Working as a Travel Nurse

The profession of registered nurses constitutes the vastest health care occupation, accounting for 2.6 million jobs in the health care industry, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Still, within that figure are a number of different levels and areas of expertise, with the job duties varying greatly from one registered nurse to the next.

According to the BLS, there are generally four different ways in which a registered nurse can be specialized: they may work with a particular type of treatment or setting, they may have expertise in certain health conditions, they may work exclusively with one or more organs or body system types, or they may combine two or more specialties to become even more specialized.

Across all of those areas of specialty, the general assumption is that, regardless of registered nurses' given responsibilities, they all practice in one place or city, or at most, a few different settings within the same region. That is not the case, however, for travel nurses.

What they do:

The travel nursing industry was created to help solve the problem of a nursing shortage across the United States. Nurses in this industry travel to various locations across the country, contracting work in the form of temporary, short-term positions.

Other than the fact that they are often on the move and filling new nursing positions in new cities, travel nurses are in every way the same as standard registered nurses; they constitute all types of nursing specialties, although there tend to be few travel nurses whose expertise lie in the highly specialized nursing practices.

Some registered nurses opt to become travel nurses because it tends to yield higher pay check than does a stationary job. Also, while most people prefer to be stationed in one city, some people appreciate the personal adventure that comes along with constantly shifting locations. Working as a travel nurse for a period of time can also demonstrate flexibility in a nurse's clinical practice, and thus look good on a nurse's résumé when they apply for a permanent position.

What they need:

The requirement to become a travel nurse is the same as the requirement to become a registered nurse. According to the BLS, the three typical educational paths toward becoming a registered nurse are an associate degree, a bachelor's degree, or a diploma from an approved nursing program. All other requirements vary based on the specialty that a travel nurse plans to practice.

What they earn:

The average salary of a travel nurse is $64,949, according to CBsalary.com. The 25^th and 75^th percentiles of salaries fall between $49,407 and $88,151, respectively.

Job outlook:

According to the BLS, overall job opportunities are excellent for registered nurses. While job prospects do vary based on geographic location, that does not present an issue for travel nurses, since they are always on the move, and hired in areas with particular need for nurses. There are also a number of different travel nursing companies, and their main function is to find open jobs across the country and place the travel nurses at destinations in need.