Travel Nurse!! To Do or Not To Do??

NedRN · May 25, 2018

Start by reading some threads here for those large open ended questions. For one unasked question, December is not a good time to look for travel positions. Start in September or wait until next year. Can your lease not convert to month to month? That will take the pressure off.

NurseDK860 · May 25, 2018

I can start in September. Nothing is holding me back besides deciding whether or not I should stay in my current apartment or not. I want to save as much money as possible. It can convert to month to month. Maybe that would be ideal for me. Thanks!

NedRN · May 25, 2018

You should read up on tax homes too. To get tax free subsidies you must be traveling away from home. If you have no residence, you are not working away from home, wherever you are is home (itinerant status). Local friend with a spare bedroom? Negotiate a fair rent and you will be protected if the IRS audits you. Plus you will have a place to get mail.

ChrisMMS · May 25, 2018

Hello NurseDK860! Recruiter here hopefully the information below helps you decide if traveling is going to be the right option for you.

1) You should be able to do a little googling and look at the review of companies out there to see which ones to give a call and which ones to avoid. Also it's in your best interest to be working with a few different companies to compare their benefits and available contracts to make sure you are getting the best deal every time.

2) I don't have personal travel experience, but my travelers have had a wide spectrum of experience to loving it to hating it so it just really depends on the assignments you get and your mindset going into the process. Not every travel assignment is going to be perfect and more often than not you are going to be working at a facility that is understaffed and needs a lot of assistance. As long as you keep an open mind to traveling and decide why you want to travel and stick to that you should have a good experience.

Pros - More money, get to travel the world, only have to stay 13 weeks, get to meet a lot of new people, chance for relocation and permanent placement.

Cons - Working with agencies/recruiters can be tiring, job stability can be a problem depending on what you're looking for, insurance/benefits are not equivalent staff positions, difficult assignments, learning curve, and on boarding paperwork.

Tips - Work with multiple agencies/recruiters, join different travel groups on social media for support, have all of your paperwork on a google drive or somewhere easily accessible through your phone or computer, make sure you understand the tax advantage program and requirements of traveling.