TTATN 003: The Best Way to Evaluate and Compare Travel Nursing Pay Packages
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In this episode of the Truth About Travel Nursing Podcast, we discuss the best way to evaluate and compare travel nursing pay packages. In fact, we argue that this is the only way to properly compare and evaluate travel nursing pay.Here are the show notes along with links to the resources cited in the podcast and some other helpful links on the subject.
First, let’s discuss why travel nursing pay packages are so complex.
- They are different than permanent packages.
- Marketing gimmicks: To understand the gimmicks, we have to understand the basics of how the agency calculates pay packages. First Gimmick: NOTHING is FREE! Free means without cost or payment. How can it be free if they offer a Stipend or “free” housing? Some recruiters really think they give free things, but they have an understanding of “Free” that doesn’t quite cut it for travelers. Second Gimmick: Net pay vs. gross pay.
- Travel nursing pay packages get quoted in different ways. Hourly, weekly, monthly, total contract.
How to evaluate a Travel Nursing Pay Package
- Must look at the pay package like a Pie Chart.
- But they quote in different denominations.
- Common denominator is time.
- So we want to break everything down to hourly figures.
- You can ask your recruiters to always do this for you in writing.
- However, you should always be able to do this yourself.
- Start with the time variables for the contract.
- Break everything down to the hour.
Ultimately, you’ll be able to add everything up to get the blended rate
- What is a blended rate?
- Many travelers don’t like them.
- But they are the only way to compare. Even PanTravelers.org uses them.
- One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to focus on one figure. Once a recruiter has that figured out, then they have a leg up in negotiations.
Standard Contract Example, 3 12 hour shifts, 36 hours per week, 13 weeks, 468
Quote
- Taxable Base Rate: $20/hour
- Lodging Stipend (instead of company provided lodging): $2800/month
- Meals and Incidental Expense Stipend: $350/week
- Travel Stipend: $700
- License Reimbursement of $250 for new state license: $250
Break it down to the hour
Hourly rate: $20
M&IE Stipend: ($350)/36 = $9.72
Travel Stipend: ($700)/468 = $1.50
License Reimbursement : ($250)/468 = $.53
Lodging Stipend: ($2800)(3 months)/468 hours = $17.95
Blended Rate: $23.33 + $17.95 + $9.72 + $1.50 + $.53 = $53.03
Be sure to figure in your expenses when comparing
- Different places have different costs of living
- Different assignments have different costs associated with them
Always try to compare different agencies when possible
Helpful Links:
PanTravelers.org: This is a advocacy group for travel healthcare professionals. They have a compensation calculator that breaks everything down to the hour. They do this because it is the best way to evaluate pay.
BluePipes Blog Pay Category: This is where you will find all of our blog posts on travel healthcare pay packages. Read them all and you will know more than your recruiter!
Travel Nursing Pay Video: For those of you like me, that learn better by watching, here is a video that illustrates how to break down a pay package.
Travel Nursing Pay Comparison Series: This is a link to the first of a 3 part series on how to break down travel nursing pay packages.
Hi! My wife is a travel nurse. She read online that it isn’t good to have your name submitted by two different companies for the same position. In the episode (or maybe the last one), you discussed getting proposals from multiple companies in order to compare rates. Just looking for some clarification…Love the podcast!
Hey! Thanks for listening to the podcast! I’m glad to hear it’s useful. Yes, it’s not good to be submitted by more than 1 company for the same assignment. However, you can get multiple travel nursing pay quotes from various agencies for the same hospital and then decide on which one will represent you for that hospital. Here is a little more clarification:
When it comes to being submitted by multiple travel nursing agencies to the same hospital, the outcome depends on hospital policy. Some hospitals will ask which agency you’d like to work with. Others will assign you to the first agency that submitted you, which means you’re stuck with them if you want to work there. Still others might pass on your profile altogether. So it’s best to make sure that you’re clear with the agencies you work with as to who can submit you to which hospitals. A big part of making that determination is to find out how much agencies are able to pay at the hospital.
That said, you’ll find many recruiters and agencies who make it sound as though working with multiple agencies is bad. They may even refuse to provide pay quotes until you’ve completed their documentation. I think this a very poor tactic and you’ll find that the most seasoned travelers feel the same way. Agencies and recruiters that do this mainly want to be able to submit you to hospitals as soon as jobs open without conferring with you first. It’s a race for agencies to get candidates submitted. Also, they want to ensure that you ultimately work with them.
Neither of these are in your best interest though. You should be working with at least a couple of agencies to ensure that you have maximum exposure to the job market. Even the largest agencies in the business do not work with every hospital in a given location.
All that said, there are many different ways to go about this. Here is a blog post that covers several scenarios and what to watch out for with each scenario.
I hope this helps!! Please let me know if there are any other questions or concerns.