who makes more??

[jesse14]

So, as some of you may remember, I was very close to going to chiropractic college but chose physio for reasons i wont dwell on now. I'm in my 2nd week of PT school and i already here quite a bit of talk about how chiropractors make quite a bit more money then PT's. I was under the impression that due to market saturation, DC's are finding it harder and harder to make a living. Are the majority of my classmates and their anecdotes of "the chiro they know is loaded" just false? Any thoughts on this at all would be interesting to read!

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[PTapp]

So, as some of you may remember, I was very close to going to chiropractic college but chose physio for reasons i wont dwell on now. I'm in my 2nd week of PT school and i already here quite a bit of talk about how chiropractors make quite a bit more money then PT's. I was under the impression that due to market saturation, DC's are finding it harder and harder to make a living. Are the majority of my classmates and their anecdotes of "the chiro they know is loaded" just false? Any thoughts on this at all would be interesting to read!

Well... A lot of people told me that they make a ton of money, but chiropractic grads have the highest default rates in the nation. This should tell you something. To be able to make good money, you need to open up your own clinic and advertise well. Not something PTs will need to start off with 60k. I would not go to grad school for 4 more years, pay more than what I'd pay for a DPT school and worry about making money after graduation. I think you have made the right decision.

 

[ONstudentPT]

So, as some of you may remember, I was very close to going to chiropractic college but chose physio for reasons i wont dwell on now. I'm in my 2nd week of PT school and i already here quite a bit of talk about how chiropractors make quite a bit more money then PT's. I was under the impression that due to market saturation, DC's are finding it harder and harder to make a living. Are the majority of my classmates and their anecdotes of "the chiro they know is loaded" just false? Any thoughts on this at all would be interesting to read!

This is a common misconception. If you own your own clinic as a PT your earning potential is as good if not better than any chiro. As a PT business owner it maybe easier to survive as you get more support from other health care professionals. Chiros are very saturated in the market in Ontario. I believe chiros used to make A LOT of money in the 80's and 90's but it is probably somewhat harder now.

As a PT even if you work in a fee for service setting you can make up 60$/hour or over 100k a year.. not even owning a clinic.

Now if you compare the salaries of hospital PTs to succesful chiro business owners than ya ... chiros would appear to be making more money so thats where the misconception may arise from.

I believe PTs is a less riskier choice and the earning potential is essentially the same as chiro depending on what setting you work in... most new PT students do not really understand this situation yet they are just going by what they have heard.

 

[jesse14]

This is a common misconception. If you own your own clinic as a PT your earning potential is as good if not better than any chiro. As a PT business owner it maybe easier to survive as you get more support from other health care professionals. Chiros are very saturated in the market in Ontario. I believe chiros used to make A LOT of money in the 80's and 90's but it is probably somewhat harder now.

As a PT even if you work in a fee for service setting you can make up 60$/hour or over 100k a year.. not even owning a clinic.

Now if you compare the salaries of hospital PTs to succesful chiro business owners than ya ... chiros would appear to be making more money so thats where the misconception may arise from.

I believe PTs is a less riskier choice and the earning potential is essentially the same as chiro depending on what setting you work in... most new PT students do not really understand this situation yet they are just going by what they have heard.

Hey ONstudentPT,
Long time no speak! I don't know if you're aware but i'm now in PT school at Queen's. So far it's been a good decision over chiro. It's tough and the workload is serious. There is even a chiro in our class! He knows everything and is now essentialy and extra lab instructor for certain things lol. It's a very interesting dynamic with some of the PT profs and the D.C who tend to but heads over certain topics. Anyways... it's weird, there are 70 ppl in my class and the majority believe that A) it's super hard to get into chiro (some even wanted to apply but didn't cause they figured it was as hard as med school to get in to...go figure! and B) many are under the distinct impression that chiros do very well. I hear of all these horror stories regarding defauting chiros and such, yet the my prevailing personal expereince and that of the other PT students says different. Chiro is one weird profession... there are so many misconception both for and against it. I believe it's a unique entity within health care.

 

[AUGGIE]

jesse,

As a practicing chiro I can tell you that it is true DCs have the highest loan default rate.

It is also true that starting out in the chiropractic profession is much much harder than in the PT profession with far fewer and less lucrative jobs available to the DC.

That being said, the realities are that the ceiling is much higher for chiros than it "currently" is for PTs due to a myriad of reasons. That will probably change over time but right now that is the reality. Most chiros that make it in business past the 5 year mark are making incomes around $200K/year.

Both are great professions.

Best of luck!

 

[PTapp]

Hey ONstudentPT,
Long time no speak! I don't know if you're aware but i'm now in PT school at Queen's. So far it's been a good decision over chiro. It's tough and the workload is serious. There is even a chiro in our class! He knows everything and is now essentialy and extra lab instructor for certain things lol. It's a very interesting dynamic with some of the PT profs and the D.C who tend to but heads over certain topics. Anyways... it's weird, there are 70 ppl in my class and the majority believe that A) it's super hard to get into chiro (some even wanted to apply but didn't cause they figured it was as hard as med school to get in to...go figure! and B) many are under the distinct impression that chiros do very well. I hear of all these horror stories regarding defauting chiros and such, yet the my prevailing personal expereince and that of the other PT students says different. Chiro is one weird profession... there are so many misconception both for and against it. I believe it's a unique entity within health care.

No way this is true. Most chiro schools want 2.5 and above whereas the DPT schools want even consider your application if that was the case. In my area, my friends who didn't get into DPT got into chiro. NYCC accepted students with GPAs close to 2.5-2.6 and waived the organic chemistry requirements which would never happen for DPT applicants. Chiro schools are easier to get into than DPT schools in general, IMO.

 

[ONstudentPT]

jesse,

As a practicing chiro I can tell you that it is true DCs have the highest loan default rate.

It is also true that starting out in the chiropractic profession is much much harder than in the PT profession with far fewer and less lucrative jobs available to the DC.

That being said, the realities are that the ceiling is much higher for chiros than it "currently" is for PTs due to a myriad of reasons. That will probably change over time but right now that is the reality. Most chiros that make it in business past the 5 year mark are making incomes around $200K/year.

Both are great professions.

Best of luck!

As a PT working in the field and having spoken to numerous PT business owners I find it hard to beleive that the ceiling for chiro is higher. I know of several PT clinic owners who are making 150-200k+ just like any successful chiro clinic owner could be.

So I am not sure how your are making the assumption that chiros ceiling is higher.. perhaps you can explain?.

I am from Ontario so it may be a different situation in the states. Overall its not easy running and owning a business as a chiro or PT but I dont see how the earning potential could possibly be any different when PT also have direct access, insurance reimbursement rates are very similar and treatment and assessment rates are similar.

So don't worry Jesse you can make as much money as a PT as any chiro .. it just depends on your business skills and some luck. The truth is that most PTs are not very business minded because there are so many decent paying jobs that they dont have to be so they dont bother but chiros are forced to be very business oriented cause they really dont have any other choice.

 

[truthseeker]

As a PT working in the field and having spoken to numerous PT business owners I find it hard to beleive that the ceiling for chiro is higher. I know of several PT clinic owners who are making 150-200k+ just like any successful chiro clinic owner could be.

So I am not sure how your are making the assumption that chiros ceiling is higher.. perhaps you can explain?.

I am from Ontario so it may be a different situation in the states. Overall its not easy running and owning a business as a chiro or PT but I dont see how the earning potential could possibly be any different when PT also have direct access, insurance reimbursement rates are very similar and treatment and assessment rates are similar.

So don't worry Jesse you can make as much money as a PT as any chiro .. it just depends on your business skills and some luck. The truth is that most PTs are not very business minded because there are so many decent paying jobs that they dont have to be so they dont bother but chiros are forced to be very business oriented cause they really dont have any other choice.

Probably the reason is that PTs are not able to realistically practice with direct access, and therefore, are somewhat dependent upon referrals for their patient stream. Also, cannot order or officially read imaging. The direct access might change in the future, giving us more control over our own livelihoods.

 

[ONstudentPT]

Probably the reason is that PTs are not able to realistically practice with direct access, and therefore, are somewhat dependent upon referrals for their patient stream. Also, cannot order or officially read imaging. The direct access might change in the future, giving us more control over our own livelihoods.

Ya i guess in the states you guys still have some issues with direct access. Where I work we have real direct access with no requirement of physician referrals.

 

[truthseeker]

Ya i guess in the states you guys still have some issues with direct access. Where I work we have real direct access with no requirement of physician referrals.

Hopefully the day is coming. We have legal direct access, but it isn't practicable yet because the AMA has too much influence on the boards of the big insurance companies. We are cost effective, we are safe, we just don't have the political clout of the docs.

 

[AUGGIE]

The ceiling is lower for PTs in Texas due primarily to direct access limitations.

Also, the chiro has radiological services as a revenue stream which can be a considerable source of income.

I wish the PT profession all the luck in the world vs. the AMA. It is going to be a nasty fight but in the end it will have been worth it.