The weekly number on the job posting is the least interesting part of a travel contract. What matters is how that number is built, and which pieces you can actually move.
Every week someone asks us what travel MRI pays. It's a fair question with no single answer, because rates swing with location, agency, scanner volume, urgency, and the time of year. So instead of quoting our own contracts, we're going to walk through how a package is put together, using a round-number example. Once you can read the structure, any offer becomes easier to judge.
An example package
This is a made-up weekly package. These are round numbers chosen to make the math easy to follow. They are not our rate, and they aren't a market quote for any city.
| Piece | Per week |
|---|---|
| Taxable hourly: 36 hrs × $30 | $1,080 |
| Lodging stipend | $1,200 |
| Meals & incidentals stipend | $450 |
| Weekly total | $2,730 |
Illustrative only · round numbers · not a real offer
Notice what the posting would advertise: $2,730. Notice what the hourly rate actually is: $30. Roughly 40% of the package is taxable wages. The rest is stipend. That ratio is the first thing worth understanding.
Hourly rate vs. stipends
The stipends are meant to reimburse the cost of lodging and meals while you work away from your tax home. They're commonly tied to the federal per diem rates for the assignment city, which you can look up on the GSA website. They aren't a bonus. They're also the reason your tax home matters: to receive them, you generally need to maintain a legitimate tax home and be traveling away from it. We're not tax professionals, so talk to one who works with travel healthcare before you rely on any of this.
One practical consequence: when you compare two offers, don't compare the totals alone. A package with a higher hourly rate and a lower stipend can pay differently from the reverse once you account for how each part is taxed and how each part behaves when your hours change.
Compare offers by structure, not by the headline number.
Our rule of thumbOvertime: read the fine print
Overtime is usually calculated off the taxable hourly rate, not the full package. Using our example, time-and-a-half is $45 an hour. Eight overtime hours in a week adds $360. That's real money, but it's a fraction of what the total-package math might lead you to expect. Ask exactly how overtime is calculated, whether it kicks in after 40 hours or after your shift threshold, and whether on-call or call-back pay is separate.
The lever most techs forget
It's guaranteed hours.
Our example assumes 36 guaranteed hours a week. That word, guaranteed, is doing a lot of work. Here's the question to ask the recruiter in plain language: if the facility cancels one of my shifts, what happens to my pay?
The answers vary a lot. Some contracts guarantee the hours and pay you regardless. Some let the facility cancel a limited number of shifts. Some reduce your stipends in proportion to the hours you missed. Some allow low-census cancellations with no pay at all.
Run the math on our example. If one 12-hour shift gets cancelled each week, that's $360 of taxable pay gone. Over a 13-week contract, that's $4,680, before any stipend reduction. Compare that to the effort of negotiating an extra dollar or two on the hourly rate, and the priority becomes clear.
Before you sign, get these answers in writing:
- How many hours are guaranteed each week?
- What happens to pay and to stipends if a shift is cancelled?
- Is there a limit on cancellations, and does it differ for low census?
- Will I be floated to other departments, and does the rate change?
- How is overtime calculated, and when does it start?
Other pieces worth checking
- Bonuses: sign-on, completion, and referral bonuses. Find out when they pay and what voids them.
- Extension terms: whether the rate carries over if you extend, and how far in advance they need to know.
- Start date and time off: unpaid days aren't covered by the guarantee, so plan them before you sign.
- Insurance and benefits: when coverage starts and what it costs you.
- Credentialing costs: licensing, certifications, and who pays for them.
How we approach it
We talk to a few recruiters, use one recruiter per agency, and compare structure before we compare totals. Then we ask the cancellation question before we ask anything about the rate. It's the cheapest way to avoid a bad contract.
If there's a piece of a pay package you'd like us to break down in more detail, send us a message through the site. We'll cover it in a future post.
— Otis & Tricia