Travel nursing is certainly a very rewarding career that offers plenty of benefits. However, the truth is that travel nursing might not be the right career for you. This article lists out the pros and cons of travel nursing.
The Pros and Cons of Travel Nursing
The good news is that there are a lot of similarities between being a travel or a permanent nurse. Your responsibilities as a travel labor and delivery nurse as you would a permanent labor and delivery nurse would be similar if not identical. Let’s dive into the pros and cons of travel nursing.
The Pros of Travel Nursing
- You make more money as a travel nurse. While the average salary for a nurse is about $70,000, one of the benefits of being a travel nurse is you can make more money. In fact, when you add up all benefits and allowances, many acute care travel nurses can make over $100,000.
- Meet more people. Another great pro for being a travel nurse is that you get to meet more people. That is always a good thing. You could meet new people who end up being great friends or someone who can help open a new professional door.
- Grow your career. The experiences you make being a travel nurse are beneficial. You work with new people, learn new skills, and work in plenty of settings. These things will look good on your resume.
- Travel the country. By the title, a travel nurse will certainly be able to travel the country. Whether it’s taking assignments in new states or traveling between assignments, you will certainly be able to discover new places in our great country.
- Limited time assignments. Most travel nurse assignments are 13-weeks long. That is certainly a big benefit of being a travel nurse. 13-weeks means if you don’t like your assignment you are not stuck there. You also get to avoid facility politics or gossip as you are only there for a limited time. No need to get involved in that stuff.
- License and travel reimbursements. Being a travel nurse can sometimes come with some additional costs. But don’t worry, at Host Healthcare we have you covered. One of our benefits is we will reimburse your license and travel.
The Cons of Travel Nursing
While we think being a travel nurse is a great career with plenty of pros, there are still some cons.
- Away from your family and friends. While you can take local travel nursing assignments, the fact is most people take assignments away from home. That can be sad for some nurses. However, if you are in a fun city why not invite your family or friends to come visit.
- Sometimes as a travel nurse you might not have seniority at your assignment. Thus, picking up certain shifts, or not being able to pick up shifts might be a challenge. But again, your recruiter will be the person to help you with any shift questions.
- Permanent nurses’ perception. Some nurses might have a negative view of travel nurses. It could be an experience they encountered or things they heard. But don’t let those things impact you. You are a great nurse. Keep your nose down and do a great job and you will be fine.
Host Healthcare Travel Nurse
Hopefully you enjoyed learning about the pros and cons of travel nursing. Interested in learning more about travel nursing? Reach out to your recruiter or fill out this form below.
Host Healthcare offers an extensive list of travel nurse jobs. In addition, call specific recruiter directly or if you don’t have a recruiter, call (844) 812-8094 and one of our friendly recruiters will be happy to help.
