Life as a travel nurse is unlike any other career choice. You voluntarily pick up and move every 13 weeks to a new town to work at a new job.
What are the pros and cons of travel nursing? Why would anyone ever choose this as a career choice?
So you’re interested in becoming a travel nurse but are wondering what life is like first?
What it’s like to be constantly moving and changing jobs while being away from your family and friends?
Alright. I’ll tell you.
TL;DR
The Money: Travel nursing offers life-changing salary rates, with most companies paying weekly. It’s essential to manage this new income wisely to avoid spending as much as you’re making.
The Moving: Enjoying the adventure of exploring new cities every few months is a big part of travel nursing. However, constant moving and packing can become tedious, making it crucial to develop efficient packing systems.
The Contracts: The frequent change of workplaces helps avoid workplace politics but means leaving behind great teams and possibly facing the dilemma of whether to extend contracts.
The Modules: Each new job requires completing 30-40 hours of orientation modules, which are repetitive but necessary for understanding each hospital’s policies and procedures.
The First Couple of Weeks: Starting at a new place feels like being a new grad nurse again. Finding a buddy at work can help ease this transition.
Finding Your Next Contract: The search for the next assignment usually starts 4-6 weeks before the current one ends, often requiring coordination with multiple recruiters and a bit of stress management.
Social Life: Dating and making friends can be challenging due to the temporary nature of travel nursing, but being open and proactive can lead to meaningful connections.
Wrapping Up: Despite the challenges, the rewards of travel nursing—financial, professional, and personal—are immense. Keeping an open mind and remembering your reasons for choosing this path can help navigate the lows and appreciate the highs.
What Is The Life As A Travel Nurse Like?
This article is not a “typical day” or a “day in the life” of a travel nurse, but my honest thoughts and experiences of what it is like to be a travel nurse, and the unique experiences that we go through.
But just so you’re warned, this is a raw and unfiltered look into the life of a travel nurse, complete with its high highs and low lows.
First things first. The money,
The Money
The travel nurse salary rates are life-changing. Seeing that first paycheck deposited into your bank account in the amount of what you would have made in two weeks or a month at your staff job is almost unbelievable.
Did I mention most travel nurse companies pay you weekly? Oh yeah, that’s a thing.
And while the money is amazing, it’s important to keep your spending in check and not blow it all on Amazon or Target. I encourage you to set up a budget with your new income. If you don’t, you could potentially do what I did and have your spending equal to what you’re making…and you’re back to feeling like you did when you were making staff wages.
So there’s that.
Next, there are the travel opportunities that come standard with the job.
The Moving
I can honestly say that I enjoy moving every few months, exploring a new city, and feeling like my eyes are really open.
I am also very adaptable and handle change well.
Life as a travel nurse includes lots of change. If you are a person who doesn’t deal well with change, then I might take a moment to reconsider if this life is right for you or not.
Does the packing and moving part get old? Absolutely. I dislike it more and more with every move. It is also probably the number one reason why travel nurses leave the field and go back to being a staff nurse.
But, once you have your packing systems down and have a place for every single item you own, it does get easier. I actually consider myself to be an expert in the travel nurse packing field.
To see everything I use to pack effortlessly, see my post on the Travel Nurse Packing List.
The Contracts
Changing jobs every 3 months comes with both its advantages and disadvantages.
One advantage (and a big reason why I started travel nursing) is not being in one place long enough to get involved in work politics.
I cannot stand workplace politics, “playing the game”, and the drama that comes with it. If I’m only at a job for 13 weeks, I’m likely not going to have to deal with it.
But on the other hand, you will meet some pretty great people and might even really enjoy the facility you’re at.
But at the end of those 13 weeks, you leave. Most of the time an extension will be offered to you and it is totally up to you if you want to stay or not, so that option is nice to have.
Just make sure to ask these important questions about your contract before signing.
The Modules
With every new job, there is an orientation. What that orientation looks like is different at each facility. One thing that is guaranteed is that you will have 30 to 40 hours of modules to watch every time you start somewhere new.
The other cool thing about these modules is that they are all the same — they may look a little different, but the topics you’re learning about are the same every time.
The point of these modules is to learn your new hospital’s policies and procedures, or, their way of doing the shit you already know how to do.
You also sometimes have the option to do them at home (sometimes paid, sometimes not), or you are required to go into an education center and literally sit at a computer for 8 hours. And yes, it is as bad as it sounds.
After you have had your soul sucked out of your body, you then get your one shift of training on the floor before you’re on your own.
The First Couple Of Weeks
On your first day on a new contract, you will feel like a new grad nurse who has never worked in a hospital before.
Also, this will usually last for a week or two.
No, it doesn’t make sense.
You’re doing the same shit but just at a different place, but know that you are not alone with this feeling. Everyone goes through this.
It also sucks being the new guy.
No one likes being the new kid in class or the new person at work — especially when you go home to an empty house at the end of it with little to no support system.
But at least it’s only temporary, right?
I was recently asked by a new traveler how I deal with going through this every 13 weeks.
My answer was that it’s because I know to expect this feeling of inadequacy, that it is only temporary, and that it’s all in my head.
Chances are, people aren’t watching me, judging me, and critiquing me as a nurse.
I also try to find a buddy. Someone who seems friendly and is willing to help me find my way around as the new guy.
Sometimes this is a travel nurse who has been at that facility for a while, and sometimes it’s a staff nurse.
Either way, I highly recommend you do this as it will make this icky and awkward transition period a lot easier.
Finding Your Next Contract
About 4-6 weeks before your current contract ends, your recruiter will start asking you about where you want to go next.
Sometimes, if you get lucky, a great contract will pop up, you’ll apply, and you’ll land the job! Easy peasy.
Unfortunately, though, this is not the norm and it usually turns out to be a scramble to find your new assignment before your current one ends and also before your lease on your house ends.
Pro tip: When deciding on your lease duration, always add two weeks past your end date to give yourself a little bit of a buffer just in case it’s taking a little bit longer than expected to sign a new contract.
If it gets down to two weeks before my end date and I still don’t have anything lined up, I am usually scouring the internet, and checking in daily with my other recruiters (at other agencies) to see if anything new has opened up that I would be happy with.
I’ll be honest, it is pretty stressful knowing that you’re about to be jobless and homeless with no plan of what you’re going to do next because you haven’t signed a new contract yet.
But I can say this, it always works out in the end because there will always be jobs for nurses.
I have yet to end up in a situation where me and the cats are living in my car.
At the very least, I’ll see if I can stay an extra week at my current place or I will just start driving to where I want to work next.
Pro tip: Always have a couple of months of living expenses saved up in case the worst-case scenario happens. As travel nurses, this shouldn’t be hard to do. It should also be one of the first things you do with your new income.
Social Life
So what about the other life stuff, like dating and mental and physical health?
To be honest, dating is tricky.
It also depends on what you are looking for.
If you are looking for your life partner, it’s hard starting up a relationship when you know that your time here is only temporary. On the other hand, if you’re just looking to have fun and the other person is on the same page, then go for it!
My approach has always been this: yes, I would love to find my person, but I go into dating with a very open mind and I am also very honest with my dates about my career as a travel nurse. If I happen to find someone with whom I can see having a future, I will consider an extension and see how things go from there.
As far as friends go, it can be a difficult department. I always try to hang out with other travel nurses who are new to the area and in a similar situation as me. This is usually pretty successful except for scheduling issues.
Other than that, life as a travel nurse is honestly pretty lonely. I try to keep myself busy on my off days with my hobbies and now this blog.
Pro tip: I encourage you to find a travel nurse side hustle or something else you’re passionate about to occupy your time.
There is also Bumble For Friends and local Facebook groups for people looking to make friends.
Try pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, go to meetups or bar trivia by yourself.
Do not limit yourself to doing activities or going out to eat or exploring because you’re by yourself.
It is critical to be comfortable doing things alone, or else you just end up sitting in your house alone all the time.
Am I Happy?
Travel nursing is an amazing career option and I honestly do love my life and everything that this career has allowed me to do.
If you are considering becoming a travel nurse, I say go for it.
Sure, there are some tough times, but that’s life, right?
I try to look at the big picture, and there is no way I can imagine myself still working at a staff job, knowing that I will be there indefinitely. Knowing that I can literally count down the number of weeks or shifts, helps me a lot when I’m at a shitty facility.
It also helps to have an amazing travel nurse agency and recruiter — it can honestly make or break your career. If you want to work with my recruiters, click here.
If you are wondering what travel nursing agency to go with, I highly suggest Medical Solutions. I have been with them for 4 contracts and have nothing but positive things to say about them, not to mention they have excellent pay rates.
Check them out here (this link lets them know that I sent you).
If you are curious about how to become a travel nurse, see my post on the 10 steps to get started. Also, be sure to check out my post on my best travel nurse tips.
Wrapping Up
There are many pros and cons to life as a travel nurse, especially if you’re new to the game.
It really is like having to learn a whole new lifestyle and all of the tricks and hacks necessary to survive.
The money is great, the moving not so much, and starting a new job every 13 weeks can be tough.
I encourage you to keep an open mind and to remember why you started doing this in the first place.
Why did you want to travel nurse?
Was it the money? The travel? To challenge yourself? Either way, when times get tough, think back to your why and remember why you chose this incredible, non-traditional way of life.
I also want you to remember that you are not alone. When those feelings of inadequacy or loneliness come on, remember that one, we all go through it, and two, that it is all temporary.
On top of this, you have so much freedom!
Anyone can do anything for 13 weeks.
FAQ
Is travel nursing still worth it in 2024?
Yes, hospitals are still in need and travel nurses are still making good money. The landscape is more competitive now with so many new travelers, but that just means your recruiter has to work a little harder, not you. As a current travel nurse, I am still loving my lifestyle and career.
What is life as a travel nurse like?
Life as a travel nurse means making a great income and having the freedom to live and work wherever you choose. Although it does involve constant moving and even some loneliness, the freedom you have makes everything worth it.
What are the downsides of travel nursing?
The cons of travel nursing are being away from family and friends, making new friends at your new job only to leave a few months later, and some might say the constant moving; but that is what you sign up for. It’s important to be able to deal with change well and be comfortable being alone in order to excel in the travel nurse lifestyle.
What do travel nurses do?
Travel nurses temporarily relocate to places where hospitals are in need of extra, temporary staff. We work 13-week assignments, right along with the staff RNs, fulfilling the staffing needs of the facility. If we are no longer needed, we then search for other jobs in the location of our choosing.
Disclaimer: I may earn commissions from purchases made through the links in this post at no extra cost to you.