MOT Starting Salary

[OTBro]

I thought it would be helpful to get a general discussion going about what is typical for a starting salary as an occupational therapist, and how the many factors involved actually contribute to your starting pay, including:

- Geography (region of country, city vs. rural)
- OT Environment (rehab, pediatric, mental health, community-based, home health, long-term care, etc.)
- Job Setting (outpatient clinic, inpatient hospital, SNF, community center, school, home)
- School attended (to some degree)
- Personal Characteristics (interviewing skills, clinical affiliations, leadership qualities, etc.)

Doing some research online, I get such a wide range of salaries and it's hard to gauge what is actually accurate for 2013 and beyond. Some sites claim new grad OT's can expect 40k-50k per year, while others claim 60k is more realistic. Although, most of the data online is from 2010 and prior, which seems pretty outdated when considering the increase in OT's demand (and compensation) over the past few years. It seems home health, travel, and SNF pay the highest salaries, especially at large companies, while school-based OT's make the least, especially in rural areas. What do you all think about starting salary expectations?

What OT setting and location do you all hope to work in after graduating and what kind of salary are you hoping to make?

Personally, my goal is to make at least 75k starting out, and regardless of how ambitious or realistic that sounds, I plan on doing what I need to do in order to earn that figure, including working overtime, per diem on the side, travel, etc.

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[Johann00]

I've found those sites like salary.com very misleading because they don't take a lot of the factors you talked about into account. A much better way to go about it is to look on job websites like careerbuilder.com and monster.com. Do a search for the kind of OT job you're interested in and in the general region you want to live in and see if anything pops up that includes salary information.

Through the research I've done, $75k seems a little ambitious for a new grad unless you're in a high cost-of-living part of the country. But I'm sure you can make it happen if you're allowed to do all the overtime you're planning on doing...

 

[otsomeday]

Minimum 65k starting pretty much anywhere. States like CA, NV, TX you should start at about 75k easy.....

 

[OTlove88]

I think that here in Chicago it is around 65k minimum but I just took a quick look at career builder and saw some starting salaries for a lot higher.... some for even around 100k but I don't know how accurate that is

 

[mlc54]

From May 2012:

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291122.htm

 

[lilsweetpie]

It all depends on where you apply and the amount of experience you have. I know many occupational therapist who make over 100,000 because they have their own private clinics.

 

[hotpebbles]

It all depends on where you apply and the amount of experience you have. I know many occupational therapist who make over 100,000 because they have their own private clinics.

but if you have own clinic, isn't it more of running a business than "working" as an OT and doing actual therapy?

 

[ExceptionalSea]

my advisor told me starting salaries in indianapolis were averaging 60k. i think location/cost of living really play into starting salaries. from talking to OTs, job settings really play into salaries as well. i've heard OTs at SNFs make quite a bit of money - but then again you'd have to work at an SNF. (not that there's anything wrong with that - but it's probably not for me personally). i bet as a new grad working at an SNF (in a bigger metropolitan area) you could get pretty close to the 75k mark.

60k-65k is still a decent starting salary, and if you've lived in the real world (i'm talking lived and took care of yourself...not living at college) during this terrible economic recession for the past 4 years you'd be pretty happy with that rate. i'd say go with the setting that you want so you can build your experience in the area that you want. then you can open your own practice and start making the bigger bucks. but - that's me.

 

[lcs2074]

What I've heard from various OT school admission counselors/faculty in Philadelphia is that new grads in this area generally make 70k-75k.

 

[peachiepizzazz]

It all depends on where you apply and the amount of experience you have. I know many occupational therapist who make over 100,000 because they have their own private clinics.

Speaking of private clinics, is anyone aware of how much take-home pay one could expect by owning a private clinic, say in pediatrics? I just wonder if it is enough to make up for the fact that you'll be responsible for paying your own health insurance, self-employment taxes, etc.

 

[bebob]

I got this from the advanceweb. I think they're conducting a new survey now

 

[beestrng]

I know some making 100K working a lot.

It is always someone doing overtime and/or home care PRN etc.

 

[Kidamnesiac]

I got this from the advanceweb. I think they're conducting a new survey now

Looks like I'm moving to Alaska.