Travel Nursing FULL TIME and yearly income

bagladyrn, RN · Sep 18, 2005

I understand that with travel nursing after a contract ends, you are able to take time off as desired or immediately begin another.
Those of you who are working as a travel nurse full time, what kind of yearly income are you making? I understand that different regions pay differently, as well as different job specialities, but I'm just curious on average yearly salaries for RN's.
Are you able to keep working all year with no lags between contracts? Are jobs that plentiful?
I understand if you do not wish to state your yearly earnings, but those of you that do not mind could you please state: yearly earnings?, full-time?, specialities?, location of work.
Thank you ALL in advance and I hope to one day join the ranks of this exciting career path .

I've been a full time traveler for 9 years now. I have no problem staying fully employed and have yet to ever leave one contract without having the next one lined up.

I usually take 1-2 weeks off between contracts, sometimes longer, so I generally end up working 40 - 45 weeks a year.

I work all over the country, working in all areas of OB (L&D, PP, NSY, Antepartum).

I don't always pick my contracts for the payrate, frequently it's for a place I want to go or people I want to see. My annual pay for the last 9 yrs. has been in the 50 - 60K range.

Hope this info helps you. :)

Dixielee, BSN, RN · Sep 18, 2005

You can work continuously, you just may have to take a few contracts that may not have been your first choice. If you are flexible, you can work year around without any problem. You will quickly find that some areas of the country rarely use travelers, and sometimes never in your specialty. California, Arizona and Florida have plenty of needs year round.

Don't forget when you are looking at salary, that other bonuses and incentives may not show up. Some contracts pay completion bonuses, some do not. Some pay double overtime, some just time and one half. Some have renewal bonuses, etc. Also, housing is included, so you will not have to worry about rent and utilities, which greatly enhances your income without showing up on a paycheck.

There are countless hidden benefits to traveling that are intangeble. Those include the ability to control your schedule, decreased burnout, less involvement in the politics of the job, etc.

So look at the big picture, not just the yearly salary.

drscepura, BSN, DNP, RN · Oct 26, 2005

Salary varies from contract to contract depending on what your specialty is. I believe that ICU nurses make the most money. I am a dialysis/apheresis nurse and I made excellent money in Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, and less in Phoenix, Boston, Wailuku, and even less in states like FL, PA.... there are more perks I think when you work on west coast, salaries are higher. For instance in CA you make time and a half over an 8 hour day, and if you work 12 hour days, then you do the math. $$$$ $$$$$ I like working in the Bay area very much, it is very lucrative, especially if they pay your housing, and your car expenses, and travel expenses. Usually though they skimp on housing in the bay area because housing is a tough market and is expensive. The only way for you to know if it is better is to try travelling. Every nurse should at least once in their career. Good luck in your decisions!

homehealthsup · Nov 5, 2005

i have been in home health for about 5 years i was told i would need to work in acute setting for at least 6 months, wondering what was the best travel agency i sent my resume and i have all kinds of agencies calling now. anyone with any advice would be helpful. i recently took a rn coder class and was wondering if anyone doing this. i'm looking for a change and have been wanting to travel.

nurse_misty · Nov 7, 2005

have you worked in hawaii? I am looking at trying travel nursing and I was wondering which hospitals are nice to work at.