When Rachel graduated from PT school in May 2025, she had $127,000 in student loans and two job offers: a permanent position at a hospital system paying $68,000/year, and a 13-week travel contract through ProTherapy Staffing paying $2,100/week.
She chose travel. Here's how her first year went.
"I cried the night before my first day," Rachel admits. "I was in a city where I knew nobody, in an apartment I'd rented sight-unseen on Furnished Finder, about to start at a SNF where I'd be the only PT on staff. I genuinely questioned whether I'd made a huge mistake."
By week three, she'd found her rhythm. The clinical director was supportive, the CNAs were helpful, and she was treating a caseload she felt comfortable managing. "The clinical part wasn't harder than my last clinical rotation. The hard part was the loneliness of the first two weeks."
Rachel's first-year breakdown: four 13-week contracts with a two-week break between each. Total gross compensation: approximately $95,000 — including tax-free housing stipends that effectively boosted her take-home by about $18,000 compared to what the same gross would yield at a permanent job.
She put $2,400/month toward her student loans — aggressive, but possible because she was living in agency-provided or stipend-covered housing in lower cost-of-living cities. By the end of year one, she'd knocked $28,800 off her loan balance.
"I'd negotiate harder on my first contract. I was so grateful to get an offer that I didn't push back on the rate. My second contract paid $200/week more for comparable work because I asked. Also, I'd set up my tax home properly before leaving — I scrambled to figure that out mid-year and it was stressful."
"Do it. The worst that happens is you don't like it and you go permanent after one contract. But you'll earn more in that 13 weeks than most new grads earn in 6 months, and you'll gain clinical confidence faster than you thought possible."
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