Why Comparing Travel PT Contracts is Tricky Business

“You make what?!? I cant believe that my recruiter would low ball me like this!  Unbelievable!  Im never working with XYZ agency again!” – therapist then scampers off to angrily post on all of the travel therapy Facebook groups at once.

It is undeniable that there is a lot of ambiguity surrounding the financial aspects of our jobs as travel PTs.  There are thousands of jobs all over the country that are filled with hard working and capable therapists.  But it can be difficult to know if your particular job is paying fairly or if you’re getting hosed.  Initially we rely on the relationship we have built with our recruiter, but not all recruiters are equal or as upfront and honest as we all would hope (I have learned the hard way more than once.)  

So what do we do? We inevitably ask our colleagues.

Asking our fellow traveler PTs what they are making or what they find to be fair in and of its self is not a bad thing.  But here are a few things to keep in mind when searching for input from your peers and comparing travel PT contracts.

1. Be sure you are comparing apples to apples

The most important thing to consider is that you are comparing your income accurately and on the same terms.  As travel therapists there are a few moving pieces that interplay to create your final pay package.  It is important to recognize these.

Insurance Benefits: 

An often overlooked differentiator between travel contracts is their election for or against health insurance benefits.  Even the cheaper policies tend to run the therapists $50+/week in employee contributions.  On top of that there are many tiers of coverage that one person may select versus another.  These contributions all nibble into the weekly take home package and can make comparing contracts difficult if done hastily.

Take my current contract for example. From the outside it might appear that my wife is making $150/week less than me while at the same job!  Outrageous!  Sexist!  NOPE.  Upon closer look you would see that we decided that it would be best for me to go without healthcare and to be added onto hers.  So she is now paying for the health insurance of 3 people on a family plan.

Bonuses/reimbursements:

Comparing our weekly pay to some of our buddies here with our same home health company might also be alarming.  Our weekly pay is a bit less than theirs when we adjust for insurance options as described above.  Why is this?  We opted to get paid travel reimbursements.  While reimbursements are tax free the money, it still comes out of the same “pot” as your wages and will therefore likely cause you to take less in weekly wages. (Note: reimbursements being tax free are still better than wages which are taxed).

Retirement withdrawal:

Another thing to consider is that many of us contribute pre-tax money to a company sponsored retirement account.  This will drive down the weekly take home that is deposited into your account.  It is important to keep this in mind because I have many friends who forget that they even do this.  After all, retirements saving is meant to be “set it and forget it.”  Just try not to forget it when your feeling down in the dumps that your buddy claims to be making heaps more than you.

2. Location and cost of living

The United States is an incredible and diverse place.  It also has some drastic fluctuations in cost of living.  Even within a single state there can be massive swings in living expenses.  Often I see people in the various Facebook groups asking “What is a fair wage for a SNF PT in [insert state here]?”  There is no way to accurately answer this question. 

Take California for example.  Are we talking a SNF in downtown Los Angeles or Bakersfield? San Mateo or Antioch?  All of these cities are still in California, but they have massive differences in cost of living, which will translate to large swings in your allowable per diem pay, and ultimately into your weekly take home.

3. Its NOT all about the Benjamins

While it seems the hot button issue on social media is the great pay that travel therapists can make and how quickly they can pay off their student loans, keep in mind that money is NOT the main driver for most travelers.

In mid 2014 Ellen and I were desperate to go explore the wilds of Alaska.  We searched message boards, job sites, cold called clinics, even worked with 8 different recruiters.  No Luck.  Finally we randomly stumbled upon an agency that didn’t just have 2 jobs, but they had 4 all within a 30 min commute of each other.  Sure, we were still novice negotiators and took contracts that were paying less than we could have made, but we were in the exact location we had dreamt of (and not to mention were still making more than our old perm jobs would have paid).  I bring this experience up because while we didn’t maximize our potential pay we still had the experience of a lifetime that has now proven to be far more valuable than an extra few thousand dollars.

So next time you are on Facebook or Twitter and there is a scuffle brewing about XYZ company screwing someone out of an extra 50 bucks a week just sit back and remember that not all things are as clear cut as an oversensitive paranoid traveler might make it seem on social media.  By all means, do your due diligence regarding your pay package, but take the input of others with a grain of salt remembering that everyones contract looks different, and for different reasons.

 

Written by: Stephen Stockhausen