Pay rates for OT travelers

When a recruiter tells you the rate of a position or gives you a range on a pay rate, is that including the per diem/housing or is that the pay rate?  I am not sure what rate to expect.  I am having a difficult time talking to/interviewing recruiters because I am still working a full time + job.  A lot of the recruiters that are contacting me are on the east coast. By the time I try to return the call they aren't in. As much as I'd like to travel, I don't want to take a pay cut to do it. 

I seriously doubt that you will take a pay cut to travel.  As I am currently on the west coast, sometimes I have to get up early before work to talk to any east coast companies.  Once you understand the system, then you will be well on the way to getting beyond the learning curve to traveling.  It was confusing to all of us in the beginning.

Just ask the recruiter to clarify.  You are probably being quoted the simple payrate that does NOT include free housing.  They can always break it down into "taxable" pay and "untaxable" pay that would include housing and meal stipends on a daily rate.

I am west coast also.  Send me a private message and I will share my phone number with you if you want to talk some evening.  I would be more that happy to help explain the typical pay system to you. 

Again, I am certain that you will NOT take a pay cut.

Wes is absolutely correct on all of it.  Ask the recruiters how they have come up with that rate and if it includes housing, per diem, etc.  Sometimes you are given a lump hourly which encompasses both the "taxed" and "non-taxed", and it's important for you to know what those amounts are.  Also,  I suggest arranging times for you to speak with a recruiter.  We're accustomed to working with everyone on different time zones so I always make appointments so that I know I am setting aside time to speak with the traveler or potential traveler.  Most should be happy to do that because we want you to be as informed as possible so that there isn't any confusion.  Good luck and feel free to contact me as well, if needed. 

Knowing is half the battle and the first half is knowing how your per diem rates work.
 
How much you can earn can change depending on the job and the location.  All staffing agencies are at the mercy of our client’s bill rates.  We are a middle man so we’ll always get an hourly rate for every hour that you work.  Plus, how much tax free money you get in your hourly rate can change depending on what county you work in.  You can refer to this page to see what the per diem rates are in every county in the U.S.: http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/article/0,,id=238749,00.html  You’ll see that the numbers are set at a daily rate.  We structure it to allow travelers to take full advantage of how much tax free money they can make. Knowing these numbers will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect in your weekly take home. 
 
Also keep in mind that adding insurance and added reimbursements can also affect your take home pay.  I think it’s pretty safe to say that any therapist other than an assistant should NEVER make less than $1500 a week net when taking a LMI (lodging, meals and incidentals) deal.  Again, a LMI deal is when you take more tax free money in lieu of taking corporate housing.    

Wow.  Thank you all for your responses.  It's so nice to get unbiased information from experienced people.  I am so glad that this site was recommended to me.

Toni,

What you earn will depend on a host of factors…experience, facility type, location, per diem rate, etc…to name a few. A recruiter will break it all down for you so it will be easy for you to understand. A recruiter should also be available almost any time you call. It's imperative that when your in the field and have an issue with something, be it housing arrangements, facility concerns, car broke down….anything….they should be there for you. There is really no such thing as before work or after work in the recruiting profession.

.....and you should definitely not take a pay cut!

 

I want to thank all of you who have given me your advice and opinions.  I start my first assignment on the 12th of September.  I would probably still be scratching my head if Jeremy, Tom, Sunny and Wes hadn't been so helpful.  You are the best.

Congratulations!  Tell us how it goes and take pics.  Have a great time.

Good luck, Toni! Keep us updated!

I am a OTR, traveling for 2 years after permanent for 8....I think I had better chime in.  
First of all, I LOVE traveling OT.  I meet the best people in the most amazing places.  I visit a lot of National Parks, community events and have learned so much about the beauty and history of our country.  But getting there can be confusing:   information about wages, tax-free versus taxable, and learning the ropes and negotiating has been very challenging at times.  Once there, the jobs are a piece of cake compared to the process of getting there!  

While I am sure each of these helpful recruiters has been honest with you, please consider that thier point of view is not necessarily the same as yours (and mine)  And, knowing Wes personally, I know he has experience that serves him in negotiating a package that is not a "pay cut" from his perspective.  

I will tell you this:  After you do all the figuring with wages, per diems, housing, reimbursement, insurance, bonuses, blah, blah, blah.....if you are from the Northeast or anyplace  where OT wages are high, you will not make the same amount of money that you would if you stayed at home: where there are higher wages, paid time off, much better insurance packages, much better reimbursement for education, no hassles for being reimbursed or getting dinged for not having a full 40 hours in your payweek because the clinic had a day off that was not in your contract.  If you are from an area with lower wages, such as Florida, Colorado or Hawaii, you will enjoy more money as a traveler.  

 Many travelers, myself included, respond to and care for our recruiter like a friend.  Beware, some  are only your friend as long as you are making them money.  Many recruiters will not make things clear for you, mostly because they dont know themselves, and when you get your contract you may have to re-negotiate or you will compromise to get the job you want.  

Pay rates are kept a big secret.  See if you can get a recruiter to tell you the actual bill rate that their company will collect from the job.  You will be shocked to learn that most jobs pay $20 or more per hour than you are getting, even with all your tax-frees and "as if you were making" dollars.   If anybody talks about wages, (not likely) you will learn that not only do different companies pay different wages but some companies pay different therapists in the same place, different wages. (!)  Your hourly wage and per diems and reimbursements should add up to as much or more than your usual wage package, unless you are from the Northeast.  
In my experience, female OT's (like me) are the least likely to stand up for themselves, so be careful and be smart.  You need to expect the pay rates to vary depending on many things, some of the least likely places pay the best.  There are way more recruiters and jobs than there are travel OT's.  It took me a while to realize this.  If a job doesnt pay what you want or need, ask for more or move on.  Keep your head up and ears open, you will learn as you go, will make mistakes but you should always be able to work the places you want and pay all your bills. 

Please feel free to email me if you have ANY questions! 
Good Luck And Have Fun!!!!
Diane

Great post diamonal! I would like to understand the bill rate better. For example, a client bill rate is $60.00; if a staffing company gives a therapist a hourly rate of 20.00/hour are they pocketing the  $40.00? Where do the per diems fit it? Thanks!

In your example, the "per diems" and costs of employment and their profit all  come out of the $40/hr difference between the wage and the bill rate.  Of course they deserve to make money, my point is, how much.  If you are doing the OT work, and additionally, (because it is your choice or because they are not doing it up to your standard)  finding the housing, have your own insurance, can figure out your own taxes....after all you have a masters degree.....you should consider yourself in business and do it shrewdly.   Add up the dollars and decided if you are getting a good deal.  Think of the difference between using a real estate agent versus For Sale by Owner.  
In your example , you get 800/week plus housing and perdiem...... the company gets 1600/week out of which they pay for your apt and perdiems (and insurance and such)  Are your expenses costing the company 1600 per week?  Your per diem is maybe $300, the actual cost of your apt is maybe as much as $400 (that is the most I have had to pay) so there is still 900 per week for all the other stuff , 900 per week!!!!!  Compare that to what you might make in a permanent job, with the added value of paid time off, a matched 401 plan, continuing education dollars and you will have the real picture.  
Choosing your company and recruiter is based on many things, one of the is comfort.  And if you are more comfortable letting them take care of you and dont mind paying  (because you are paying !!!)   that is fine for you.  I just think we should make informed choices.  

I can help on the explanation of the pay rates vs bill rates as I work for a travel company. Very rarely will there be a $40 difference between the 2 rates. If we are lucky it might be $20. Out of that $20 hr, we give our travelers free healthcare insurance, we have to keep liability insurance and workers comp insurance for each of our travelers, and we have to pay for state credentialing at times. Keep in mind that we are on the phones virtually all day for several days to find that one open position that will accept a traveler. We also support in finding housing for our travelers in places we know nothing about which can be time consuming as well. We also pay for your drug screen, background check (which can very from client to client), and will help pay for licensing if you are going to a new state. That covers most, but not all, of the expenses wrapped up in putting together one assignment. Keep in mind, that when you are presented 1 assignment, that could be the result of several days (or weeks) of phone calls to find you the best opportunity and it can be very painstaking. But make no mistake about it - when we put a client and a provider together in a good situation, it makes for a very good day! Plus, I need my coffee everyday!

Dondee, I agree that $20 is more likely than the example presented, but I ran with it as proposed.  And you are correct, there is a lot of deductions that come out of that $20/hr which adds up to  over $10k in 13 weeks if my math is correct.  My point of view is strictly for the traveler who already opts to buy insurances and housing for personal reasons and does not need  to pay for someone else to do it.  By the way, to put expenses in perspective: I pay less than $200 per year for liability ins , about .09 per hour; and when I need WC, it costs about $100/month or, .63/hour.  My health ins is 128/month or  .80/hour.  To my knowledge, no recruiter has ever cold called on my behalf to generate a job, but has found possibilities off a list generated by another vendor who charges for this service.  On the other hand, I have provided a recruiter with leads to jobs that have resulted in another traveler getting a position, and to his credit, getting me a little bonus.  I even once tried to use a recruiter to seal a deal with a hospital I found that wanted me, but his company couldnt put it together and as the weeks went by, so did the (seasonal) need by the hospital!  
The bottom line for me is that this is a business , I dont need flowers and candy sent by FedEX, I would rather have the cash.  Some travelers do not realize that the recruiters job is sales, selling jobs and selling employees.  Friendliness should not be mistaken for friendship,  especially when it may end up costing you money.  It's like the car salesman buying you lunch so you feel more inclined to buy the car from him.  And this is not to say that I might not be friends with my recruiter, but like any workplace there are boundries.  Honesty in how the whole industry works is what I am interested in sharing.  

I am going to disagree with dianomal. Staffing agencies cold call into facilities every day looking for jobs. Granted the lazy recruiters use the lists that come from 3rd parties but if you want to be a successful recruiter you have to cold call.

I am sure recruiters make cold calls all the time, I have fielded them on phone duty.    But , so far, I do not think any of my jobs have been generated by my specific request as I am usually offered the same position by numerous agencies.  
Please do not interpret  the sharing of my own expereinces as the be all and end all of the industry.  I joined this discussion because I think there shoudl be more transparency in certain aspects of the process of getting the job.  The whole pay package , per diem / lodging versus stipend confusion is , I feel, somewhat intentionally vague and I think the original poster deserved more information.  

I will clarify a couple of parts of the discussion. There are facilities that utilize 3rd party vendors to send their job out to over 100 agencies at a time, and there are rehab companies that contract the same amount. As a recruiter, I would starve to death if I did not cold call and here's why. When that e-mail or internet portal posts a job, it goes to agencies who automatically respond with a resume of a provider WHO DOESN'T KNOW THEY HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED!. My company's policy is to get as much information about the position and then contact the provider. More often than not, that provider has already been submitted (without their knowledge), and in our industry, first submitted has ownership. The second part of that are the 3rd party vendors who use a bid system for resumes, and of course they will look at the lowest bids first. With all due respect, if I get a low bill rate, it's hard to pay providers a good rate. As far as the pay package, there are 3 main components: Pay per hour, per diem, and housing. Per diem and housing are tax free income. We will tell you what each number is, and the benefit to you tax wise. While your hourly rate may be lower than you expect, the tax free money benefit you greatly. That's why we talk about take home pay. We even have a spread sheet that we e-mail to our providers giving them the choice of pay packages. And even if we give you a housing stipend, we will still assist you with housing.

I love my recruiter...I've been traveling with her for 5 years.  She is a friend now but we also have a business relationship.  I understand that EVERYONE is in this to make money.  She doesn't work for her health, and the company doesn't stay in business by giving every penny to travelers.  It shouldn't take rocket science to figure that out. 

I am working in PA and my recruiter is in FL and we talk every day.  I refer everyone I know to her and she takes very good care of them.  My recruiter is not a pushy person and I love her! 

rtgmedical:
I am going to disagree with dianomal. Staffing agencies cold call into facilities every day looking for jobs. Granted the lazy recruiters use the lists that come from 3rd parties but if you want to be a successful recruiter you have to cold call.

We have weekly meetings where each of our recruiters give the client reps 3 therapists names and what they are looking for.  They will first call all the facilities in our database, if nothing turns up,I have seen them open up a phone book-yes an actual phone book, and start calling facilties in the the location to see if they use travelers as part as staffing.  As recruiters we call on their jobs, it gives me more credability as a recruiter to say "we literally called 100 facilities on your behalf and no one has any needs.  I can give a copy of the list for you to look at" .

What do you mean you disagree with me?   I am not making broad statements about how your business is supposed to be run, I am sharing my own experience as a traveler.    I believe I also have agreed that there are cold calls being made, as I have fielded the calls as a permanent employee.     Please re-read my post, I wrote:

To my knowledge, no recruiter has ever cold called on my behalf to generate a job, but has found possibilities off a list generated by another vendor who charges for this service.  On the other hand, I have provided a recruiter with leads to jobs that have resulted in another traveler getting a position, and to his credit, getting me a little bonus.  I even once tried to use a recruiter to seal a deal with a hospital I found that wanted me, but his company couldnt put it together and as the weeks went by, so did the (seasonal) need by the hospital!