Travel Nurse Shares How Much She Earned On A 24-Week Assignment — ‘I Don’t Understand Why Regular Nurses Can’t Make This Much’
Being a travel nurse is quite lucrative.
Halfpoint | Shutterstock Being a nurse is not for the faint of heart. It's an incredibly grueling job that doesn't pay what it should unless you're lucky enough to land a travel nursing position.
A travel nurse named Tracie Love pointed out the pay disparity between regular nurses and travel nurses after sharing in a TikTok video how much she earned during a recent assignment and explained that it was the reason why she left regular nursing in the first place.
A travel nurse shared how much she earned during a 24-week assignment.
Tracie explained that for her most recent assignment, she was in Atlanta and only extended her contract once. She pointed out that as a travel nurse, she is given a tax-free stipend on top of her hourly pay, so many of the wages she earned are tax-free as long as she follows IRS rules.
"On my first 13-week contract, I made $42,472.60. I was then offered an extension for another 13 weeks. Unfortunately, this was cut short. All of the travel nurses got their contracts canceled, so I was only here for 11 weeks," Tracie recalled.
During the 11 weeks she was there, Tracie earned $37,733.09. She said that she ended up picking a few overtime shifts because the rate was extremely high.
The total amount she made during her 24-week assignment came out to $80,205.69. After taxes, her total was still quite high at $68,708.
"The reason why my after-taxes is still pretty high is because most of my money is tax-free," Tracie continued. "This is because I duplicate expenses; I pay two rents. I love being a travel nurse, and I'm gonna continue doing more contracts in the future."
Unfortunately, not everyone in the nursing field is able to earn as much as this travel nurse does, especially regular nurses who work in a hospital or medical center.
The pay varies from state to state but, The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has highlighted two recently released reports on pay and gender, which show that nurses, who are predominantly female, are underpaid for their services, earning on average 24% less than men.
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The ICN also pointed out the historical undervaluing and underfunding of nursing, which is a prime example of feminized work.
There's a huge lack of flexible working practices and career progression when it comes to the women who work in this field as well. It's also important to note that many female nurses are forced to work in stationary roles because they are the primary caregivers of their own children in many instances and cannot travel for work like Tracie.
Nurses often struggle with low pay combined with the high cost of living that comes with residing near most hospitals.
According to MoneyGeek, which analyzed nurses’ salaries in over 100 metro areas in the U.S., compensation can vary drastically based on location, tax implications, and living costs. Not to mention local governments in a lot of these states make decisions that either help or hurt nurses in the area.
The average gross pay for a registered nurse in the U.S. is $86,070. Of the metro areas that MoneyGeek analyzed, less than one-third surpass that average.
When adjusted for taxes and the cost-of-living index, many were left with $65,414 on average. For example, Washington D.C.’s pre-tax salary is $98,000, but the adjusted take-home pay is $48,000, according to MoneyGeek’s analysis. That’s nearly half of earnings lost to the high cost of living and taxes.
That's why there's been a growing trend of travel nurses in recent years. The latest National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report from NSI (Nursing Solutions, Inc.) shows that the average travel nurse can make up to $102 an hour, or a little over $212,000 annually, depending on where they work. That's almost double what the average hospital nurse makes.
It's no wonder why Tracie is committed to being a travel nurse and enjoys going on her contracted assignments because she makes a lot more than she would in a more stationary role.
This disparity is quite unfair, considering how overworked nurses are. They are true heroes and their compensation should definitely reflect the amount of good that they do for their communities.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.