What are the Most Common and Highest Paying Settings for Travel Therapists?

November 16, 2023November 16, 2023 ~ Travel Therapy Mentor ~ Leave a comment

If you’re considering jumping into travel therapy, you’ve probably wondered which settings are the most common for travel therapy jobs, and which settings pay the most for travel therapy jobs. These are both important factors to consider before getting started as a travel therapist. If you’re accustomed to working in one type of setting or wanting to take most of your travel therapy jobs in that setting, you’ll want to know how prevalent the setting is and how much it tends to pay for travel therapy jobs. If you’re flexible on the setting but just want to make the most money, knowing which settings tend to pay the highest might sway you toward taking jobs in the highest paying settings.

Why Travel Therapists are Needed

Travel therapy jobs can be in nearly any setting where a PT, OT, SLP, or assistant would usually work. Travel therapists fill in temporarily at an open therapist position. The positions can be open for a variety of reasons, such as a maternity leave, a seasonal increase in caseload, someone recently quit, or lack of candidates to fill the permanent position.

Overall, the most common reason that a facility needs a travel therapist is because they are having trouble filling a longer term position with a permanent therapist. This may be because it’s a more rural area that doesn’t have a big candidate pool, or because someone quit suddenly and they haven’t had time to hire another permanent employee yet.

Because the most common reason to need a traveler is due to lack of candidates for the permanent position, it’s much less common to see travel therapy job openings for specialty settings, such as women’s health (pelvic health) or outpatient neuro. This is in part because specialty settings like this make up a much smaller number of all therapy jobs nationwide. It’s also because those settings are usually more desirable for therapists who have advanced certifications and specialize in those areas, thus why they are “specialty” settings. So, the jobs usually tend to already be filled by candidates who are seeking out those positions for their specialty.

Whereas, there are thousands of therapist jobs that need to be filled nationwide in the more common “general” settings. These are usually the jobs that have trouble filling up with full time/permanent staff. Therefore, these are the jobs that typically will need travel therapists to help them out to fill in temporarily while they are seeking a permanent therapist.

The Most Common Settings for Travel Therapists

Considering the reasons why travel therapists are typically needed, and the settings that most commonly have job openings nationwide, it makes sense why travel therapy job openings are more common in the “general” settings.

These are the most common settings for travel therapy jobs:

Skilled Nursing/Long Term Care Facilities
Home Health
General Outpatient Orthopedics
General Acute Care/Hospital
School Systems

There are occasionally travel therapy job openings in other settings, but they are going to be much less common. So, if you’re interested in specialty settings or other settings not listed here, it’s not impossible to find travel therapy jobs in those settings, just not as likely.

The best thing to do would be to talk to a few travel therapy recruiters and look at travel therapy job boards such as our Ho t Travel Therapy Jobs List to get an idea of the market and see if you’ll be able to find jobs in your preferred setting. If you’re flexible to sometimes take jobs in the most common settings, while keeping an eye out for occasional jobs in your preferred specialty setting, that will help. Or, you may just have to be very flexible on locations in order to find the more rare openings in your preferred setting.

Factors Determining Pay in Travel Therapy Jobs

Now that we have covered the most common settings, let’s take a look at which settings tend to pay the highest. Here are some factors to consider that impact the pay for travel therapy jobs.

Reimbursement Rates

Reimbursement rates for a particular setting have a big impact on how much a facility can pay an employee. While the pay for permanent jobs is usually based mainly on reimbursement rates, that is only part of the story for travel therapy. In a permanent position, the employer is looking at the amount of revenue that a therapist can generate on average based on the units they bill and using that to determine a range of total compensation including salary and benefits. A travel therapy position is different because it’s short term and filling an urgent employment need. That, of course, is why travel therapists are able to earn more money than a permanent therapist in the same position. In some cases, a facility will actually be willing to lose money (i.e. pay the traveler more than they’re reimbursed for services) by employing a travel therapist temporarily at a high rate in order to keep from losing patients or having to shut down the facility. So, reimbursement rates do affect travel therapy jobs, but not as much as supply and demand.

Supply and Demand

Due to the high urgency for travel positions, supply and demand come into play to a much larger extent for travel therapy jobs than with permanent jobs. The favorable supply and demand dynamics are also where travel therapists can have a lot of room to negotiate in the right situation. There’s no doubt that reimbursement rates play a roll for travel jobs as well, but it’s just not the primary factor like with permanent positions. In the travel therapy world, a setting with a lot of open jobs can pay higher even if reimbursement rates are lower because they have to pay more to attract candidates to fill their open position. Pay rates are what travel therapists look at when deciding if they should apply for a position or not over other factors, so higher paying jobs get more travel therapist submissions.

Cost of Living

Another factor that can impact travel therapy jobs is location/cost of living. However, this is a much smaller factor than you would think. Facilities still have to budget to some extent based on how much they’re reimbursed for services. The cost of living in the area doesn’t always coincide with reimbursement rates, so not all jobs in high cost of living areas pay really well. Hawaii is a great example of this. Although the cost of living in Hawaii is extremely high, the reimbursement rates tend to be low and so does the pay (for both perm and travel jobs).

Where high cost of living can help you earn more as a traveler is IF the facility is offering a fairly high bill rate for the job, and the cost of living in the area is high, then usually the GSA allowable stipend for the area will be high. Therefore, the travel therapy company can move more of the bill rate for your pay package into the tax-free stipends, which in the end will mean you’ll come out making more after taxes. However, it’s important to keep in mind here, ONLY being in a high cost of living area doesn’t guarantee the job will pay high. If the facility is offering a low bill rate for the job, then the travel therapy recruiter can’t always max out your stipends even though the GSA rate is high, because there isn’t enough money in the bill rate to fill up that stipend category.

The Highest Paying Settings for Travel Therapists

While pay is going to vary across all travel therapy jobs depending on the factors above, particularly the location, supply/demand, and reimbursement rates, there do tend to be trends with which settings pay the highest for travel therapy positions.

Generally speaking, this is the usual ranking for highest to lowest pay for travel therapy jobs:

Home Health
Outpatient
Acute care
Inpatient Rehab
Skilled Nursing
Schools

Of course there will be random times when jobs in a particular setting may pay lower or higher than expected. The best way to gauge the job market and know which settings and locations are paying the highest, is to work directly with a few different travel therapy recruiters and ask them to send you a list of jobs in a particular area or setting where you’re interested. You can also look at travel therapy job boards, such as our Hot Travel Therapy Jobs list, to get a general idea of settings and pay for travel therapy jobs.

Getting Started with Travel Therapy

If you’re ready to learn more about travel therapy, check out the resources we offer here at Travel Therapy Mentor to help you get started. Our free Travel Therapy 101 Series is a great place to start. If you want to dive even deeper, you may want to sign up for our comprehensive travel therapy course which will teach you everything you need to know from start to finish to be a successful travel therapist and come out ahead financially.

If you’re within three months of starting your travel therapy journey, fill out our Recruiter Recommendations form here to get connected with great travel therapy recruiters. We will take a look at your preferences, including your preferred setting(s), location(s), and priorities, and email you back with our personalized recruiter recommendations specifically for you.

If you have questions about travel therapy, please feel free to send us a message!

Written by Jared and Whitney Casazza, PT, DPT – Jared and Whitney have been traveling physical therapists since 2015. They have become experts in the field of travel healthcare through experience, research, and networking over nearly a decade.

Travel Therapy as a New Grad in 2023

July 24, 2023July 24, 2023 ~ Travel Therapy Mentor ~ Leave a comment

Is travel therapy as a new grad a good idea in 2023?

In the summer we get lots of questions about whether it’s a good time to travel as a new grad. This is because most students graduate in May and take their board exams in either April or July, then plan to start their careers sometime between May-September.

PTs, OTs, and SLPs considering starting their careers as travel therapists has gotten a lot more popular since we began traveling as new grad physical therapists in 2015. There are a variety of reasons for this, including more exposure to the concept from social media. But, in my opinion, the biggest reason is increasing tuition costs, and subsequently higher student loan debt. With salaries for permanent therapy jobs remaining very stagnant, many therapists are very disillusioned with the debt to income ratio they face upon graduation.

Since almost everyone understands that you can earn significantly more money as a travel therapist, taking travel therapy assignments is enticing for those wanting to pay down their loans quickly or just invest money for their future. Some new grad therapists who are willing to hustle as travelers are able to make multiple six figures in their first year out of school.

The travel therapy job market can swing wildly from year to year, which can make a big impact on the feasibility of traveling as a new grad therapist. So, each summer is a good time to revisit this topic.

Is Traveling as a New Grad a Good Idea?

Before we get into the travel therapy job market and the outlook for travel therapy as a new grad in 2023, let’s address the elephant in the room. Is this actually a good idea for new grads?

Nearly every student considering travel therapy as a new grad is told by professors and/or clinical instructors that it’s a bad idea. This was certainly what we heard when we were physical therapy students. The interesting thing about this is that the majority of those opinions come from therapists who never actually traveled themselves. They’re usually just relaying horror stories that they’ve heard over the years about bad travel contracts. While there are certainly bad contracts out there, it’s easier than ever to avoid those contracts with all of the information available now.

With thorough interviews and asking the right questions, we’ve been able to largely avoid bad contracts in our years of traveling. After traveling as new grads ourselves and mentoring thousands of other new grad travelers, we’ve learned that the truth is that the vast majority of new grad travelers have a great experience, with there being many more pros than cons.

I recently wrote an article for the MedBridge blog discussing the three major reasons that new grads should consider travel therapy, which I encourage you to check out if you’re on the fence about pursuing this path.

With all of that being said, pursuing travel therapy right out of school certainly isn’t for every new grad. You need to be confident in your evaluation and treatment skills, and adaptable to new and changing situations. If you are uncertain or don’t feel comfortable in your final clinical internships, then there’s no harm in working for a year or two in a permanent position prior to embarking on your travel therapy journey.

If you’re on the fence about it, then this article should help you determine if travel as a new grad is right for you.

Pursuing Travel Therapy as a New Grad in 2023

The travel therapy job market has been pretty strong for the past two years, for both new grads and experienced therapists. Many therapists left the field completely in 2020 due to a sudden drop in caseloads, with many being laid off or fired from their jobs, and they then decided to retire or pursue other career options. Once patient census returned to normal levels, this left the healthcare industry with staffing shortages. The shortage of healthcare workers, combined with increasing demand in all settings as the population ages, has meant a huge increase in need for therapists.

We saw record numbers of travel therapy jobs at the end of 2021 and into 2022, which gave travel therapists lots of room to negotiate due to the supply/demand imbalance. It became common to see much higher pay packages during this timeframe than in prior years. At the end of 2022 into the first half of 2023, things began to stabilize, with slightly fewer jobs and slightly lower pay, but still elevated compared to the norm. All in all, the travel therapy job market remains strong with lots of open jobs for travel therapists and high pay packages.

To hear the full scoop on the current travel therapy job market, watch our most recent Travel Therapy Job Market Update from July 2023.

Because the travel therapy job market is currently very strong, this summer is a great time to start traveling as a new grad! Facilities are eager to fill open positions, and many will be willing to train and/or mentor new grads as they get started in their careers.

Differences Across Disciplines for Traveling as a New Grad

It’s important to note that the demand for travel positions is not the same across all disciplines. Currently, the demand is the highest for physical therapists, followed by speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapist assistants, and last being occupational therapy assistants.

With this in mind, it means that the disciplines which have lower demand will have higher competition among candidates for travel therapy jobs. This makes it particularly challenging for new grad therapists to out-compete experienced clinicians for travel jobs in these lower-demand specialties.

PTAs & COTAs

This is particularly the case for PTAs and COTAs who have the lowest availability of travel jobs. This makes it a lot more challenging for new grad PTAs and COTAs to find consistent work as travelers, resulting in unwanted and unpaid time off. It also means they may potentially be put into bad clinical environments, because they are desperate to accept any job that will take them.

Because of this, we encourage new graduate PTAs and COTAs to gain experience at a permanent job for at least 6-12 months, if not longer, before pursuing travel therapy. This will allow them to gain valuable experience and boost their resumes, making them more competitive for travel therapy positions. It will also allow them to build up some savings in case of gaps between travel jobs or unexpected cancellations because a travel job becomes filled with a perm candidate.

For a more in depth look at the travel therapy job market for PTAs and COTAs, I would encourage you to read this article from 2020 which discusses the obstacles that PTAs and COTAs have faced in the last few years with staffing. The job market has improved some since 2020 for these disciplines, but this gives a good overview of where the job market has been in the past leading up to now.

PTs, SLPs, and OTs

We do not have these concerns as much for newer graduate PTs, SLPs, and OTs, because the demand for these disciplines is higher, and there will be more opportunities to choose from. This means that the candidates are more likely to have consistent work, and they will also have the opportunity to choose among a lot of job options to find a clinical environment that is a good fit for them as new grads.

I will add that since the demand for OTs is slightly lower than that of PT and SLP, new grad OTs may have to be a bit more flexible on settings and locations when looking at travel therapy jobs. There are currently fewer open positions for travel OTs compared with PT and SLP, so the competition is slightly higher for new grad OTs.

Last, it’s important to note that when we discuss opportunities for “new grad SLPs,” we mean after they have received their CCC’s. Once an SLP has received their full credentials and is an SLP-CCC, the opportunities are numerous, and the new SLP-CCC will have many jobs to choose from. However, when SLPs are in their clinical fellowship year, travel therapy jobs are more limited. There are only certain travel therapy job opportunities that will allow the supervision hours necessary to complete the requirements of the CFY. I would recommend reading this article to further help you decide if traveling during your clinical fellowship year is a good choice or not.

Summary

If you’re considering travel therapy as a new grad in 2023, and you’ve determined that it’s a good option for you based on your own personality as well as the job market prospects for your discipline, then go for it! If you don’t like it, then there will always be permanent jobs to go back to. But, you may end up loving it and traveling for much longer than you anticipated, like we have.

Pursuing travel therapy provides a unique opportunity to explore the country and have new adventures, while setting yourself up for financial success in the future.

Before you jump in, be sure to check out the six ways to ensure success as a new grad travel therapist. Then, when you’re ready to dig deeper into your research, you can check out our free Travel Therapy 101 Series to learn all the essentials to beginning your travel therapy journey!

If you’re ready to get started traveling within the next few months, be sure to fill out our Recruiter Recommendation form so we can help get you connected with the best travel therapy recruiters and companies to help you along your way!

Best of luck to you, and feel free contact us with any questions!

Written by Jared Casazza, PT, DPT – Jared has been a traveling physical therapist since 2015. He has become an expert in the field of travel healthcare through his experience, research, and networking over nearly a decade.

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