Would You Rather...

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  1. Would you rather?

    • 6
      $55 an hour - Your on your own
    • 11
      $41 an hour - Agency takes care of housing, benefits, etc.

14 members have participated

As A Travel Nurse, Would you rather...

Have higher hourly rates or lower rates and have a recruiter/agency supply you with benefits?

For example, would you rather have an hourly rate of $55 an hour and you find and pay out of that hourly rate your own housing and other benefits that are traditionally offered by a travel agency?

or...

Take a rate of $41 an hour and get the benefits offered by a travel agency.

The difference in pay (assuming 36 hour workweek) is $14 p/hour or $504 a week.

Full disclosure: I'm a nursing student, looking into travel nursing, and am curious if any nurses would be interested in higher pay rates in exchange for less "amenities" from a travel agency.

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Specializes in STICU, MICU.

I have done both. To be fair, it really depends on more than just the hourly rates...like location, company, other benefits.

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I am wondering about Nurse Registry for CAlifornia? Is it a specific company? How can I sign up to work Registry either in AZ or CA. I have my RN licenses.. Need input please!

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Specializes in Postpartum, Antepartum, Psych., SDS, OR.

There are many companies to choose from in any location. Find some in the area you want to work by google search and or yellow pages. Call them or send a message and find out if they have positions for your field. Go from there.

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Specializes in OB.

I prefer to have thr company take care of these things as first of all I don't really want the hassle of finding my own housing in unfamiliar areas, paying deposits (and the consequent wait to have them returned), arranging my own utilities and the frequent credit checks for these. I also don't want the expense of arranging my own insurance (health, life and malpractice) at the rates charged for an individual rather than as part of a group.

I'm sure for those willing to do these things there is a financial benefit, just not worth it for me.

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When I was in nursing school it was also a dream of mine to do travel nursing. I hope you get to fulfill your dream one day but I think you should know that right now I think that travel agencies require that RNs have at least 2 years of experience.

To answer your question, lets first address that your $504/week is of course not all take-home pay. So subtract about 30% and from there you can start deducting things for your budget that benefits would have otherwise provided. How much is insurance, housing, travel, etc? These numbers are highly variable by person and location and only you can determine this accurately.

For me, I had to decide whether it was worth working without benefits and paying for school myself. The way I counted it, I'd break even in about 2 years and since I plan on going to school for longer than 2 years, it works out. Unfortunately what I'm losing here is a MATCHING 401K which is rare to find these days but... ah well.

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I'm sure for those willing to do these things there is a financial benefit, just not worth it for me.

Hi bagladyrn - I can definitely respect your viewpoint. I guess I'm just curious about the travel RN's who setup their own assignments and basically bypass the agency. Anyone out there have experience with this? I'd like to know more. Also, why aren't more doing this? Too hard to find work? too bold a move? I don't think it's that hard to find housing and I prefer a little more freedom to choose my own housing, insurance, etc. I guess that's why there are so many agencies. One size doen't fit all. That and the recruiting agencies seem to be making pretty good money off nurses (seriously I've run some numbers and we're talking about a billion dollar industry in nurse recruitment alone).

$14 may not seem like a, etc lot, and yes you would have to use some of this extra money to take care of housing, insurancethat the agency normally takes care of...but I like the idea of freedom. the freedom to choose. Maybe I am naive? Will it all change when I begin travel nursing...maybe? But the prospect of making more money and having a solution that I've tailored myself I think would be worth it...at least to try once or twice. Ultimately, you get only the benefits you want, and pocket the rest in cash. How come there isn't an agency that is offering just high-rates and taking an extremely low commission (like 3%) and letting the nurses (who are a smart crowd : ) figure out their own benefits...maybe I'm answering my own question but I guess there's too much money in it for the recruiters to undercut themselves and this is just the accepted practice...?

Thanks for all the replies so far : )

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I was really hoping this thread would be a "Would you rather..." game

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Specializes in OB.

When you work as an independent contractor (bypassing any agency) you also must consider that you are responsible for paying for your own taxes, Soc. Sec., workman's comp. etc. in addition to the "usual" benefits. Need to figure this in when you negotiate a billing rate with the hospital. Remember too that you need to have enough money to pay out everything before receiving money from the hospital.

There is an actual forum on delphi for Independent Contractors. You might want to check it out for info from those actually doing this.

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good point bagladyrn...it does seem like alot of work...maybe more mentally exhausting and as you say maybe not worth it. I'll check out the forums though, Thanks for the advice.

Anyway...off my own personal soapbox/needs...

would you rather...can be a fun thread

would you rather...

travel nurse in Hawaii without ever being able to go to the beach or travel nurse in winter-time Alaska and be able to see polar bears and other wildlife?

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Specializes in Postpartum, Antepartum, Psych., SDS, OR.

I love Alaska...Will go back...Providence is awsome and so are the staff..Thought I died and went to heaven. Love the Moose, Sled Dogs, Snow and the beauty GOD made for us to see in Alaska. No I did not see Russia ....Just beautiful everything.....

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To further what Ms. Baglady said you also need to be prepared to not get paid very often. You could expect to be at least 1-2month in the rears by the time you are lucky enough to get paid on a direct contract.

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