6 Reasons Travel Nursing is the Best Job Ever
With The Affordable Care Act in full swing, hospitals and care institutions are seeing an influx in patients and finding themselves understaffed and overworked.
If you have a Registered Nurse (RN) Degree, this is great news because you are in high demand.
Travel Nursing is at a 20 year high with no projections of slowing down. We are even expected to see another 10% increase in growth by the end of 2015. If you want to travel, explore different professional specialties, dictate your own schedule, make great money, and help people, then Travel Nursing is the field for you.
Why Travel Nursing is the Best Job Ever:
1. Travel
To state the obvious, Travel Nursing entails traveling. So, if you are into that and have a RN, pack your bags because you can get paid to visit different areas in the country and help people. Some reasons why most people don't get to travel in other career fields are: they have to take time off work; it costs too much money; they don't even make enough money or have any time off work to even leave.
With Travel Nursing you can go around the country while still holding down a job--one that pays great! You can also save money while traveling--which is almost unheard of-- because the staffing agencies, that handle job placement for Traveling Nurses, find you free or severely reduced housing. Not only are you making money while traveling, you are able to save it as well.
2. Money
Travel Nursing pay is great. With most RNs making $65,000 a year, you can expect more hourly cash than that working as a travel nurse. The longevity of the job varies, but you can always find more work to keep you busy throughout the year because the market is booming. No matter your experience, the average pay for Traveling Nurses is about $75,000 a year based on 40 hour work weeks.
What's great is Hospitals need you, so you can leverage the demand in your favor and keep raking in cash and steady work. If you are specialized in a field or work overtime you can expect even more money. Usually location dictates pay, so if you work in an expensive city that pays a great salary, just think, you can save a ton of money because you don't live there permanently.
3. Flexible Schedule
Schedules vary in duration, locale, and position, but the great thing is you can usually dictate when you want to work. There is such a steady supply of hospital jobs that if you want to take Christmas off, but pick back up afterwards, you can do that. You are basically a Nurse Contractor, so you work with staffing agencies to fill hospital needs, and those positions aren't going anywhere.
Autonomy is a great perk of this field; you have more independence than a permanent RN. Most shifts are 3 days for 12 hours, but it varies. You should talk to your recruiter or agency to determine shift schedules, hours, and job guarantees. With some jobs you can schedule your own time, but with others they place you. Find out which is the case for any job you consider and if it doesn't work for you, talk with your recruiting agency to better suit your needs.
4. Explore Different Specialties and Locations
If you are unsure which specialty you like, or what you really want to do with your career, you can help decide with the flexibility of various positions you can experience by Travel Nursing. You can work in different areas, at different hospitals and really find your fit. Once you decide to settle down, your experience as a Traveling Nurse can help position you in the job and location you want.
Different hospitals need different jobs filled and you can bounce around working in each of them. If you do specialize in a field or find one you really enjoy, you can concentrate on that and make more money. Travel Nursing exposes you to all the elements you need to craft an educated decision on where you want to live, where you want to work, and where you want your career to go.
5. Job Security and Advancement
Travel Nursing is at an all time high in 20 years. The market is great for it because of so many new patients and open positions waiting to be filled. Registered Nurses are more in-demand than ever, and some areas just don't have the talent to fill the spots. That's why, if you are a Traveling Nurse, you have job security. Hospitals need you. When the need arises, you can pack your bags and set off to a new locale and a new adventure.
Advancement opportunities abound as well. With all the skills you learn, situations you get exposed to, and locations you visit, you can build a great resume to advance in your career in no time. Since there is a growing need for RNs across the country, you could almost pick your job after a stint of Travel Nursing.
6. Impact Lives
Being a Traveling Nurse exposes you to tons of different people from different backgrounds. The great thing about being a Nurse, is you get to help them. You literally go around the country potentially saving lives and helping others. What better way to spend your working life than being a positive impact in the community around you?
Lots of Travel Nursing positions pop up in places impacted by disasters or that are in dire need of help. So you can directly impact the lives of people who really need it. Of course being any kind of nurse allows you to impact the lives of people who really need help, but you could be a part of bigger situations than you might be exposed to if you stayed a fixture of your local hospital.
If you're going to be in the rat-race, you might as well work a cool job that differs from the same 9-5 run everyone else is begrudgingly hobbling. Travel Nursing allows you to put a spin on the mundane and be more independent and adventurous with your work life. If you want to travel, help people, and make great money, you should really consider becoming a Traveling Nurse as your first option.
