TRAVEL NURSING · PROS
1. Why nurses travel
- Higher weekly pay, especially in shortage areas
- Tax‑free housing and meal stipends, if you keep a tax home
- Short contracts, usually about 13 weeks
- You pick where you live next
- Experience at many hospitals, fast
TRAVEL NURSING · CONS
2. The catch
- Most agencies want 1–2 years in your specialty
- Contracts can be canceled on short notice
- Short orientation, and you're often first to float
- Benefits can lapse between contracts
- A new license in each state without a compact license
STAFF NURSING · PROS
3. Why nurses stay
- A steady paycheck and a predictable schedule
- Health insurance, retirement match and PTO that builds
- Raises, seniority and a clinical ladder
- Tuition help and paid certifications at many hospitals
- A team that knows you, and a home that stays put
STAFF NURSING · CONS
4. The catch
- Less pay than travel in high‑demand markets
- Yearly raises are often small
- Mandatory overtime or call on some units
- Unit politics and slow change
- Harder to take long breaks between jobs
READ THIS BEFORE YOU TRAVEL
5. The stipend rule nobody explains
- Stipends are tax‑free only if you keep a tax home
- That means you keep paying rent or a mortgage back home while you travel
- No tax home? You count as itinerant, and every stipend is taxable
- A low hourly rate plus a big stipend also shrinks your overtime, Social Security credit and unemployment benefits
- Talk to a tax pro who works with travel nurses
Tax home rules: IRS Publication 463. Compact license: 40+ states, but not California, New York or Illinois.
WHICH ONE FITS YOU?
6. It depends on your season
- Travel may fit if you…Have 1–2 solid years in your specialty, adapt fast and have savings for gaps
- Staff may fit if you…Are a new grad, want benefits and roots, or plan on grad school with tuition help
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