimbursement in that. Am I being ripped off or does this seem like about the right starting point? I'm only still working with this recruiter because she has helped me from the start, but I'm not sure she's going to get more for me. Every time I tell her.. "look, I need more" her response is to be more flexible, after all.. it is your first travel job and it only lasts 13 weeks" I've been recently looking at other companies. Companies my friends have worked with. They offer a little better wages, but overall the with benefits and the tax advantages, it kind of looks pretty close. I realize that as a first time traveler, I need to be flexible... any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.