- Anthony Swain, 32, earned over $100,000 as a journey nurse in 2023.
- He mentioned journey nursing has given him extra management over his schedule and helped him keep away from burnout.
- Some hospitals are turning to journey nurses in response to workers shortages.
Anthony Swain switches jobs each three to 6 months. However the pay and adaptability have made his profession effectively value it.
Final yr, the 32-year-old earned about $102,000 as a telemetry journey nurse, in accordance with paperwork seen by Enterprise Insider. Since transitioning from workers nurse to journey nurse in 2016, he mentioned he is been capable of repay his automobile, construct emergency financial savings, and buy an funding property.
As a substitute of being based mostly in a single hospital, journey nurses are contract employees who determine the place they work and the way lengthy they keep in a given location, relying on out there roles. Swain has labored in Charlotte, Seattle, Palo Alto, and Baltimore, the place he met his now spouse — who can also be a journey nurse.
Journey nursing gigs are likely to require some expertise. However with hospitals going through nurse shortages — and plenty of healthcare employees complaining about unsustainable working circumstances — journey nursing might be a part of the answer.
“It is simple to burnout within the healthcare business, however having extra management over your life and the pliability to take day off is a big purpose why I began journey nursing,” Swain mentioned.
Journey nursing can have excessive pay and a versatile schedule
When Swain first discovered about journey nursing, he mentioned it instantly intrigued him. After giving it a shot, he hasn’t regarded again.
Swain mentioned the largest perk of journey nursing is the liberty. The “time freedom” has allowed him to have extra management over his hours and trip schedule — he took roughly 5 weeks of unpaid day off final yr between contracts. His gigs have required 36 hours of labor every week, along with time beyond regulation about as soon as a month.
The liberty to work on completely different hospital groups — like surgical procedure and transplant — has additionally helped him develop his experience.
There’s additionally the “monetary freedom” that may include this life-style, Swain mentioned. Although pay varies by gig — he is earned between roughly $20 and $135 per hour in recent times — journey nurses usually obtain stipends to assist cowl their housing bills.
Shifting a lot will be costly, however the freedom is value it
Since 2021, Swain and his spouse have used Vivian Well being, a healthcare jobs platform, to search out nursing placements. Swain mentioned the standard contracts they discover are about 13 weeks lengthy, however hospitals typically provide to increase the contract. He mentioned he sometimes stays at a hospital for between three and 6 months.
“I believe six months is an effective period of time to discover an space and get used to the hospital,” he mentioned. “Additionally, transferring each 13 weeks can get pricey with transferring bills, safety deposits, and hire in new locations.”
Along with coping with transferring bills, Swain mentioned it may be difficult to regulate to new hospital techniques, co-workers, insurance policies, and charting techniques.
“You have to be able to adapt shortly,” he added.
Regardless of these challenges, Swain has no plans to cease journey nursing. He and his spouse are based mostly in Charlotte, the place they’re contemplating extending their contracts.
“The liberty that journey nursing provides you to decide on your location, your hours, and the size of your placement is actually superb,” he mentioned.
Are you a gig employee keen to share your prime methods for earning money? If that’s the case, attain out to this reporter at jzinkula@insider.com.
