Other OT-Related Information Accepted but need advice

[okaya]

Hi everyone,

I find myself very confused on what I should do about being accepted to school and was hoping maybe one of you could offer some advice that will make my decision a bit easier.

For quite a few years my dream has been to become an OT, but now that I have been accepted I am not sure if I should go. I am 36, single and own my own home. I live in a very rural northeast town which made applying to schools rather difficult. The closest school is about a 90 minute drive each way, so going part-time is something I absolutely need. I was accepted to a part-time program, but it is very expensive. By the time I am finished I will be at least 100k in debt, not including any interest acquired during that time. It is unlikely that I will finish before I turn 39 which would mean that I will probably be paying on my student loans until I am almost 60. I will also need to pay for living expenses out of my own pocket while I attend.

If I were in my 20's I would not hesitate to go because I would have so much of my life to pay back this debt, but at my current age I wonder if I would be able to save for retirement, the possibilities of having a family, and saving to enjoy life in general.

I have the opportunity to attend OTA school for less than 10k and am tempted to go this route even though it is not my ideal job. Between doing OTA and continuing my current job as a massage therapist it is likely I would still make around the same amount as an OT. That said, my dream is not OTA or massage therapy, it is OT.

If you were in my situation would you go to school for OT or take a less expensive route and do OTA?

Thanks for reading and offering any advice.

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[beestrng]

OTA would make sense financially but I mean its not OT. You may not be happy with it later.

Hi everyone,

I find myself very confused on what I should do about being accepted to school and was hoping maybe one of you could offer some advice that will make my decision a bit easier.

For quite a few years my dream has been to become an OT, but now that I have been accepted I am not sure if I should go. I am 36, single and own my own home. I live in a very rural northeast town which made applying to schools rather difficult. The closest school is about a 90 minute drive each way, so going part-time is something I absolutely need. I was accepted to a part-time program, but it is very expensive. By the time I am finished I will be at least 100k in debt, not including any interest acquired during that time. It is unlikely that I will finish before I turn 39 which would mean that I will probably be paying on my student loans until I am almost 60. I will also need to pay for living expenses out of my own pocket while I attend.

If I were in my 20's I would not hesitate to go because I would have so much of my life to pay back this debt, but at my current age I wonder if I would be able to save for retirement, the possibilities of having a family, and saving to enjoy life in general.

I have the opportunity to attend OTA school for less than 10k and am tempted to go this route even though it is not my ideal job. Between doing OTA and continuing my current job as a massage therapist it is likely I would still make around the same amount as an OT. That said, my dream is not OTA or massage therapy, it is OT.

If you were in my situation would you go to school for OT or take a less expensive route and do OTA?

Thanks for reading and offering any advice.

 

[cb31]

Hi everyone,

I find myself very confused on what I should do about being accepted to school and was hoping maybe one of you could offer some advice that will make my decision a bit easier.

For quite a few years my dream has been to become an OT, but now that I have been accepted I am not sure if I should go. I am 36, single and own my own home. I live in a very rural northeast town which made applying to schools rather difficult. The closest school is about a 90 minute drive each way, so going part-time is something I absolutely need. I was accepted to a part-time program, but it is very expensive. By the time I am finished I will be at least 100k in debt, not including any interest acquired during that time. It is unlikely that I will finish before I turn 39 which would mean that I will probably be paying on my student loans until I am almost 60. I will also need to pay for living expenses out of my own pocket while I attend.

If I were in my 20's I would not hesitate to go because I would have so much of my life to pay back this debt, but at my current age I wonder if I would be able to save for retirement, the possibilities of having a family, and saving to enjoy life in general.

I have the opportunity to attend OTA school for less than 10k and am tempted to go this route even though it is not my ideal job. Between doing OTA and continuing my current job as a massage therapist it is likely I would still make around the same amount as an OT. That said, my dream is not OTA or massage therapy, it is OT.

If you were in my situation would you go to school for OT or take a less expensive route and do OTA?

Thanks for reading and offering any advice.

What area of OT would you like to go into?? If it's geriatric, then u could probably pay off ur OT loans in a good amount of time. OTs that work in SNFs usually make about 80k give or take a couple of thousands so you can put a lot on ur loans.

But honestly, if I was you I would still do OT. I look at loans just like any other bill; just pay it every month. Doesn't matter how long it takes you to pay it back especially since you doing something you love!

 

[O.T.eyes]

I've been at this crossroads before and friends, family, and especially the OT's I work with at a hand therapy clinic have told me to go for the OT over OTA every time. It's tempting because as an OTA, you will still practice OT and you can pay off your loans in no time, but you make less and you can't really specialize (especially in hand therapy). The OT's I work with who love their job say its just another monthly bill and the Masters is worth the cost.

I work with an older (mid-high 50 yrs old) OT/CHT who, at first, got her OTA then went back to school again later to get her OT because she was frustrated at the pay cap and job growth. She said she would've gone straight for the MOT in hindsight and that despite her age, she's happy with her choice of going back to school because now she's a CHT. I've met some great COTA's who love their job just fine though. I say follow your original dream and go for the MOT before it becomes an OTD!