Travel Nurse Pay in upstate NY

[s.cutis]

Hey everyone I'm fairly new to travel nursing and I'm still not sure how to tell if I'm being low balled at my assignments. I'm recently looking into a position in Albany NY and received and offer that was as follows

$20 per hour $45 per day per Diem $450 weekly housing stipend and a one time travel reimbursement of $143. this is without health insurance

or

Housing provided

$19-23 per hour $45 per day per Diem and $143 travel reimbursement.

Any input on these number would be great!

Thanks

[NedRN]

The only way to tell if you are being lowballed is to talk to several other agencies. Only that way can you be sure that someone with your experience in your specialty in that area is getting a market offer. Other travelers will get different offers based on their experience, area, specialty, time period, and how their offer is structured. Even longevity with one agency will make compensation unique to that traveler.

I would recommend talking to at least five agencies regularly, and looking at the overall take home which includes housing and benefits cost. Use PanTravelers calculator to put all the differently structured offers on a level playing field to compare them. Then add in how much the hospital (prestigious name or unique experience) or location (beach, relatives, etc.) is worth to you separately from the compensation. I would also factor in the relationship and trust in a recruiter/agency. It is well worth taking a couple buck hit for the right working conditions, including the agency.

All of that means is that there is nothing another traveler can say about their compensation (even if they are being truthful or really know what they are making) should make a difference to your decision right now. It is basically irrelevant.

[openheartgirl]

I dont know about travel in Albany, but I did work there as staff for two years and grew up/went to college there. I started as a nwe grad at Albany Med at $21.25.hour. This is the lowest paying region in NYS. So I think even as a traveler you wont make much money. I split an apartment with a room mate and paid $400 a month, so your per diem would cover an apartment easily.

[LG1137]

How to Calculate Travel Nursing Net Pay » BluePipes Blog

This blog post explains how to interpret the $numbers of a travel offer.

[ml263241]

I work in Schenectady, a city just next to Albany. I make 28.44 an hour (night shift), and 24 something on days..that is a pathetic offer

[NedRN]

I work in Schenectady, a city just next to Albany. I make 28.44 an hour (night shift), and 24 something on days..that is a pathetic offer

It is not a pathetic offer, it is actually about 50% more than you make per hour at about $42 an hour (add up the numbers). But you get benefits, paid holidays, vacation, sick time and so on. No matter what, it is not fair to compare travel to staff pay with just straight hourly. In San Francisco, staff pay can be double or better travel hourly.

[bikerRN1]

That is low ball, I recently completed a travel assignment in Albany, and while the taxed rate was similar, the tax free housing stipend was much better. As a traveler at Albany Med, I took home double what the staff made. Was financially a great assignment. Check with some other companies prior to signing that contract.