Also called: Traveling RN
An RN who takes short contracts (often 13 weeks) at hospitals around the country that need extra staff.
Spends winter in Arizona, spring in Boston, and summer in Alaska, picking up assignments through staffing agencies. Each new hospital means learning the layout and systems fast, then being a fully functioning nurse within days.
Estimate; includes tax-free housing stipends; pay spiked during COVID and has since cooled.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 5 years after high school. RN license plus usually 1-2 years of hospital experience in a specialty.
Ways in: 4-year college, 2-year college, Certification. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Nursing (BSN), Nursing (ADN).
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years). Tracks RN growth; demand swings with hospital staffing shortages.
Low risk for 10 years. Matching apps make finding contracts easier; the hands-on nursing in each new hospital stays human.
Classes: Biology, Anatomy & physiology, Chemistry, Spanish.
Official data: O*NET occupation 29-1141.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.