My husband & I are throwing around the idea of selling our house, our possessions, & going on the road as a traveling RN... We live in Pittsburgh and have over $150,000 in loan debt due to my husbands recent graduation from law school. Sadly, there are no jobs jobs for him here in law, finance, marketing, etc; His only income is poker, which, thankfully, he makes quite a profit at.
My thought was that I could make good money as a traveling nurse, enough to keep up with our bills and keep us afloat, and he could help out by playing poker. I was under the impression that traveling nurses make over $40/hr. Now, after reading quite a bit about the profession, I feel i may be wrong. I make $23/hr at a nursing home currently & this seems to be better pay than most that I am seeing.
I would appreciate any thoughts on the situation because right now our money is running out and we need to change something. Perhaps agency nursing in Pittsburgh would be better? We are both at such a loss right now.
I find it hard to beleive that there is "no money" in travel nursing. Other than health insurance and based on your current circumstance you would have hardly any bills? You have to deduct that from your budget and look at the net. Even if you were only drawing $25/ hour that's $900/ week with no mortgage or rent. That's not even counting all the allowances... How is it there's no money:confused:
Why would you have a mortgage/substantial rent AND travel. Were selling it all and going on the road for the next several years. You still have the option to use their provided housing or opt for the per diem whether you have a home base or not. What you do with the taxable vs. non taxable is between you and your accountant.
Why have a mortgage AND travel??? Ahhhh to take care of my family and to pay for that mortgage. You should talk to others that have sold off everything to go travel. It is not 2007 anymore. Unless you are selling off everything to buy an RV, there is a good chance of being homeless when your travel contract ends, you will have 48hrs to vacate.
I guess that depends on how flexible you are. We have no ties and are extremely flexible. California/Hawaii or Iowa/Nebraska.lol My wife earns more at her current hospital than she would earn hourly as a traveler but that's not the reason to travel. We plan on using the housing stipend to stay in extended stays. We're dual income so there's no threat of becoming homeless.. We've had several offers already that fit our criteria so I guess it's all up to the individual's needs. Your right, if you're doing it for money only, you may be better off putting in your tenure at a hospital of your liking and becoming a long timer...boooringgg....(why do you travel??) As far as selling everything, we stay pretty liquid so it's not as issue. We've moved a half dozen times in the last few years:) By the way how long have you traveled? I couldn't imagine doing it with a family and mortgage. Why even travel, as you said it's not 2007?
I have a young co-worker who was telling me about Hawaii. She was excited about the travel agency paying relocation. Things may have changed, but the last time I travelled, they paid $300.00 for relocation, anywhere. Good luck in finding a ticket to Hawaii for $300.00!
Another thing about travelling is the lack of vacation benefits. And lets not forget about some of the cheap medical insurance these companies provide their travellers with. All in all, I agree with other posts, I think that alot of us are better off, working for a regular employer.
1) Wanted to let you know that your husband WILL find work, but definitely needs to be looking for it everyday. It took my ex boyfriend a year to find a job after he graduated from law school. Wanted to give you guys some hope there that he will find one, but it does take a while, so keep on truckin, he'll get there! :)
2) If you guys want to travel to pay off law school debt (my ex had a mountain of it too), I'd stick with staying at your current job. It's ultimately your decision, but like you said in your post, $23/hr is a good salary! Granted, pay varies with every travel assignment, but I have yet to meet a fellow traveler that's doing it solely for the dough, because, like you said, it doesn't pay the mountain of $$ that many people think. If every assignment paid around $40/hr, there'd be a lot more travelers out there You have to want to travel & want the experiences & changes & not mind all the paperwork that goes along with it. It's a decent amount to keep up with.
3) Since you said $$ is an issue, here's some FYI so you won't be surprised by anything: with your 1st assignment (if you decide to travel), have some money saved up & expect to shell out some of your own cash for physicals, titers, vaccinations, etc. The company you go with may reimburse you for some of it, but probably won't pay for everything.
4) Flexibility of location & pay is important w/ the 1st assignment. You can negotiate some things, but be willing to settle to a certain degree w/ a "lower than you had in mind" salary just to get your foot in the door. After the 1st one, you are MUCH more marketable because you'll have travel experience under your belt. The more marketable you are, the more facilities will want you & therefore be more will be willing to negotiate pay.
5) Best of luck with whatever you decide to do!! :)
I have been considering travel nursing for myself. I have a TON of student loan debt because I couldn't decide what to do and made some really poor decisions. I saw travel nursing as a way to get that paid down and see the world. I am not be realistic? I figured with housing paid I could work for a travel company for 3, 12 hour shifts a week and maybe even do some agency nursing in the area for an extra day or two and put a ton away. Insurance isn't a concern right now, my parents can and will cover me until I am 26, 2 years away. Seriously, will I be able to pay down some of my debt while seeing the country as a traveler?
My husband & I are throwing around the idea of selling our house, our possessions, & going on the road as a traveling RN... We live in Pittsburgh and have over $150,000 in loan debt due to my husbands recent graduation from law school. Sadly, there are no jobs jobs for him here in law, finance, marketing, etc; His only income is poker, which, thankfully, he makes quite a profit at.
My thought was that I could make good money as a traveling nurse, enough to keep up with our bills and keep us afloat, and he could help out by playing poker. I was under the impression that traveling nurses make over $40/hr. Now, after reading quite a bit about the profession, I feel i may be wrong. I make $23/hr at a nursing home currently & this seems to be better pay than most that I am seeing.
I would appreciate any thoughts on the situation because right now our money is running out and we need to change something. Perhaps agency nursing in Pittsburgh would be better? We are both at such a loss right now.
Question: has your experience only been in the nursing home or do you have any recent hospital experience in the past year? I ask because I've never had a travel company hire a nursing home RN, but I could be wrong. Just asking....
So, if you're going into travel RN for the $, you need to know it's possible to make over $40/hr IF you take the housing stipend and find your own housing. If you take their housing, you'll probably make close to what you're already making now, therefore, it won't be worth it to you financially.
Here's a breakdown of how it works:
$22/hr hourly rate (time & half after 8 hours if you're working in CA, but most companies will quote this as a "blended rate)
$3000 Housing stipend
$245/wk Meals & Incidentals
If you take the housing money (stipend) and find a cheap, safe place to live for about $600 (Craigslist), you can pocket the rest of your housing stipend $2400!!! That's the ONLY way I've made money as a traveler, not based on the hourly rate. I generally find locations that'll pay me a good hourly rate with a good housing stipend, that way I can maximize my income.....then research the hospital, etc
If you take the housing stipened and do not have a 'tax home', doesn't a large portion of that housing money get taxed? Is it still worth taking the stipened after it's been taxed?
If you take the housing stipened and do not have a 'tax home', doesn't a large portion of that housing money get taxed? Is it still worth taking the stipened after it's been taxed?
You have to want to travel & want the experiences & changes & not mind all the paperwork that goes along with it. It's a decent amount to keep up with.
Nurserton
135 Posts
For those touting California as "high pay," please don't forget that California is also notoriously "High cost of living."