Thinking of traveling...

[rn_guy123]

but I am making decent money on staff right now. Have heard the rumors that traveling pays big $$$ but am not seeing that anywhere I look. I understand about travel and housing stipends, but I work about 20 hour of OT a week and am not sure I could get those hours elsewhere. Do travelers make a shift diff like staff nurses do? Is OT readily available if you are flexible enough to float around to get it? Is the top going rate really only about $40/hr? Does the rate dip sharply if you aren't in a high demand specialty like tele/ICU or ED?

Sorry for the flood of questions, but any and all help is appreciated...

[AmandaWIRN]

You can make good money, but if you're looking to make more than $40/hour, you're going to be very limited as to what you'll find. If you forgo benefits like insurance and housing, you can probably make that much, but you'll be responsible for finding your own insurance and housing.....

The pay rates are higher for the more in-demand specialties, like ICU, ER, Tele..... There are usually not shift differentials. OT depends on the hospital- some hospitals will let you have as much OT as you want, others don't want travelers picking up OT because it costs more......

[Bamanursey]

Amanda-question...
Is housing stipend negotiable if you dont need them to put you up? And can you give me any advice on On Assignment? I just signed up with them for a 13 week in Cali........
Preechate it!

[AmandaWIRN]

Everything is negotiable....

I have never worked with On Assignment, so I really can't tell you much about them. You could check our reviews section to see if there are any reviews of On Assignment.

[disholicious]

I have heard some bad things about them, but if you look hard enough you will find out bad things about each and every company. I use others "beware" to make sure I have the right info in my contract.

[askmeh]

Travel Nursing is a crap shoot these days with so many companies out there to choose from. It really depends on what your needs and goals are at this stage of your career. You do not always have to travel to make > $$. Sometimes your facility has programs that offer more $$ with gauranteed hours and benefits or you can "travel" local. There are some excellent resources out there to help you learn more about travel nursing. Good Luck.

[stanzeno]

If you are going to travel just for the money you might want to reconsider. My wife and I have traveled for 2 years (I'm the nurse) but haven't made more money then my last year in Ohio.
There are advantages to travel but I don't consider money as one of them. We do enjoy seeing America. Stan