Also called: Traveling Registered Nurse
A registered nurse who takes 13-week assignments at hospitals around the country.
Travel nurses move to a new city every few months, filling staffing gaps in ICUs, ERs, and labor units, with hospitals often covering housing. It is a way to explore the country while earning more than staff nurses.
Travel pay often includes tax-free stipends; rates spiked during the pandemic and have since come down.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 6 years after high school. RN license (associate or bachelor's in nursing) plus 1-2 years of hospital experience.
Ways in: 4-year college, 2-year college, Certification. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Nursing.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years).
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps with charting and staffing apps, but bedside nursing in ICUs and ERs stays licensed hands-on care.
Classes: AP Biology, Anatomy & Physiology, Chemistry, Health-science CTE.
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.