If you’re interested in traveling or living a digital nomadic lifestyle, you may be interested in becoming an allied traveler. Allied travelers venture domestically for contracted career opportunities. If this sounds like a dream to you, check out this helpful guide to learn more about becoming an allied traveler.
What is an allied traveler?
An allied traveler is someone who travels for medical contract work. That means anyone who is experienced in their clinical role, like nurses, CT techs, and other medical professionals, can extend their expertise in different locations. Allied travel jobs are typically offered within the United States and last around 13 weeks at a time. Allied travelers often work with a recruiting firm contracted with medical facilities across the country to connect them to open roles.
Why does allied traveling exist?
This role is in-demand because there’s a healthcare worker shortage. With the hardships associated with COVID-19 and other factors, many medical facilities are facing extreme worker shortages. When permanent staff members can’t handle the number of patients, healthcare quality decreases. This is where allied travelers come in and assist. Hiring traveling medical professionals is also great for facilities that need to focus on training new permanent workers or interns. With more patients receiving immediate treatment, the facility’s reputation also increases.
What are the benefits of being an allied traveler?
The biggest benefit of becoming an allied traveler is exploring new surroundings. This is ideal for people who love to travel and don’t mind moving to new places often. For one contract period, you may be assisting patients in sunny San Diego and lounging on the beach in your off hours. You may be exploring the vast Appalachian Mountains after a long day assisting patients in another contract period. Where you choose to go is up to you, which is often an exciting prospect for travel lovers in the medical field.
Another major benefit of becoming an allied traveler is the freedom of having such a flexible career. If you don’t like living in a certain area, you can choose somewhere to work for a while—you’re never stuck in one place. Plus, you’re constantly enjoying new workspaces and coworkers, which is ideal if you easily encounter work burnout or don’t like enduring office politics for too long. Traveling medical workers also gain access to special tax deductions. In addition to these tax perks, allied travelers often enjoy higher wages than medical workers who don’t travel for work.
What are the drawbacks of being an allied traveler?
While there are plenty of benefits to being an allied traveler, this job isn’t for everyone and has a few drawbacks. Traveling can become cumbersome if you’re not equipped to handle the frequent changes. If you’re someone who prefers to come back to a familiar space after a long day, this opportunity may not be a good fit. While rare, some contracts may get canceled, leaving you in an unfamiliar place without a job. However, your recruitment resource will usually have other opportunities available, so you won’t be stuck for long. Also, you may not always find a fun workplace, and you’ll sometimes have to choose a place to live that you’re not excited about. However, this drawback is mitigated if you’re adventurous and love traveling, regardless of where you end up. Overall, the disadvantages depend on how well you handle change, so consider your needs before committing to contracted medical work.
For medical professionals who love to explore, allied traveling is an amazing opportunity. So if you’re ready to go on an adventure, talk to a staffing agency that specializes in allied traveling to get started.
