Travelers out there pls help out this novice traveler wannabe.

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It took my recruiter weeks to find me my first contract. I was the first one to be submitted and they offered it to me. I really don't know much about how this works, but I trust my recruiter. Although I've heard about the" bait and switch" tactic that they employ to unsuspecting travelers.I haven't signed anything yet. Your opinion will be greatly appreciated.

13 week contract @ Cedars Sinai Hepato/Biliary Medical/Surgical Clinic in LA.

40 hours per week, 8 hours/ day,5 days a week.

27/hour = Housing stipend $2000

or

24/hour= Housing stipend $2500

or

22/ hour= Housing stipend $3000

Travel allowance= $500

He initially offered me 2000 stipend with the 27/ hour rate.But I was unsure because it's west LA and i figured it must be really expensive over there.So he increased the tax free stipend but kept decreasing the rate for more take home pay? Does this spell trouble come tax filling season? And is this a fair deal? Thank you so much in advance.

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All of the payrates you have listed= $39.50-40.75/HR. The $22/hr & $3000/stipend sounds good (especially if you find decent cheap housing).

You can go to the IRS.Gov website and look up the Perdiem rates yourself. Look under Conus charts

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All of the payrates you have listed= $39.50-40.75/HR. The $22/hr & $3000/stipend sounds good (especially if you find decent cheap housing).

You can go to the IRS.Gov website and look up the Perdiem rates yourself. Look under Conus charts

Thank you so much 79Tango! I did looked it up and it does not exceed the max per diem rate for LA. Thank you.

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It does not sound reasonable. California is very expensive - PERIOD! I think you should shop around at other agencies. Please be patient and wait on God to give you what is BEST for you. Some of these companies do not have your best interest at heart.

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What part of that sounds unreasonable? What is the best deal you have had in CA & what dept was that?

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Specializes in Tele/PCU/MedSurg/Travel.

Tango:

If a contract stipulates a housing stipend, is it paid as a part of your paycheck? Do you have to prove that you've spent the money on living expenses (via rent receipts, utility bills, etc), or does that not matter?

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Specializes in emergency, psych, ortho, med/surg.

Im also a brand new "investigative" travel RN:icon_roll- whats a "stipend?? how does that figure in?

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V-Neck, it typically comes on your paycheck however you do not have to save reciepts or prove anything. The IRS has determined the Max PerDiem amounts for every zipcode, so as long as you remain under that amount you are good to go. You can go to the IRS website and lookup the CONUS chart to make sure you are not going over..

The people that make the most $$ are the ones that take the stipend and find a roommate or cheap housing.

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Specializes in LDRP.

I'm a "new traveler" as well.....I'm a L&D nurse with a little over 6 years of experience....I just took an assignment in Bakersfield, CA ( not the best location....but cheap housing and a pretty good pay package!) I'm taking home $1719 per week with benefits, but I do have to pay for my own housing.....but my recruiter found some good housing options for me one of which is $760 per month fully furnished. I thought about taking an assignment in LA as well as I interviewed with a Kaiser in the bay area but the pay wasn't that much. I found these websites super helpful when I was looking into traveling........

http://www.highwayhypodermics.com/

http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/100000

http://nursinglink.monster.com/benefits/articles/3809

Good luck!!

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