Already make $42/hr. Is travel nursing worth it?

Specialties Travel

Published

Hey guys,

I want to take my family on an adventure via travel nursing. We really want to see the country and show our kids how great our nation is as well as have an adventure while the kids are young.

The dilemma: I make $42/hr as a float pool RN mainly working in the ER at a busy urban hospital in Florida. Plenty of opportunities for OT. My main worry is that I won't make as much or make just the same as I make now. What can I expect as a traveler pay-wise?

I've done a lot of reading and it all seems comparable to my pay now. Of course it will be exciting to travel but I worry it won't be financially feasible to leave my current job. What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance.

Specializes in MedSurg, OR, Cardiac step down.

Is the stipend per month? I have been wanting to travel for a long time. I work in the OR and have my California license. That's were we want to go because we visit family there every year. I would like to know what I would gross weekly on average to just have an idea. I would stay central to northern California

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Specializes in Education.

There is definitely a shortage of experienced OR nurses right now. The thing with the OR is it takes a year to fully train a nurse to be on their own. So, if a nurse leaves, and you can't find an experienced OR nurse, it will take a year to replace them, in the mean time, more nurses have left, and so on. If you're not picky about where you want to go, you will never be without a travel assignment with OR experience. The need may go up and down, but there will always be a need. Right now Fastaff it paying btwn $45-$65/hour (taxed) with housing and travel expenses paid for OR. Granted, these are some of the highest rates I've seen, not sure how long the high rates will last. I'm sure there are also other specialties that have similar situations.

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Well, as a new mom myself, my question to you is how old are your kids? IMO, it'd be much easier if they weren't school-age as you have other factors to consider (changing schools frequently). I am also a pool RN. My base is $34.50 and with shift-diff I can avg 38-4/hr depending on if I'm working any weekends. Perhaps look into FMLA so that your job is secure. That way, you can take a short assignment and test the waters. My manager has discussed this with us as an option if we wanted to travel. I've always wanted to do travel nursing but with a toddler, I just don't think it's feasible as I think more in terms of stability. How stable would you be traveling? Would you be able to line up jobs so that there aren't any gaps to provide for your family? I'm sure everyone else in the forum could talk to you more about the states that are in higher demand for ED nurses so that you can be stable but that is what I feel is more important than focusing on if the wage is going to be higher. As someone said previously, I would expect to break even...or be making less with a family to support if you would be the only one working. Good luck!

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So danielleb85, I am currently traveling in San Antonio which is only about an hour away from Austin, TX. The low hourly rate is your taxable income. If you take the stipends it is directly added to your weekly income. This allows you to make more like $60/hour; at least in the San Antonio area and believe it's around the same for Austin when I spoke with a fellow traveler at my current hospital. If you are serious about going I can suggest a great recruiter who will make you feel vey comfortable for your first assignment.

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Something else you really want to consider is: Does your agency pay for housing for all 4 of you or just one. I worked in Alaska and trained a plethora of travel nurses from everywhere. The cost of living in AK was a lot for just one, and I cannot even imagine what it is for a family of 4. I homeschooled my kids when they were young and that is an issue as well. However, to see the world and spend quality time with your family . Well, there isn't a price for that, is there?

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Specializes in ICU, and IR.

One thing you need to discover is what insurance will cost for the whole family. Check out healthcare.gov. To cover your whole family may be real expensive and remember with the new laws any gaps in insurance may cost you a big fee. It depends if your wife has coverage, maybe you can get family coverage through her.

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Hello. I would like the name of a great recruiter that I could trust and feel comfortable for my first travel assignment please. Thank you for any info.

So danielleb85, I am currently traveling in San Antonio which is only about an hour away from Austin, TX. The low hourly rate is your taxable income. If you take the stipends it is directly added to your weekly income. This allows you to make more like $60/hour; at least in the San Antonio area and believe it's around the same for Austin when I spoke with a fellow traveler at my current hospital. If you are serious about going I can suggest a great recruiter who will make you feel vey comfortable for your first assignment.
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Specializes in Cath Lab/ ICU.

Positions that require call will always be in demand.

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@elbajista if yoy don't mind me asking where do you work and how yrs of experience do you have? I had no idea RNs in Florida could make that much:o

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If it were me, I would not travel. With travel you can make $40-$50hr blended. But remember with that money you have to duplicate expenses and pay for two homes. To me it's not worth it. But I live in SoCal and my rent/cost of living is high.

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NedRN, just from your knowledge and experience, in relationship with psychiatric nursing or travel nursing in general, as a rule, what would be considered the most minimum amount per hour shoud nurses accept? I know I would not be willing to accept anything less than $20.00 an hour no matter what the specialty. LOL

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You should not ever accept less than $50 an hour total pay. With the possible exception of a must do assignment in poorly paying parts of the South and Midwest. The amount of taxable base pay is almost irrelevant ($18 can be quite acceptable) as what you really care about is how much you net. A large part of the time, more than half of your compensation is in tax free housing, per diem, and travel stipend (and possibly health insurance). Use PanTravelers calculator to help you boil complex agency offers into total compensation and net pay (best way to compare offers). As sometimes really high paying assignments can end up with less net pay (usually because of high housing costs), you have to do a check of likely local housing costs on Craigslist. Sometimes those bad pay assignments in the South or Midwest end up on top because of low housing costs.

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