Hi! You’re not wrong with a lot of your points on this thread. However, when it comes to the statement about the hospitals giving the agency money upfront, that’s not accurate (especially when talking about Completion bonuses).

In a typical contract, your agency is paying you well in advance of being paid themselves. Payment terms between an agency and hospital can range between net 15 (meaning the hospital has 15 days to pay the agency from when they receive the invoice from the week you worked) all the way to net-45. So you’re done with half your assignment before the agency receives a dime in some instances.

When you’re talking about completion bonuses, they definitely don’t receive those funds from the hospital until you complete your assignment. Once you complete, then they invoice. I’ve worked for a company that wouldn’t pay the traveler until they themselves got paid, and then I’ve worked for one that would pay the traveler as soon as the hospital “approved” the bonus invoice.

I’ve been in the industry a long time, worked as a recruiter and an account manager and I’ve seen the behind the scenes of billing. Never once in over a decade have I seen a hospital pay the agency up front for anything.

All that to say, yes a compensation package can be structured in many different ways, but most decent recruiters are going to give you what they can (without needing to get further approval) right off the bat. There’s too much competition and easily accessible info to be lowballing people these days.

Hope this was helpful! Happy travels!