Travel PT Independent Contract Question


I recently received an email question about setting up your own travel contract without an agency. Here is the question and response.

Traveler:

I was just reading your post on independent contracts. I’m wondering if you were able to negotiate a pay package comparable to what a clinic would pay a staffing company. For my first assignment I found out that the recruiting company took about 37% off the top of what I made. Would you be comfortable sharing how much you were able to get out of independent contracts?

Thanks for you time and help! Really appreciate your website.

 

HoboHealth:

Great to hear from you again. Glad to hear you are enjoying your travel experience!

I truly only did independent contracts when I couldn’t find an assignment through a recruiter in the area I wanted to go – or when there was only one job available and my wife or I needed a second job. I always had the dream of making crazy-money by offering to work for just a bit less than what a clinic would pay an agency, but it never worked out that way. I made typical travel money on my independent contracts.

Two examples of independent contract pay that I can think of off the top of my head: one private practice was paying me $52 per patient in a typically low paying state, another place paid me $1800 weekly. After taxes, those work out to about typical, if not low, for travel money. So, I never achieved the dream of beating the system and making more money than I would through an agency.

I guess my takeaway is that independent contracts are a good way to find a contract when there’s not one to be had, but it never really worked out for me to make crazy money.

Hope that helps, do let me know if you have other questions.

 

For more info on making your own independent contracts, check out these resources, along with examples of actual contracts:

How To Set Up An Independent Travel PT Contract