The Complete Guide to Travel Respiratory Therapy Careers: Everything You Need to Know
So you're a respiratory therapist thinking about going travel. Or maybe you're still in school and already dreaming about those higher paychecks and assignment locations. Either way, you're in the right place.
Travel respiratory therapy is one of those career paths that sounds almost too good to be true. Better pay? Check. See the country? Check. Gain experience that makes you an absolute powerhouse clinician? Also check.
But it's also confusing as hell when you're trying to figure out how it all works. What are the requirements? How much can you actually make? What's it really like day-to-day? And honestly, is it worth the hassle?
Let's break down everything you need to know about travel RT careers—the good, the realistic, and the stuff nobody tells you until you're already in it.
What Even Is Travel Respiratory Therapy?
Okay, basics first. Travel respiratory therapy means you work temporary contracts at hospitals and healthcare facilities across the country instead of taking a permanent staff position. These contracts typically run 13 weeks (though they can be shorter or longer), and when one ends, you either extend, move to a new facility, or take time off.
You're filling staffing gaps—maybe a facility has seasonal patient surges, maybe they're short-staffed, maybe they're covering for RTs on leave. They need experienced people who can show up and immediately function without months of orientation.
That's where you come in.
You work through a staffing agency (more on choosing one later) who handles your placement, pay, housing stipends, and all the administrative stuff. You focus on the actual respiratory therapy work.
Why Facilities Need Travel RTs (And Why That Matters to You)
Here's the thing: respiratory therapy is already a field with staffing challenges. Not enough RTs to go around, high burnout rates, and certain specializations where finding qualified people is nearly impossible.
This works in your favor. High demand means better pay packages, more contract options, and more negotiating power. Facilities need you more than you need any specific facility.
COVID obviously exploded demand for travel RTs—those crisis rates were absolutely insane. While things have calmed down since then, the underlying staffing issues haven't gone anywhere. Facilities still need experienced RTs, especially for:
ICU and critical care
Neonatal/pediatric
Emergency departments
Cardiac cath labs
Sleep labs
Pulmonary function testing
If you've got experience in any high-acuity or specialty area, you're in an even better position.
The Money Talk: What Can You Actually Make?
Let's get real about compensation because this is probably a huge factor in why you're considering travel RT.
Base Pay
Your hourly taxable rate varies, but expect anywhere from $30-50+ per hour depending on your experience, specialty, and location. Not wildly different from staff positions, right? But wait—there's more.
Tax-Free Stipends
This is where travel contracts get interesting. You typically receive:
Housing stipend (usually $1,500-3,500+ per month)
Meal & incidence stipend (M&IE) (often $200-400+ per month)
Travel reimbursement to get to your assignment
These stipends are tax-free as long as you qualify (you need to maintain a permanent tax home—we'll get into this). This is huge for your actual take-home pay.
Total Package
When you add it all together, you might see total compensation of $2,500-4,000+ per week for standard contracts. Crisis rates or highly specialized positions? We're talking $4,000-6,000+ per week, sometimes more.
To put this in perspective: if you're currently making $60,000-70,000 as a staff RT, you could potentially make $90,000-130,000+ as a travel RT, depending on how much you work and what contracts you take.
What Affects Your Pay
Location: High cost-of-living areas and understaffed regions pay more. California and New York typically have higher rates. Rural areas desperate for help can also pay surprisingly well.
Specialty: ICU, NICU, cath lab, and ECMO experience command premium rates
Experience: Most agencies want at least 1-2 years of acute care experience
Shift: Night shift and weekend shifts often come with differentials
Contract length: Sometimes shorter contracts pay more to attract people
Urgency: Crisis contracts or rapid response needs pay significantly more
Requirements: Can You Actually Do This?
You can't just graduate RT school and immediately start traveling (well, you technically can, but you really shouldn't). Here's what you actually need:
The Non-Negotiables
Active state RT license (or ability to get licensed in states where you want to work)
RRT credential preferred (some facilities will take CRT, but you'll have more options with RRT)
Current BLS certification (and ACLS/PALS depending on specialty)
At least 1-2 years of recent acute care experience—this is the big one
Why Experience Matters
Facilities hiring travel RTs expect you to hit the ground running with minimal orientation. They're not looking to train you. They need someone who can walk onto the unit, understand the flow, and immediately function.
If you're a new grad, get that experience first. Work a staff position for 1-2 years. Get comfortable with vents, really comfortable. Learn your protocols. Handle emergencies. Become the RT who doesn't panic when things go sideways.
Then go travel. You'll be so much more successful, less stressed, and you'll have way more contract options.
Specialty Certifications
These aren't always required but can open more doors and increase your pay:
NPS (Neonatal/Pediatric Specialist)
ACCS (Adult Critical Care Specialist)
RPFT (Registered Pulmonary Function Technologist)
RPSGT (Registered Polysomnographic Technologist)
ECMO certification
Licensing: The Compact License Situation
Here's something that frustrates a lot of RTs: unlike nursing, there's no universal compact license for respiratory therapy. You need individual state licenses for wherever you want to work.
Some states have reciprocity agreements, which makes it easier. Others make you jump through hoops. Budget for licensing costs—they add up when you're working in multiple states. Some agencies will reimburse licensing fees, others won't.
Before accepting a contract, verify you can get licensed in that state and how long it takes. Some states are quick (days to weeks), others take months. Plan accordingly.
Finding Your First Contract: The Process
Alright, you've got the experience and credentials. Now what?
Step 1: Research Agencies
Not all staffing agencies are created equal. Some specialize in respiratory therapy and really understand the field. Others just throw contracts at you without much support.
Things to look for:
Responsive recruiters who actually answer your questions
Transparent pay packages (they should break down base pay vs. stipends)
Good reputation among other travel RTs (check Facebook groups and forums)
Benefits that matter to you (insurance, 401k, licensure reimbursement)
How they handle issues when they arise (because they will)
Talk to multiple agencies. You're not locked into one—many travel RTs work with 2-3 agencies to see more contract options.
Step 2: Talk to Recruiters
Be clear about what you want:
Preferred locations or regions
Specialties you're qualified for
When you can start
Deal-breakers (mandatory overtime? Call requirements? Certain shift patterns?)
A good recruiter will match you with appropriate contracts and be honest when something isn't a good fit. A bad recruiter will try to shove you into whatever fills their quota.
Step 3: Review Contracts Carefully
When a contract looks interesting, ask questions:
What's the exact breakdown of pay and stipends?
What's the nurse-to-patient ratio? (Yes, you're not a nurse, but this tells you about staffing levels)
What's the orientation length and what does it cover?
Are there guaranteed hours?
What equipment and protocols do they use?
What's the cancellation policy for both you and the facility?
What types of patients will you typically see?
Get everything in writing. If they promise something verbally, it needs to be in your contract.
Step 4: Prepare for Credentialing
Once you accept a contract, the paperwork avalanche begins. You'll need:
References (usually 2-3 professional references)
Work history verification
License verification
Certification documentation
Immunization records
TB test results
Drug screen
Background check
Skills checklists
Start organizing this stuff now, even before you accept a contract. Having it ready speeds up the process significantly.
What to Expect on Assignment
You've signed the contract, made it through credentialing, and now you're showing up for day one. What's it actually like?
Orientation (Or Lack Thereof)
Don't expect the weeks-long orientation you got as a new grad. Travel RT orientation is more like: "Here's where supplies are, here's the EMR login, here's your schedule, any questions?"
You might get a few shifts with another RT, or you might be on your own after day one. This is why that experience requirement matters so much.
The First Few Weeks
You'll be figuring out:
Where everything is (supplies, equipment, crash carts)
How this facility does things (every hospital has its own quirks)
Who to ask when you need help
What the unit culture is like
How strict they are about breaks (or if you even get them)
It's a lot, but it gets easier fast. By week three, you'll feel pretty comfortable. By week six, you'll be the one showing new staff where things are.
Your Role as a Traveler
Some staff will be awesome and welcoming. Others will be... less so. You might catch some attitude about being a traveler, especially if the contract pay is high and staff is underpaid (not your fault, but still).
Stay professional. Do your job well. Don't get sucked into unit drama. Be helpful but remember you're not there to fix systemic problems or change how they do things.
Most travelers find that proving you're competent and easy to work with wins people over pretty quickly.
The Work Itself
You're doing respiratory therapy—same as always. Vents, nebs, ABGs, codes, the whole deal. The medicine doesn't change just because you're traveling.
What changes is the environment, the protocols, the equipment brands, the charting system, the personalities. You adapt. That's the job.
Some contracts are great—good staffing, supportive management, reasonable workload. Some are rough—you're drowning every shift and wondering why they even needed a traveler when the whole place is on fire.
That's travel healthcare. The good news? There's an end date. If it's terrible, you finish your 13 weeks and move on.
Housing: Where You'll Actually Live
You've got two main options for housing as a travel RT:
Option 1: Take the Stipend and Find Your Own
Most travelers do this. The agency gives you a monthly housing stipend (tax-free if you qualify), and you find your own place.
Pros:
You control where and what you're living in
Often cheaper than agency housing, so you pocket the difference
More flexibility
Cons:
You have to actually find housing, which can be stressful
You're dealing with leases, utilities, deposits
Furnished short-term rentals can be pricey in some markets
Resources for finding housing:
Furnished Finder (popular with travel healthcare workers)
Airbnb (monthly rates are often negotiable)
Facebook housing groups for travelers
Extended stay hotels (not ideal long-term, but works in a pinch)
Option 2: Let the Agency Handle It
Some agencies offer to arrange housing for you. They find the place, you just show up.
Pros:
Zero effort on your part
Furniture and utilities included
If there's an issue, agency deals with it
Cons:
You have less control over where you live
Quality varies—a lot
Might be far from the hospital
Often more expensive (they're upcharging the stipend)
Most experienced travelers prefer taking the stipend and finding their own housing. More work upfront, but better outcomes usually.
The Tax Home Thing
Quick important note: to qualify for tax-free stipends, you need to maintain a permanent tax home where you pay rent/mortgage and return to regularly. This is IRS stuff, not agency rules. Talk to a tax professional who understands travel healthcare. Don't mess this up or you could owe back taxes.
Different Types of RT Travel Contracts
Not all contracts are created equal. Here's what you might encounter:
Standard 13-Week Contracts
Your typical travel assignment. Three months, usually with option to extend. Good for getting your feet wet with travel.
Local Contracts
Working within 50 miles of your permanent residence, so you don't qualify for tax-free stipends, but pay is adjusted upward to compensate. Good if you want travel pay without actually traveling.
Crisis/Rapid Response
Short-term (4-8 weeks usually), high-pay contracts responding to emergencies or critical staffing needs. The money is excellent but the work environment is often chaotic. Not for the faint of heart.
Travel-to-Hire
The facility is auditioning you for a permanent position. If both parties are interested after the contract, you can convert to staff. Good if you're using travel to find where you want to settle.
Per Diem Travel
More flexible scheduling but less guaranteed hours. You pick up shifts as needed. Pay is usually higher per hour but without stipends or benefits.
Government Contracts
VA hospitals, military bases, Indian Health Services. Different beast entirely—often longer contracts, different pay structure, more bureaucracy, but can be really interesting experiences.
Specialties and Settings
As a travel RT, you'll encounter different work environments:
ICU/Critical Care
Highest demand, highest pay usually. Complex vents, ECMO, high-acuity patients. If this is your jam and you're good at it, you'll never run out of contracts.
Emergency Department
Fast-paced, lots of variety. Nebs, intubations, vents, codes, NIV. You need to be comfortable with chaos and quick decision-making.
NICU/PICU
Specialized pediatric skills required. Smaller patient ratios usually but higher stress when things go wrong. Facilities are pickier about experience here.
Medical/Surgical Floors
More routine treatments, less acute. Can be good if you want a less intense assignment or you're newer to travel.
Cath Lab/Special Procedures
Specialized, usually requires specific training and experience. Limited contracts but they exist.
Pulmonary Function Testing/Sleep Labs
Outpatient or specialized inpatient. Very different from acute care. Daytime hours usually, which appeals to some people.
Most travel contracts are for acute care hospital settings, but don't assume that's your only option.
Life as a Travel RT: The Real Day-to-Day
Let's talk about what this lifestyle actually looks like beyond the work itself.
Your Schedule
Most contracts are three 12-hour shifts per week (36 hours guaranteed), though you might pick up extra shifts if you want. Night shift, day shift, rotating—depends on the contract.
You'll work weekends and holidays. That's just healthcare. But when your contract ends, you can take a month off for the holidays if you want. Staff RTs can't do that.
Being the New Person (Over and Over)
Every 13 weeks, you're the new RT again. New locker, new badge, new faces, new computer login you'll inevitably forget.
Some people love the fresh start. Others find it exhausting. Know yourself.
Making Friends
You'll meet other travelers, and often those become your closest friends because they get it. You understand each other's lifestyle in a way that non-travelers might not.
Staff friendships happen too, but they're different. You know you're leaving in a few weeks, so you might not invest as deeply. Or you might, and then you stay in touch and have friends all over the country. Both happen.
Dating and Relationships
Real talk: travel healthcare and serious relationships require work. If you're single, meeting people every few months in new cities is either exciting or exhausting, depending on your perspective.
If you're in a relationship, your partner either travels with you (some do!), you do long distance, or you take contracts close to home. Plenty of travel RTs make it work, but it's definitely a factor to consider.
Missing Home
You will get homesick sometimes. You'll miss important events. Your friends will have babies and get married and have birthday parties you can't attend. FaceTime helps but it's not the same.
The flip side: when you do go home, your time there feels special. And you can take contracts close to home when you need to be around.
Your Stuff
Most travelers live minimally. You can't haul all your belongings to every assignment. You figure out what fits in your car or what you're willing to ship.
Some people keep an apartment or storage unit back home for their stuff. Others fully embrace minimalism. Some keep their belongings at family's houses.
There's no right answer, but you do have to figure out your system.
The Challenges Nobody Warns You About
Travel RT isn't all adventure and fat paychecks. Here's what actually sucks sometimes:
Floating and Getting the Worst Assignments
As a traveler, you're often first to float to understaffed units. You might get the hardest patient assignments. You might get mandatory overtime more often than staff.
It's not always like this, but it happens enough that you should expect it.
No Safety Net
Staff RTs have seniority, union protection (maybe), established relationships with management. You have none of that. If there's a problem, you're replaceable.
Most of the time this doesn't matter. But when it does, it really does.
Contracts Can Be Cancelled
Facilities can cancel contracts, sometimes with very little notice. It's in your contract—read the cancellation terms. You could show up ready to start and be told they don't need you anymore.
Or they might cancel mid-contract. It's less common, but it happens, especially if census drops or budgets get cut.
Housing Stress
Finding housing in a new city every few months gets old. Dealing with flaky landlords, expensive deposits, furniture that's falling apart, neighborhoods that looked fine online but are sketchy in person—it's a headache.
Taxes Are Complicated
Travel healthcare taxes are confusing. You need a tax professional who understands this stuff. Don't try to figure it out yourself with TurboTax.
Credentialing Takes Forever
The paperwork for each new contract is mind-numbing. And it seems like every facility wants the same documents but in slightly different formats. And your start date keeps getting pushed back because credentialing is delayed. Cool, cool, cool.
You're Always Proving Yourself
Every contract, you're the new RT who has to prove you know what you're doing. You don't get the benefit of the doubt. You have to earn trust every single time.
It gets easier with experience, but it never fully goes away.
Is Travel RT Right for You?
After all that, how do you know if you should actually do this?
You Might Love Travel RT If:
You want to make significantly more money
You're comfortable with change and new environments
You like the idea of living in different places
You're confident in your clinical skills
You want flexibility and control over your schedule
You're either single or in a relationship that can handle it
You're organized enough to handle the logistics
You don't mind being the new person repeatedly
You want to build diverse experience quickly
Travel RT Might Not Be For You If:
You prefer stability and routine
You're still building confidence in your clinical skills
You have strong community/family ties that require you to stay put
You hate change or find new situations very stressful
You need the structure and benefits of a permanent job
The administrative side (taxes, housing, credentialing) sounds overwhelming
You want to be part of a long-term team and culture
Neither path is better—they're just different. Some RTs travel for their entire careers. Others try it for a year or two and go back to staff positions. Some do it seasonally—travel part of the year, work staff the rest.
You can also just try it. Take one contract. If you love it, keep going. If you hate it, you've got an end date and you can go back to staff work with some extra money in your pocket and interesting experience on your resume.
Getting Started: Your Action Plan
Alright, you've read this entire guide and you're thinking, "Okay, I want to try this." Here's what to do:
3-6 Months Before You Want to Start:
Make sure you have at least 1-2 years of solid acute care experience
Get your RRT if you don't have it already
Update your certifications (BLS, ACLS, etc.)
Start organizing your documents (work history, references, immunizations)
Research staffing agencies and join travel RT Facebook groups
Talk to a tax professional about the tax home requirement
Start thinking about where you want your first contract to be
2-3 Months Before:
Start talking to recruiters at multiple agencies
Apply for licenses in states where you want to work
Review your first contract options
Start looking at housing in your target location
Figure out your budget (including the cost of getting there and getting set up)
1 Month Before:
Accept your first contract
Complete all credentialing requirements
Secure housing
Give notice at your current job (if applicable)
Plan your travel logistics
Make a packing list (you'll forget something anyway, but try)
Week Before:
Confirm your start date and orientation schedule
Confirm your housing check-in
Pack (seriously, start packing)
Review the facility online (location, parking, unit info if available)
Take a deep breath—you're doing this!
Resources and Communities
You don't have to figure this out alone. Here are resources that actually help:
Facebook Groups:
Travel Respiratory Therapist groups (several good ones, join multiple)
Traveling Healthcare Professionals groups
Groups specific to your agency
Forums and Websites:
Respiratorytherapyzone.com forums
PanTravelers (reviews of agencies and facilities)
Highway Hypodermics (travel healthcare blog)
Professional:
AARC (American Association for Respiratory Care) for continuing education
Travel healthcare tax professionals (seriously, get one)
Other travel RTs you meet—they're your best resource
The Bottom Line
Travel respiratory therapy can be an incredible career move. The money is better, the experiences are richer, the professional growth is faster, and the lifestyle is more flexible than permanent positions.
It's also harder in some ways. More uncertainty, more logistics to manage, more times where you're uncomfortable or stressed or missing home.
But here's what I hear from travel RTs over and over: "I wish I'd started sooner."
Not everyone loves it forever. Some people do it for a few years and settle down. But very few people regret trying it.
You've spent years building your RT skills. You're good at what you do. Travel therapy is a way to leverage those skills into better pay, incredible experiences, and a lifestyle that gives you more control over your time and your life.
If you're even considering it, talk to some recruiters. Look at some contracts. See what's out there. You might be surprised at what's possible.
And who knows? A year from now, you might be writing your own version of this guide, telling new travel RTs what you wish you'd known when you started.
The adventure is out there if you want it. All you have to do is take the first step.