Travel Nursing Pros And Cons – Everything You Need To Know About Becoming A Travel Nurse

Last Updated March 2022

I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had, social media posts I’ve seen, and people who have asked me whether or not travel nursing is the right decision. Becoming a travel nurse is a HUGE leap of faith and there’s a lot to consider! It’s not right for everyone, and at the end of the day, only YOU can make that decision. You can read more about why I decided to take the plunge here.

Today, I’m here to share some pros and cons of the travel nurse lifestyle. I strongly encourage you to write these down as bullet points, and use them as a starting point to build your own pros + cons list that’s personalized to your life and situation.

The Pros of Becoming A Travel Nurse

I could probably write an entire blog post about every one of these sections. Maybe one of these days I will. Obviously I love travel nursing – that’s why I’m still here! I’ll try to keep this concise, but if you have questions or want to chat in more detail about any of these, just hit me up on instagram or shoot me an email!

Travel Nursing Literally Pays You To Travel The Country

Getting PAID to live in a new city every three months is BY FAR the biggest benefit of this gig for me. I have learned so much about this country, expanded my perspective, grown as a person, and seen things that I would have NEVER been able to without travel nursing.

It’s no secret that travel nurses make good money, but the main reason I started travel nursing was because I love to travel. I have a bunch of places on my “wish list,” but I’m also extremely flexible with my assignment location because I just love living in a city that is completely new to me and learning things I never would have otherwise! For example, I went to Santa Fe, NM for a contract when I was traveling with another nurse simply because that was one of the only assignments available at the time that would hire both of us together. I ended up falling in love with the city’s charm, the people, and oh. my. god. the FOOD. I ended up there on a whim, and now it’s a place I will always go back to visit.

There Are Obvious Financial Incentives For Travel Nurses

Some people travel the country for the experience, others travel for the financial benefit. If you know how to find the right contracts and manage your expenses, travel nursing can be very lucrative. Like, thousands of dollars per week tax free lucrative.

Travel nursing contracts generally pay a premium for nurses to come in and fill a need. The rates are based on specialty and can sometimes differ between agencies. My highest paying contract to date has been $2500/wk, but I’ve seen contracts as high as $4k+ a week for my specialty, and even higher for others like ICU. Rates are high right now because of the pandemic, but even when we’re not in the midst of a healthcare shitshow, the money is better than staff nursing.

*Note – I get a TON of questions about tax free income as a travel nurse and I see a lot of misinformation on this topic. If you have questions on this, I highly recommend visiting Travel Tax. This website is run by a tax professional who specializes in those of us who travel for work. It will answer all your tax questions way better than I can, and it’s where I learned everything about tax free income.*

Travel Nursing Provides Flexibility And Opportunity

The flexibility of travel nursing is like no other nursing job, aside from maybe working from home. You have the freedom to choose where you want to spend the next 8-13 weeks of your life, and you can take as much time off as you want in between contracts.

I usually go back to the east coast in the winter because I like to be close to home for the holidays. Some people choose to spend their winters in warm areas, others head to Colorado so they can spend the winter skiing.

I’m currently working on a really ambitious goal of being debt free by my 30th birthday, but once I achieve that goal I’ll probably take off at least 2-3 weeks in between contracts. Some travelers take a month off and travel internationally between contracts. Others only work 2 contracts a year (my long term goal)!

Personal Development And Professional Growth As A Travel Nurse

You will learn SO MUCH as a travel nurse. Working at a new facility every three months will give you a crazy opportunity to see how other hospitals/nurses/healthcare systems do things. You’d think everything would be relatively similar within a specialty. To some extent it is, but you’d be amazed at how much things differ from place to place. You also have the opportunity to take contracts at really reputable hospitals (like the Mayo Clinic) where you know you’ll learn a ton of new things!

You also get to network and connect with people all over the world. If and when you decide you want to settle down somewhere, you’ll likely have a contact that you can reach out to about a job. You’ll have a list of references a mile long that will help you in future travel assignments as well as other career paths you may explore down the road. And, you’ll have some fabulous lifelong friends.

The Cons Of Being A Travel Nurse

While travel nursing is an amazing career, it isn’t perfect. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t have some downfalls. These are important things to consider when deciding if travel nursing is right for you. For me, the pros heavily outweigh the cons, but that may not be true for everyone!

PTO Doesn’t Exist For A Travel Nurse

One of the biggest bummers of being a travel nurse in my opinion is that you don’t accrue PTO. If you decide to take time off or you don’t find a contract that starts right after you finish your current assignment, that time will be unpaid.

For me, this isn’t a make or break. I budget every week and set money aside to ensure that I have some cushion. It took me a while to nail this down, so if you suck at finances, you might want to work on a plan before you start. If you want some extra financial tips and tricks to keep in mind, check out this post that I wrote specifically on financial planning for travel nurses!

Benefits Are A Little More Complicated

I could write a whole post about this alone. Being a traveler is very different from being a staff nurse when it comes to benefits like insurance and retirement plans. Many travel agencies will offer benefits to you as long as you’re taking contracts with them. Some also offer retirement savings as well. If you plan to stay with one agency and take contracts consistently, this may be a good option. However, many travelers work with more than one agency. Choosing this route would require that you get new insurance coverage every time you switch. Most agencies also have rules about how long you can be off in between assignments before your coverage lapses. These are all important questions to ask when building out your profile with recruiters.

If you plan to switch agencies or take any significant amount of time off, I recommend getting private health insurance. That way you know you’re covered 100% of the time regardless of your work situation. I got a private health insurance plan for less than what I would have been paying through my agency, and I added short term disability which my agency doesn’t offer. Short term disability is something I also highly recommend incase you get sick or hurt and have to be out for an extended period of time. I have a guy for all my insurance needs and he works with a ton of travelers. If you’d like to check out his options for insurance, you can find all his contact info here!

(If you do end up using insurance through him and you found this post helpful, feel free to use my name -Sarah Easterling- when you sign up! You’ll be eligible for referral incentives as well!)

You’re Always New

Outside of the logistical cons of travel nursing, there’s the obvious bummer that you’re always the new girl/guy. Unless you extend your contract, you’re essentially starting over every 2-3 months. You get three days (tops) of orientation to the floor and then you hit the ground running. A lot of times you haven’t even met everyone you’re working with until a couple weeks in. By the time you get comfortable, it’s almost time to go!

This just is what it is. I always ask in my interviews how many travelers are being hired. If they say a lot (like my current contract we have 10!), that’s actually a good thing for me. Yes, it means they’re understaffed, but it also means that I have lots of other people around who are in the same boat as me. I know they’ll have my back at work, and they’ll be a great person to explore the new city with!

Travel Nursing Is A Ton Of Paperwork

If you thought keeping track of certifications and annual competencies as a staff nurse was bad, just wait until you start the travel nursing paperwork. You may need to get multiple nursing licenses to take assignments in the states you want to work in. You may also need new or different certifications based on the hospitals’ requirements.

On top of that, there are usually requirements you’ll have to complete before each assignment. These may include things like skills checklists, quizzes, online classes/modules, as well as medical stuff like drug testing (yes, every time), blood work, vaccinations, N95 fit tests, etc. It’s all paid for by my agency, but man is it a pain in the ass. The two weeks before starting a new assignment always makes me want to pull my hair out. The longer you travel the easier it gets. You eventually learn to be super organized and efficient because if it doesn’t get done, they’ll delay your start date.

I think I could probably go on about the pros + cons of travel nursing forever. There are so many things to consider when deciding whether or not the travel nurse lifestyle is right for you. Use this as a starting point to make your own list of pros and cons. And don’t forget, you can always reach out to me if you have questions! What are some other pros and cons of travel nursing? Let me know in the comments!