Quitting staff job to travel

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I have a staff job but I really want to travel. I'm really nervous about quitting my staff job (even though I hate it) because I'm the primary breadwinner of my family and I'm apprehensive about leaving a stable job to travel. I thought traveling was more stable until I read horror stories about nurses being canceled in the middle of their contract and not being able to find another contract right away. So I want to know:

1) Did you have a staff job right before your first contract?

2) If so, how soon before your first contract did you quit?

3) Has there ever been a time when you've been scrambling for a contract?

4) Do you feel the industry of travel nursing as a whole is stable?

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A. most travel contracts complete successfully.

B. unless the economy changes, yes travel is stable and growing.

C. if you are medsurg/tele, you will scramble for the best assignments - lots of competition. How well you do depends on a lot of factors, like your comfort level with new to you hospitals with different cultures and procedures, and of course your specialty.

D. Travel is not for everyone.

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Specializes in ICU/CCU, PCU, Neuro, Telemetry.

I have been traveling off and on for the past 7 years. Unfortunately, I did not have a staff job either time I took my "first" contract. There have been times I felt like I was scrambling for a contract but I have never ended a contract without another contract. I have had time off in between, hence, I recommend always having about 2 months of savings available for those times. I've also had contracts cancelled twice but it didn't take more than 2 weeks to obtain another contract. Overall as a whole, I would say that travel nursing is stable. Depending on your specialty it might be difficult to obtain a contract in the city you want, what you expect to be paid or even where you hold nursing licensure, but there would be contracts available.

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Thanks for your replies. I am a labor and delivery nurse. I'm not sure how the market for that specialty is. I have licenses in NY, NJ, TX and CA is pending so I'm hoping that helps to broaden my opportunities so that I'll never be jobless.

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Specializes in ICU/CCU, PCU, Neuro, Telemetry.

Seems like there are always needs for L&D nurses. TX and CA seem to always have needs for travelers. Best of luck.

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Thanks for your replies. I am a labor and delivery nurse. I'm not sure how the market for that specialty is. I have licenses in NY, NJ, TX and CA is pending so I'm hoping that helps to broaden my opportunities so that I'll never be jobless.

You will have zero problems finding good paying travel jobs in L&D. I know an assignment in California paying $90 an hour for travelers! Unreal!

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You will have zero problems finding good paying travel jobs in L&D. I know an assignment in California paying $90 an hour for travelers! Unreal!

Why is it that L&D consistently tops out as the most in-demand and highest paying specialty for travelers?

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hahaha, I envy u. Your options are all over the map.

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Because not enough nurses want to do it, and people insist on drinking and you know what results?

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Specializes in hospice.
Why is it that L&D consistently tops out as the most in-demand and highest paying specialty for travelers?

It's the money maker for most hospitals.

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It is surprising to me. I mean, when I was in school, damn near every classmate wanted to work on MB and deliver babies. Many of my classmates had kids of their own and wanted to be on the other side of the fence to have an opportunity to provide the type of care they wanted for themselves. And when I talk to students who do clinicals on my floor, the majority of 25-35 yo women want to work with babies, whereas the guys want ED or ICU.

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It's hard to actually get into labor and delivery though raindrop. I wanted to do l&d straight out of school too but they wanted 1-2 years of med surg experience first. Plus there isn't a high turnover in this field. A lot of people either retire out or they move up and become midwives or women's health NPs. A girl I knew from school who also wanted to do maternity is still stuck in med surg after 5 years of waiting for a transfer. I was working in antepartum so I kinda snuck in through the side door.

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