New Member (intro and questions)

[FrankP2491]

Hello SDN, my name is Frank I am currently enrolled full time in my local community college finishing up my associates in exercise science. I started as a computer science major out of high school did well but was unfocused my first time living away at school, I quickly transferred home after 2 semesters with sub par academics. I took about 2 years off and personal trained gained a lot of useful knowledge and experience and it set me off into being truly interested in a DPT. I got certified as a PT-Aide have been working as a PT-Aide for 2/ 2.5 years now and can honestly say a career as a PT would interest me.

I have a longer academic background which is kind of up and down but I have built my GPA back up to a 3.3 as of right now and I am happy to say I am heavily considering a DPT. However I have some concerns. I love the human body, studying analyzing assessing and researching etc. I am an athlete, and it would be my dream to work with athletes but I would be satisfied working with the general public too. I do however wonder if a career in say orthopedics would differ. I know the DPT is a rigorous program and it would be 5 more academic years for me (not including remaining pre-reqs).

I really wanted to know what everyone's thoughts are if anyone things that another path is compatible to PT. Working in the doctors office I hear them bashing the career alot not on the grounds of anything other than it not being worth the pay for how hard the schooling is. I have heard this from several MD's in my office over and over again. One being an orthopedist, one being a chiropractor and the other being the actual therapist who was one of the few who was able to get his (MT) prior to the requirement for DPT. They all tell me I should look into medical school but medical school is so broad of a thing to "look into" was wondering and hoping someone could guide me a little.

Thank you everyone I have been looking on this forum for a long time reading other peoples topics and for some reason was intimidated to create my own account but I finally did it. Hope my intro wasnt too long and winded thanks in advance. I really do appreciate your time!

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[ktachiba]

You can make 80-90K right out the gate doing travel PT or doing PRN jobs on the side. You should never do a job for money, you should follow your passions cuz money will follow what your passionate about

 

[1027453812]

You have to differentiate the scope of practice between the professions. I was in a similar position to you - I had a long discussion with my parents and family with my firm decision to pursue PT, whereas they were fairly fixated on having me push another year and pursue medicine (MD,DO). Had I gone back and would have been forced to pursue medicine, I would have preferred DO due to their osteopathic techniques, but with both professions I would end up pursuing a specialty and becoming a Physiatrist / Orthopedist.

I will provide you my reasons as to why I chose PT - I will not discuss $ in this post, as we all know that money may not (necessarily) buy you happiness:
1. PT has extensive 1 on 1 contact with their patients - I am an extrovert and a people's person. PT's get to see rehab from start to finish.
2. PT has flexibility in work settings - I am particularly interested in working with the athletic population (all age groups).
3. Direct Access
4. The thought process behind movement and therapeutic exercise as a means to heal soft tissue

From a pre-req standpoint, MD (to me) has a far more rigorous course load and the MCAT is far more difficult than the GRE.

 

[FrankP2491]

I understand where you are both coming from and $ should never be why you pick your career I agree but should one invest that much time into the potential future career you should always consider earning potential.

@Ktach I agree with you in that regard but I feel that I have an interest in both fields and so the money issue is not necessarily my only propelling factor.

@Toxic I agree I have a strong belief in soft tissue response to exercise I am a great people's person but to be completely honest I think both programs are hard and I feel like I would be selling myself short by avoiding med school because the MCAT's are harder then the GRE. My Pre-Req's are hard no matter what. I need 1 full year (2x 4 credit classes) in BIO, Physics, Anatomy, Chem I have not looked up the pre-req's for med school but I couldn't imagine that it would be much more then that. Physiatrist I don't know much about this field but it seems like a Physical therapist and Chiropractor meets an OT. I would prob want to do something more like orthopedics & sports medicine but I am not sure yet.

However re-addressing my prior issue of finances, my friends have all graduated school in various fields and most of them are starting around 80~90k with a 4 year degree (business/ finance) so IMO the money and the "is it worth it" factor is not there for me as I would not be able to be a traveling PT. I have a GF and we plan to get married after school and I would not be able to just "travel". So that isnt an option for me. I am obviously indecisive but I am really leaning towards avoiding PT and going with something else.

My last thought I would like to weigh in on is that I really like the field of PT I think it is awesome I love the idea of becoming a human movement expert that captures my interest more then almost anything out there. However... I have been working in the PT clinic for 2 1/2 years going on 3. I have seen 99.999% of patients coming in are between 30-70 years old this really isnt what I want to do I want to work with athletes but I know this is only going to make my chosen field/ scope of practice even more narrow.

The long and short of it, (i guess its more long then short haha) is that I kind of feel overwhelmed, my family does not know anything about this and I have sat down with them on quite a few occasions and tried to discuss it with them but my mom is a nurse in the allergy field she used to work in the hospital and my dad is a chef. Whenever I ask their opinions there quick response is do what you want... (they don't mean it in a rude way but they just want me to do whatever it is that I want) so I am turning to this forum to hopefully fill the void and inform myself.

I appreciate the help seriously! I am not looking to ignite a fire here I just really haven't been able to have this convo with anyone as no one seems to have advice for me and nor do they seem to care enough to ACTUALLY help so this advice means the world thanks

 

[ktachiba]

You can still do PRN jobs and make almost 6 figures...you would have to work 50-60 hour weeks though. I feel that I wouldn't mind doing something I love for 50-60 hours a week though.

Have you thought about PA school? Only two years, and you make 6 figures out the gate.

 

[DesertPT]

Physiatrist I don't know much about this field but it seems like a Physical therapist and Chiropractor meets an OT.

A physiatrist is a physician who specialized in PM&R (physical medicine and rehabilitation). They are often the ones who oversee the patient's care in a rehab unit, etc. They are doctors and don't do anything like what a PT, chiro or OT does.

I have seen 99.999% of patients coming in are between 30-70 years old this really isnt what I want to do I want to work with athletes but I know this is only going to make my chosen field/ scope of practice even more narrow.

Plenty of PTs specialize in sports. But go to PT school because you want to be a PT more than anything, because you never know what specialty your experiences might take you to if you keep an open mind.

There is an extremely vast body of knowledge at your disposal here on SDN. The more you read, the more you'll know.

 

[FrankP2491]

You can still do PRN jobs and make almost 6 figures...you would have to work 50-60 hour weeks though. I feel that I wouldn't mind doing something I love for 50-60 hours a week though.

Have you thought about PA school? Only two years, and you make 6 figures out the gate.

I have not thought at PA I guess that is a good option I am interested in doing something along those lines but I also think I have what it takes to complete the real MD but I really do have to do more research I agree @DesertPT I dont know much about the options outside of PT as I have put all my eggs in the PT basket so to speak. I am finishing up a Exercise Science Associates after next fall semester and I have 1 more class needed to satisfy and I will be beginning my pre-req's such as BIO and CHEM since I will have a light course load and might as well get them started.

Anyhow I am really interesed in the fields but ideally I am not sure I want to spend 60 hours a week to only make just into the 6 figures mark. Not my idea of being worth it but I respect the career and field I just feel that I could maximize my time by doing something more intensive initially and enjoy it just as much.

I like Orthopedics, I like Sports Med, I like PT but I just need to keep looking more and more into it I guess

 

[DesertPT]

Anyhow I am really interesed in the fields but ideally I am not sure I want to spend 60 hours a week to only make just into the 6 figures mark. Not my idea of being worth it but I respect the career...

From a student debt:income ratio standpoint, PT does not make that much sense, and nobody here will disagree with you on that. There are other pragmatic pros to PT though, job security/employability and lifestyle being a couple. And the salary won't leave you poor (if your student loans aren't completely unmanageable at least). 50% of families in the US live on less than $52k/year.

Nevertheless, nobody goes into PT for the money. You have to want to be a PT more than anything else. It has to be your desired profession, not a choice you come up with just by running numbers. I ran a lot of numbers when deciding to pursue PT school and narrowed down my choice based on a lot of pragmatic factors, and that information was all very important. But the ultimate decision was made because I wanted to be a PT more than I wanted to be anything else. You have to get that confirmation that this really is what you'll be happy doing for the rest of your life, or you'll always wonder what might have been. And at the same time, there are probably numerous things you could be perfectly happy doing. So it's a complex decision and commitment that nobody buy you can make.

 

[brooklynyc]

I agree with Desert.

Do not get into PT for the money. You will be disappointed.

 

[DesertPT]

Do not get into PT for the money. You will be disappointed.

In general I agree as I described above, but I do think that as much as we repeat this line on this forum, a mid-career salary in the 80's really isn't that disappointing. At least it wouldn't be to a huge percentage of the population. Obviously it is all relative to level of education, but still...

 

[Duhawk1991]

Just to put in my 2-cents... Obviously with whatever it is that you decide to do with your life, you want to do work that is meaninful to you and hopefully purposeful. My 4000+ hours of work/observation in the field has only cemented my wanting to be a therapist. It was that drive that got me through school/GRE and what not. Even when I wasn't accepted last year I wasn't deterred because I knew its what I wanted. I have been accepted and am starting school this year in August. Quite honestly, yes, the pay is nice, but you look at the time/effort that goes into it I would say it is a fair compensation, but the pay is definitely towards the bottom of the lists (personally) in rewards of the job.

I would say if its what you wanna do, take the pre-reqs and get after it. If its just because you had a good "first impression" at a "chill-office" I would recommend something otherwise. Just word-of-the-wise, MD will be substantially harder to get into and maintain than PT.

Best of luck though in whatever you do decide on doing!

 

[DesertPT]

MD will be substantially harder to get into

Becoming less and less true by the day, at least numerically.

And average stats for DO applicants are equal to or lower than average stats for PT students these days.

The MCAT is a lot more work to prep for then the GRE, and med school requires o-chem. Those would be the most substantial reasons why pre-med is a bit harder than pre-PT. Otherwise they are both extremely competitive and extremely time-consuming.

 

[Duhawk1991]

I understand statistically you a slightly better chance at MD... but that does not translate into you doing well in that field with lower grades as it is. I am quite surprised when I see some of the accepted DO numbers .. quite mind boggling actually.

 

[Duhawk1991]

Becoming less and less true by the day, at least numerically.

And average stats for DO applicants are equal to or lower than average stats for PT students these days.

The MCAT is a lot more work to prep for then the GRE, and med school requires o-chem. Those would be the most substantial reasons why pre-med is a bit harder than pre-PT. Otherwise they are both extremely competitive and extremely time-consuming.

I understand statistically you have a slightly better chance at MD just with # of applicants vs # of open seats in programs... but that does not translate into you doing well in that field with lower grades as it is. I am quite surprised when I see some of the accepted DO numbers .. quite mind boggling actually.

Sorry for the double post.

 

[DesertPT]

I am quite surprised when I see some of the accepted DO numbers .. quite mind boggling actually.

You should check out some of the numbers that get people into podiatry school too...pretty amazing...and pharmacy is pretty much starting to just require a pulse...PT school is amazingly competitive for how much it pays.

 

[tweaze]

In general I agree as I described above, but I do think that as much as we repeat this line on this forum, a mid-career salary in the 80's really isn't that disappointing. At least it wouldn't be to a huge percentage of the population. Obviously it is all relative to level of education, but still...

I might just have a low standard of living, (and I have very little debt to worry about), but I think making 80K in a year would be awesome. Even the low end of 60K would still be substantial jump from my previous job, and we were comfortable at that income level. It's all relative.

 

[SwampPT]

I might just have a low standard of living, (and I have very little debt to worry about), but I think making 80K in a year would be awesome. Even the low end of 60K would still be substantial jump from my previous job, and we were comfortable at that income level. It's all relative.

It's definitely better than the $15.92 an hour I made as a Police Officer. Assistant Managers at McDonald's made more than me. Hell even our Janitor made more per hour and that is no exaggeration. The Janitor made $16.50. For those old enough to remember Al Bundy....that was pretty much me