Travel Nurse Salary Guide
If you are looking for a fulfilling, high-demand, flexible, and exciting career with great pay, we suggest you become a travel nurse. As a travel nurse, you will work in healthcare while traveling to different places. But before you decide to pursue such a career, let's find out what exactly a travel nurse is, what they do, and how much they get paid.
What Do Travel Nurses Do?
A travel nurse is someone who falls under the category of healthcare professionals—meaning they are licensed to offer medical care to those who need it. More specifically, they are registered nurses. What sets travel nurses apart from other healthcare professionals is their working environment. Travel nurses, as the name suggests, travel to different high-need areas, i.e., understaffed healthcare facilities, and offer their services. In regards to their duties, they have the same responsibilities as full-time nurses.
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How does a travel nurse contract work?
We have already established that the role travel nurses assume is temporary, but what does that really mean? Travel nurses are contracted for temporary positions. The contract can last anywhere from a few days to weeks or months. After the end of their contract, travel nurses can either stay at that same location or relocate to other high-need areas. Some travel nurses sign a contract for a temporary assignment they like and try to land a full-time position, but others keep on traveling and maintaining flexible working hours.
How Much Do Travel Nurses Make?
The salary for travel nurses is different from full-time positions for several reasons. Travel nurses usually work with travel nurse agencies that offer hourly pay for each assignment. This means travel nurses can do some research and choose an agency with better pay. On the other hand, nurses with full-time positions at hospitals, physicians' offices, and other medical facilities need to further their education or get promoted to have a bigger salary.
Furthermore, the take-home pay for travel nurses differs depending on the agency they work with. For example, some agencies offer an hourly base salary and provide additional allowances for housing and meals, while other agencies offer higher hourly pay and no budget for housing or other expenses.
Salary based on experience
There is one crucial factor that determines your pay as a travel nurse: experience. The average annual salary for travel nurses is $117,490. However, this number changes based on your experience as a travel nurse. For example, the starting salary for travel nurses is around $78,430. Having said that, travel nurses with more experience earn significantly more, around $170,680 annually.
Other factors that affect the pay for travel nurses include bonuses, working overtime, and the type of assignment they are contracted for (i.e., longer, overnight shifts in hectic environments pay better than shorter, day shifts in an office).
Salary based on type of travel nurse
The pay for a travel nurse also differs depending on the type of travel nurse. Some types of travel nurses are in high demand and therefore pay better. Below is a list of the highest-paying travel nursing roles in 2022:
1. Telemetry travel nurse - $130,870
2. Cardiac ICU Travel Nurse - $130,330
3. Obstetrics Gynecology Travel Nurse - $126,270
4. Cardiac Catheterization Lab Travel Nurse - $121,770
5. Pediatric ER Travel Nurse - $121,130
6. Step-Down Travel Nurse - $120,670
7. Neonatal ICU (NICU) Travel Nurse - $119,650
8. Labor and Delivery Travel Nurse - $118,850
9. Geriatric Travel Nurse - $118,630
10. RNFA Travel Nurse - $118,380
10 best-paying states for travel nurses
Last but not least, travel nurses in the U.S get paid differently depending on the state. Below is a list of ten best states to work in as a travel nurse in regards to salary:
California - $177,040
Texas - $112,780
New York - $131,810
Florida - $102,070
Pennsylvania - $108,910
Ohio - $102,420
Illinois - $109,490
North Carolina - $101,250
Michigan - $108,640
Arizona - $118,030
Which Skills Can Affect Your Travel Nurse Salary?
In addition to your expertise, there are a few skills you need to develop in order to land contracts as a travel nurse. Here are some helpful skills for traveling nurses that may also affect your salary:
Flexibility - This skill will allow you to work in different facilities that have different policies all over the world.
Adaptability - It goes without saying that being able to work in different environments means you have to adapt quickly.
Language skills - Being multilingual is an advantage for every profession, including traveling nurses. Even if you don't travel outside your country, you might deal with patients who aren't fluent in English, so acquiring another language is always a plus.
Emotional intelligence - For someone who has to move their whole life every time their contract ends, emotional intelligence is a must.
Teamwork - Since a travel nurse works with different people every few weeks or months, teamwork is an essential part of the job.
Other Ways to Increase Your Travel Nurse Salary
Since we have already mentioned the factors that play a role in your salary as a travel nurse, you can make adjustments to get the best out of your job. If you are a travel nurse interested in increasing your salary, here are some ways you can do that:
Get certified in a high-demand nursing specialty - Additional certifications, especially in high-demand specialties, can contribute to greater pay for travel nurses.
Take on higher-paying or extra shifts - Working overtime is another major contributing factor to the salary of a travel nurse. In addition, night shifts in high-demand departments or units pay better too.
Work in higher-paying states - Because as a travel nurse you can choose where you work, you can opt for states that offer a higher average salary for travel nurses.
Earn an advanced practice license - Apart from experience, education and training are essential to better pay. An advanced practice license practically guarantees you better pay.
Refer fellow nurses to agencies - Because nurses are in high demand, referring a colleague to a travel nurse agency may result in you getting a bonus from that agency if a contract is signed.
Travel Nurse Job Outlook
If you are considering becoming a travel nurse, you might be wondering about the job outlook for this profession. Registered nurses, including travel nurses, have a great job outlook because of nursing shortages and other factors (pandemic, etc.) Because of this shortage, both the salary and career outlook are excellent. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the RN profession will experience a 9% increase in employment by 2030.
Conclusion
Becoming a travel nurse has a lot of benefits, including a great salary, the ability to travel, flexible working hours, etc. However, not everyone is cut out to become a travel nurse. Because you are constantly moving, you have to adapt to different working environments and deal with moving a lot; it can also be very challenging. Make sure you weigh the pros and cons to determine whether or not this is the right career for you.