Travel Nursing as an LPN

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Help! i recently spoke with a travel recruiter looking to travel as an LPN. I looked into an assignment in ALaska but they only want to pay 22 an hour. I know as an LPN your limited but i thought with traveling it would be a little better pay. Help please! Any advice on questions to ask or is this a fair pay for this region. i have been an LPN for four years worked in acute long term care and med surg. any advice will help! thank you

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What portion (if any) of your living expenses are being paid for?

The wage on its own wouldn't be justifiable IMO.

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they said they pay for housing but that i think is it..

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Moved to the Travel Nursing forum

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they said they pay for housing but that i think is it..

From a strict economic standpoint, I'll weigh it out for you:

Living expense (minus housing) in current location = cost x

Living expense (minus housing) in Alaska = cost y

Cost y is going to be considerable higher than cost x

Housing expense in current location = cost

Housing expense in Alaska = no cost

Wage in current location = n

Wage in Alaska = m

In short, the slight increase in wage you'll receive in Alaska in addition to free housing would offset the increased cost of living which would allow you to "take home" more money. But is that money worth staying up in Alaska? That's where you make the decision.

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Talk to your recruiter again about compensation, and talk to other agencies as well - you wouldn't shop for a car at just one dealer would you? Typical compensation packages include an hourly rate, plus housing (or a stipend to find your own), a per diem (meals and incidentals), health insurance, and travel reimbursement. The math is easier if you use PanTravelers calculator to figure out what you really make and the difference between different agency quotes.

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