The average salary for a traveling nurse is pretty decent by most standards — starting out at around $78,000 and going up fast. But, so is the price of living.
When you want to get your debt paid off, load up your savings, or save up for something special, finding other work on the side helps. It has to be flexible to fit in with your full-time hours. Since nursing is demanding, it helps if your side gig is something you enjoy.
Are you ready to use those skills you’ve worked so hard to learn and make some extra cash? Check out these seven easy ways to make more than your regular paycheck as a travel nurse.
1. Volunteer to Cover Others
Nurses are already short-staffed. When someone calls out at the last minute or takes a vacation, it’s hard to find coverage. If the others know you’re ready and willing to pick up extra shifts, you’ll become their “favorite” temporary coworker and make time-and-a-half.
You might not be limited to your place of employment, either. Look around the medical facilities near your extended-stay hotel and see if they hire temporary nurses in fill-in positions. With enough extra shifts, you could work seven days a week if you wanted to.
2. Start a Blog
When you have a skill others are interested in, freelance blogging is a great way to make a semi-passive income stream.
You could write about your experiences with your patients (keeping all identifiable information private, of course), and make your readers laugh or cry. Or introduce them to the knowledge they’ll need to understand if they consider a nursing career.
As you gain followers, you’ll be able to insert affiliate links. When you love a product or service, you promote it in your blog. If anyone clicks on that link and spends money, you get a commission; hence, the passive income stream.
3. Become a Freelance Writer
You know those articles you read when you enter a keyword into a search engine? Someone has to write those, and it must be someone with the skill and knowledge to do so.
You can pick up jobs writing about nursing or other medical topics as a freelance writer. With enough experience, you’ll begin to make decent money sitting at home (or in front of your hotel pool). Many skilled freelancers make $35-$350 per article, depending on the client, topic, and word count.
4. Take Care of Others
You have the CPR training and then some to justify caring for kids, the elderly, or even pets! Your nursing schedule might make it tough to offer your services consistently, but if you can find someone who needs you on those off times, caregiving is a good source of extra cash.
Look at caregiving platforms that connect part-time help with those in need. It’s freelancing work doing what you love — caring for others — without the high-pressure demand of nursing.
5. Tutor a Nurse-in-Training
You know firsthand how difficult nursing exams are, and you passed yours. Whether it was with or without flying colors, you can still help others who are following in your footsteps.
Tutoring is a way to make big money on your schedule. Sign up on a tutoring platform and connect with students online or in your area. The right knowledge can net you more than you make hourly at your nursing job.
6. Flip Used Goods
Selling things online has never been easier. You probably don’t have a load of stuff in your temporary home to sell, but when you learn to buy things in demand and sell them for more than you paid, you’re “flipping.”
Scour yard sales, thrift stores, buy and sell apps like the Facebook marketplace, and consignment shops. When you see something you know will sell for more than the price tag on the item, grab it fast.
The buyer pays for shipping, and all you’re out is the time it takes to go to the post office.
7. Build Websites
Are you fluent in software technology and comfortable navigating website design? Consider making website building your side hustle.
You might need to take a free course or two before you start, but you’ll quickly be making big bucks helping others design their sites. Some website designers make hundreds of dollars per site on freelance places like Freelancer and Fiverr.
Conclusion
Restaurants are raising their menu prices. Gas and food are skyrocketing, and everything else is going along with it. Sometimes, a travel nurse has to do what a travel nurse has to do.
Luckily, these seven jobs are flexible and doable from anywhere if you’re looking for an extra income and have a little free time.
