First off, I want to start out by saying that I have been traveling for almost 3 years now and have always found a place to stay during every contract. I’ve lived in big cities, towns of less than 1,000 people, retirement communities, military communities and every thing in between. And it has always worked out. Even when it seems impossible to find housing yourself, there are always options. Sometimes these options aren’t always the most ideal long term, but you can stay in these locations short term letting you get to know the area a little better. For example, many people stay in a hotel or Airbnb the first…

$$$$$$: Let’s be real , it’s the money.  The income is definitely more, but there are many forgotten benefits that can lead to more money in your pocket. So let’s break them down. Income:Self explanatory. You make more, depending on the assignment, you can make close to double the take home pay with traveling therapy. Click below to see my recent post on the dirty math of traveling healthcare.   Tax Benefits: Much of your income is tax free with traveling healthcare due to the stipends you receive.  This leads to less money being taken out of your weekly income check.  It also can potentially lower what tax bracket you or…

To fully understand the financial benefit of traveling therapy we need to first understand the math behind the salary of a full-time physical therapist.  Especially someone just starting out. I’m going to use my own math for this example, but understand, that my situation may be different than yours based on setting, location, and experience. To start, according to Payscale.com, the average entry level physical therapist makes around $66,830 before taxes. This is below my state of MN, but above other states I have worked in such as MA. I still don’t understand how you can afford the cost of living, pay off your student debt, and start out making…

My First Assignment As I mentioned here, I finally made it to South Carolina. And now…we back up in this story. Housing With travel therapy, your company will find you housing if you want them to. This definitely cuts down on the stress of finding a short-term lease while you are in a place you have never been to before. However, when this occurs, you surrender your housing stipend to your company. So, by finding my own housing, the excess money I don’t spend on housing goes into my pocket. Obviously, this was the route I chose. I began searching the normal places Craigslist, Air B&B and Zillow. Eventually, I found a place on Air B&B…

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had begun to become impatient in my wealth accumulation phase early on, so I began exploring other options for work. As every physical therapist or student knows, travel therapy is often viewed as a lucrative yet risky career path. Everyone has heard the horror stories of showing up to an understaffed clinic in pure chaos or hearing about the clinician who moved across the country only to be cut from their assignment and jobless. This does happen but with the right questions and communication it can often be avoided. So, I did exactly what I always do when I don’t know much about something.…