Attention all older PTs

[jbonn10]

Just wondering....

For those who were able to get the PT degree before the DPT was the standard, if you had to go through it all again but instead had to pursue the DPT, and all the debt that came along with it, would you? Essentially, is the job worth the debt t comes with. Any and all replies would be awesome thanks!

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[noyceguy]

A job that pays $65,000 a year should have an educational debt burden of no more than $65,000. Do not take out large loans to get this degree.

 

[truthseeker]

I agree with noyceguy. I found a way to limit my debt to about 25k. go to an inexpensive school. don't take out loans to support a nice lifestyle, take out enough to get by. you don't need a new car, you don't need the direct TV package that includes all of the HBO's. eat ramen, drink PBR not Guinness, etc . . . the profession, to me is very worth it. I have been at it 25 years and no two days are the same, I still love my job.

 

[redrose424]

I agree with noyceguy. I found a way to limit my debt to about 25k. go to an inexpensive school. don't take out loans to support a nice lifestyle, take out enough to get by. you don't need a new car, you don't need the direct TV package that includes all of the HBO's. eat ramen, drink PBR not Guinness, etc . . . the profession, to me is very worth it. I have been at it 25 years and no two days are the same, I still love my job.

I don't know when you graduated school, but that is simply not possible now days (unless one has a lot of money saved up/working a lot). I have loans from my undergraduate, and I'll be taking out loans to cover a cheap in-state school. For the three years, with loans ONLY covering tuition/fees (no living expenses, which is something highly unlikely) , the program will still cost about 50k. The only way I could attend and graduate with 25k in loans would be to ignore all the expenses of undergrad, be a graduate research assistant for 3-4 semesters (my program will waive tuition/fees and give a small stipend), and ultimately mysteriously exist without the need for rent/food/books/any type of fun.

I guess my point is, education costs are rising. If you want this degree, or any degree really, you must take out the loans. You won't necessarily be making only 65k, then again, you aren't going to be making what an MD makes. There are ways to do it more cheaply and definitely don't get out of hand with your loans, work hard and pay them back quickly. I think it should speak wonders that the PTs most meet are very happy with their job and lifestyle.

Edit: For reference, I live in Georgia. I went to UGA for undergrad (consistently ranked as a "best value" public institution) and will be attending GSU (another state-funded institution, one of the cheapest DPT programs in the state). I plan to live with my parents (who offer free rent/food) and commute. I took out 30k JUST for undergrad, despite the fact that I was working part time.

 

[jesspt]

I don't know when you graduated school, but that is simply not possible now days (unless one has a lot of money saved up/working a lot). I have loans from my undergraduate, and I'll be taking out loans to cover a cheap in-state school. For the three years, with loans ONLY covering tuition/fees (no living expenses, which is something highly unlikely) , the program will still cost about 50k. The only way I could attend and graduate with 25k in loans would be to ignore all the expenses of undergrad, be a graduate research assistant for 3-4 semesters (my program will waive tuition/fees and give a small stipend), and ultimately mysteriously exist without the need for rent/food/books/any type of fun.

I guess my point is, education costs are rising. If you want this degree, or any degree really, you must take out the loans. You won't necessarily be making only 65k, then again, you aren't going to be making what an MD makes. There are ways to do it more cheaply and definitely don't get out of hand with your loans, work hard and pay them back quickly. I think it should speak wonders that the PTs most meet are very happy with their job and lifestyle.

Edit: For reference, I live in Georgia. I went to UGA for undergrad (consistently ranked as a "best value" public institution) and will be attending GSU (another state-funded institution, one of the cheapest DPT programs in the state). I plan to live with my parents (who offer free rent/food) and commute. I took out 30k JUST for undergrad, despite the fact that I was working part time.

@redrose424 -you're in good shape. You've done your best to minimize your debt. You'll be fine, and you'll still like your job for the next 20-30 years.

I don't think that @truthseeker was saying that $25,000 in debt was realistic today - his point was $150,000 in debt for a starting salary of $60,000-$70,000 is foolhardy.

 

[jbonn10]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'm thinking about my career, and I'm choosing between ex phys and PT since I have an exercise science undergrad. Both seem very rewarding, and ex phys is 10x less money for a masters, but does make a bit less. Does anyone have an advice in this area?

 

[jesspt]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'm thinking about my career, and I'm choosing between ex phys and PT since I have an exercise science undergrad. Both seem very rewarding, and ex phys is 10x less money for a masters, but does make a bit less. Does anyone have an advice in this area?

You've probably already looked at this, but you need to consider not just the salary, but how easy (or difficult) it is to obtain a job in exercise physiology in a setting in which you wish to work. I've heard that it is somewhat difficult to find employment as an exercise physiologist, but have no direct experience in this area.

Also, what's the ceiling for salary? Are there Exercise Physiologists who make $100,000? There certainly are PTs who make that.

 

[redrose424]

@redrose424 -you're in good shape. You've done your best to minimize your debt. You'll be fine, and you'll still like your job for the next 20-30 years.

I don't think that @truthseeker was saying that $25,000 in debt was realistic today - his point was $150,000 in debt for a starting salary of $60,000-$70,000 is foolhardy.

Well that's a relief. I definitely think I will, but I do think I'll be pushing, if not at, that 100k mark. I think I overestimate expenses sometimes though.

I do know Emory, which was also a school I was looking at, states that their students on average take about 125k in debt just from their program alone (not including undergrad). To me that is scary.

 

[NJ DPT HOPEFUL]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'm thinking about my career, and I'm choosing between ex phys and PT since I have an exercise science undergrad. Both seem very rewarding, and ex phys is 10x less money for a masters, but does make a bit less. Does anyone have an advice in this area?

like said above, ex phys is very difficult to get into and you don't make much money. I've been one for about a year, there are two full time guys who have been there for a decade, I work 30 hours per week and then there are 3 per diems behind me who take the shifts when we go on vacation because they can't get jobs elsewhere. I was a per diem myself for about a few months until the part time guy before me got into a DPT program.

I know of guy who has been able to land a full time ex phys job out of school and he had to relocate to the midwest for it, and he had a masters.

 

[noyceguy]

Well that's a relief. I definitely think I will, but I do think I'll be pushing, if not at, that 100k mark. I think I overestimate expenses sometimes though.

I do know Emory, which was also a school I was looking at, states that their students on average take about 125k in debt just from their program alone (not including undergrad). To me that is scary.

Do not under any circumstances borrow $100,000 to be a PT.

 

[jbonn10]

like said above, ex phys is very difficult to get into and you don't make much money. I've been one for about a year, there are two full time guys who have been there for a decade, I work 30 hours per week and then there are 3 per diems behind me who take the shifts when we go on vacation because they can't get jobs elsewhere. I was a per diem myself for about a few months until the part time guy before me got into a DPT program.

I know of guy who has been able to land a full time ex phys job out of school and he had to relocate to the midwest for it, and he had a masters.

Do you, or anyone for that matter, know of any news involving exercise physiology being a more accepted profession in the near future, aka covered by insurance and more money and job positions opening up?

 

[jblil]

Look up how much the AKA (American Kinesiology Association) spends in lobbying efforts. Compare it to the AMA, ACA (chiropractors), and APTA (PTs). Usually, the group that brib, er, lobbies Congress the most lavishly, wins.

 

[NJ DPT HOPEFUL]

Do you, or anyone for that matter, know of any news involving exercise physiology being a more accepted profession in the near future, aka covered by insurance and more money and job positions opening up?

I wish I could post something more positive but the trend isn't positive. A lot of the things you learn in your ex phys lab, like reading scripts, is primarily done by RNs now, so the need isn't increasing.

If you are looking for a comfortable salary and full time job I'd suggest another profession. It's not bad as a stepping stone for grad school so if you are considering it for that and can get a job with a decent amount of hours then go for it.

 

[redrose424]

Do not under any circumstances borrow $100,000 to be a PT.

As I explained in my previous post, these days it's almost impossible not to. I'm not going to give up what I want to do simply because it costs money.

 

[truthseeker]

@redrose424 -you're in good shape. You've done your best to minimize your debt. You'll be fine, and you'll still like your job for the next 20-30 years.

I don't think that @truthseeker was saying that $25,000 in debt was realistic today - his point was $150,000 in debt for a starting salary of $60,000-$70,000 is foolhardy.

Exactly, to keep it in perspective, my first job paid $30k. I was essentially debt free in undergrad because I saved money in high school, worked work study jobs in the dishroom in the food service dept. I was an RA which paid room and board, then my senior year I was an RA again, and a senior student trainer, also paid room and board. In PT school, I lived with my uncle for free. I bought some groceries when I could but didn't do lots of things for fun. I would try to avoid going much more than one year's salary in debt for school no matter what the profession is.

 

[noyceguy]

As I explained in my previous post, these days it's almost impossible not to. I'm not going to give up what I want to do simply because it costs money.

Good luck with that my friend.

 

[redrose424]

Good luck with that my friend.

I think you may be dated on how much it costs for education. I wouldn't suggest instructing people to simply not become PTs if they have to take out debt for undergrad and grad school, as the majority of PT students and the population, do.

 

[redrose424]

Exactly, to keep it in perspective, my first job paid $30k. I was essentially debt free in undergrad because I saved money in high school, worked work study jobs in the dishroom in the food service dept. I was an RA which paid room and board, then my senior year I was an RA again, and a senior student trainer, also paid room and board. In PT school, I lived with my uncle for free. I bought some groceries when I could but didn't do lots of things for fun. I would try to avoid going much more than one year's salary in debt for school no matter what the profession is.

I agree to keep debt at a minimum, but you've had opportunities to keep it lower than the majority of students do. That's great, and if a student has those opportunities they should certainly utilize them, but sometimes that's just not realistic.

 

[TheIron]

Good luck with that my friend.

Those of us that have been college in the last 5-10 years are experiencing something no other generation has gone through. Tuition costs have skyrocketed and I would probably call you a liar if you came out with a bachelors and DPT under $60k without outside help. I would even go so far to say that getting a DPT <$100k is now an anomaly if you're paying for it on your own.

 

[redrose424]

The cost of education has skyrocketed in the past ten years. This is a fact and it has far outpaced inflation. For example, I attended UGA (3rd best "Bang for your Buck" University in the southeast) and the tuition and fees for a 9 month academic year is 11,622. Multiply that by four years and your cost is 46,488. This assumes you happen to have a part time job in which you can afford to pay for your living expenses. Tuition and fees at GSU (a "cheap" public DPT program) are 5,756 per semester. Keep in mind this is all in-state rates. So the cost for one year of DPT is 17,268, or 51,804 overall. Total in-state, cumulative debt at public universities and without even including living expenses is: 98,292. Now you tell me how the hell you think no PT should pay 100k for this education, we would have a vast vast vast shortage of PTs if that were the case.

 

[PTX2]

I wasted away my early 20s partying, working, and doing whatever I wanted. I made great money but I hated my job. I finally realized it was time to get my life together and I set my eyes on PT school. I spent the next six years taking courses full time and working two jobs. Then I got scared. I put off starting PT school for two years because of the amount of debt I would incur. I took time to really take inventory of what was important to me and what I needed to be happy. I came to realize I would much rather be busting my a** doing what I love to pay off my loans than be stuck in a job that provides no fulfillment.

When I graduate PT school the amount I need to make will require me to work long, long days with probably no days off...but I'm already doing that now!

Every individual has a different set of circumstances and variables they need to consider before deciding whether PT school is worth it.

 

[noyceguy]

I think you may be dated on how much it costs for education. I wouldn't suggest instructing people to simply not become PTs if they have to take out debt for undergrad and grad school, as the majority of PT students and the population, do.

$100,000 loan at 6.8 % APR on a standard repayment plan is about $1150 a month. A starting salary of $65,000 a year after taxes and such is $48,750 or $4062 a month. With these numbers a person would be paying about a quarter of their after tax income just in student loan debt, at least in the beginning of their career.

Whether the majority of students do or do not take out large loans is immaterial. This would be like saying that it is OK to jump off a cliff because a majority of the population is jumping off a cliff.

Rather, a person has to decide whether they are willing to take on a large amount of student debt; one that is so large that it decreases a person's future ability to save, invest, pay a mortgage, and/or raise a family.

 

[redrose424]

$100,000 loan at 6.8 % APR on a standard repayment plan is about $1150 a month. A starting salary of $65,000 a year after taxes and such is $48,750 or $4062 a month. With these numbers a person would be paying about a quarter of their after tax income just in student loan debt, at least in the beginning of their career.

Whether the majority of students do or do not take out large loans is immaterial. This would be like saying that it is OK to jump off a cliff because a majority of the population is jumping off a cliff.

Rather, a person has to decide whether they are willing to take on a large amount of student debt; one that is so large that it decreases a person's future ability to save, invest, pay a mortgage, and/or raise a family.

You are taking a starting salary that fails to take into account location, setting, and a person's personal work ethic in which they may be doing PRN on the weekends and such to increase their starting salary. You are also using a higher interest rate than what is the norm. Sure, a graduate loan in the current world has an interest rate of 5.88% and any undergraduate loans have lower interest rates than that. So to begin with, you are already overestimating the cost of the loans. On top of that, you are using a standard repayment plan that doesn't take into account income. Sure, you can use the standard payment plan which would be a 1,151 monthly payment (using your overestimated figures), or 28%.

What I'm wondering is, why are you trying to deter students from taking on loans when you are failing to mention the vast other options for loan repayment? Income based repayment for example limits payments to 15% (or 10% if you're a new borrower) of your discretionary income. Or income-contingent repayment. Or pay as you earn. Or even combining options and utilizing Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

You acknowledge that the majority of students take out large amounts of loans to get their education, but instead of encouraging students to pursue the profession and letting them know that there are MULTIPLE avenues for loan repayment (depending on a person's personal preferences, work ethic, etc) you present biased information to deter students. You should be discouraging the students who don't truly want to have this career, instead of those of us who have acknowledged the benefits:costs and decided it's worth it.

 

[noyceguy]

You are taking a starting salary that fails to take into account location, setting, and a person's personal work ethic in which they may be doing PRN on the weekends and such to increase their starting salary. You are also using a higher interest rate than what is the norm. Sure, a graduate loan in the current world has an interest rate of 5.88% and any undergraduate loans have lower interest rates than that. So to begin with, you are already overestimating the cost of the loans. On top of that, you are using a standard repayment plan that doesn't take into account income. Sure, you can use the standard payment plan which would be a 1,151 monthly payment (using your overestimated figures), or 28%.

What I'm wondering is, why are you trying to deter students from taking on loans when you are failing to mention the vast other options for loan repayment? Income based repayment for example limits payments to 15% (or 10% if you're a new borrower) of your discretionary income. Or income-contingent repayment. Or pay as you earn. Or even combining options and utilizing Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

You acknowledge that the majority of students take out large amounts of loans to get their education, but instead of encouraging students to pursue the profession and letting them know that there are MULTIPLE avenues for loan repayment (depending on a person's personal preferences, work ethic, etc) you present biased information to deter students. You should be discouraging the students who don't truly want to have this career, instead of those of us who have acknowledged the benefits:costs and decided it's worth it.

There are plenty of students who will look to pursue this degree. Some of them will be deterred by the amount of school, some by the academic difficulty, some by the cost of school, and some for other reasons. Not every job is for everybody.

 

[redrose424]

There are plenty of students who will look to pursue this degree. Some of them will be deterred by the amount of school, some by the academic difficulty, some by the cost of school, and some for other reasons. Not every job is for everybody.

The point is don't try to deter people by using inaccurate and overinflated numbers.

 

[noyceguy]

As I said before, I do wish you and the original poster the best of luck.

 

[pegasuscvc]

Just wondering....

For those who were able to get the PT degree before the DPT was the standard, if you had to go through it all again but instead had to pursue the DPT, and all the debt that came along with it, would you? Essentially, is the job worth the debt comes with. Any and all replies would be awesome thanks!

First of all, if there are people saying you should graduate with the same debt load they did 20 years ago, ignore them. Costs of PT school aren't the same. Neither is the value of the dollar. You're better off talking to someone who graduated about five years ago. They had similar debt concerns to what you're thinking of, but have also had five years to work in the field. Coincidentally, this doesn't include me. I'm graduating in a few weeks, but here's my two cents.

I went through undergrad with only $7K in loans and went to a cheap DPT school. I ended up with $65K in loans total. However, income from my wife and a graduate assistantship from me saved us about $50K in loans over the course of the program. We also had to pay out-of-state tuition for one semester and spent a bit more on living expenses compared to most students because we have a family of three. For a single student, $100K total for undergrad + DPT program isn't that unusual if you go to an inexpensive school and don't live rent-free with your parents.

Third of all, even if you do end up with $100K and have the $1,150 loan payment referenced above, so what? Yes, that's a lot, but with a salary of $65K, you are left with $2,900ish a month for everything else. I don't know about you, but I've never made that much. I can easily write up a budget using that amount to comfortably support a family (Well, ok, fine, not if you live in places like NY or California). Just don't go out and buy a sports car or a $300,000 house and you'll be fine. Wait until your loans are paid off to get the REALLY nice stuff.

Fourth of all, remember there are many employers in the US who offer student loan repayment benefits as part of your benefits package. I'm not talking the 10-year student loan forgiveness deal. I mean, "Come sign a two-year contract and we'll pay $20K directly to your lender." Sometimes, those benefits are pretty large. These perks are usually in rural, less "desirable" areas, but those same areas often have a low cost of living - perfect recipe for someone with high student loans. If you're really worried about it, make getting one of these jobs a priority.

My point is that the cost of a PT program isn't the say-all and end-all of whether or not you should do PT. Yes, it's a factor, but the old saying, "Where there's a will, there's a way" applies here. If you're really determined to have your cake and eat it too (Do PT but not drown in debt), there are ways, and you'll find them.

 

[DesertPT]

Those of us that have been college in the last 5-10 years are experiencing something no other generation has gone through. Tuition costs have skyrocketed and I would probably call you a liar if you came out with a bachelors and DPT under $60k without outside help. I would even go so far to say that getting a DPT <$100k is now an anomaly if you're paying for it on your own.

Absolutely correct. Seems like every time I come on this board I see people who seem to believe if you spend more than $60k on your education you will be destined for a life of misery. I fully support encouraging people to not make poor financial decisions. But here's a reality check: The people who have to borrow $100k to become a PT are not the fools. The people who take 25 years to pay it off are.

Some people can't or don't want to work their way through college. In my situation, getting through undergrad without borrowing any money probably would have taken me 10 years. Some people can only reduce their living expenses so much. Some people had almost no scholarship or family help to pay for college through no fault of their own. Please stop telling people not to pursue their goals because of logistical concerns and offer pragmatic advice that helps someone achieve their goals and address the obstacles in the way.

Then people act like loans will be this lifelong onerous burden. If you graduate, get the best paying full-time job you can find and work the equivalent of 4 extra days a month per diem either in an inpatient setting or doing home health, you should be able to dump $100k into student loans in a period of 3-3.5 years. Perhaps you will have to relocate temporarily to a location that offers better earning potential or lower cost of living. Yes, you won't be able to just rest on your laurels after you graduate, you will have to keep working as hard as you did in PT school and living on a student budge for a couple more years. But doing what you have to do to make $2500/month payments for a couple years will save you from making $1000/month payments for most of your adult life. Knock that balance way down as quick as you can, get the rate at which interest is accumulating under control, then you can relax a bit and continue to chip away at what's left.

Yes, if you have large student debt and you want to pay it off quickly, your plans for buying a house, buying new cars, etc etc may be delayed for a couple more years. But if you stay poor forever because of student debt, it probably has less to do with your educational and borrowing decisions and more to do with your decisions about how to pay it back.

I'm in no way advocating for borrowing large sums of money if there is any way not to. And obviously there is a limit to what is reasonable. If it came down to the fact that there was no way you were going to become a PT without incurring say $300k in student loans, then it might be time to consider some alternatives. In fact I think somewhere between $100-150k is the top limit of what is reasonable. But let's get grounded in reality here and realize that there are more people graduating PT school today who have 6 figure debt than don't. This reality is not changing any time soon, so there is probably going to be little good that comes from thread after thread where we basically tell people how idiotic they are for becoming a PT without being independently wealthy. How about we accept that we can't change the past and offer some real-world workarounds to the situation instead of continuously posting the same trite "warnings" that have been posted 1000 times over.

Note: I am NOT saying all of the above to bash any other posters in this thread in particular. Just expressing frustration at how this topic comes up constantly on this board and we just parrot the same things over and over without ever offering anything truly constructive.

 

[NJ DPT HOPEFUL]

Absolutely correct. Seems like every time I come on this board I see people who seem to believe if you spend more than $60k on your education you will be destined for a life of misery. I fully support encouraging people to not make poor financial decisions. But here's a reality check: The people who have to borrow $100k to become a PT are not the fools. The people who take 25 years to pay it off are.

Some people can't or don't want to work their way through college. In my situation, getting through undergrad without borrowing any money probably would have taken me 10 years. Some people can only reduce their living expenses so much. Some people had almost no scholarship or family help to pay for college through no fault of their own. Please stop telling people not to pursue their goals because of logistical concerns and offer pragmatic advice that helps someone achieve their goals and address the obstacles in the way.

Then people act like loans will be this lifelong onerous burden. If you graduate, get the best paying full-time job you can find and work the equivalent of 4 extra days a month per diem either in an inpatient setting or doing home health, you should be able to dump $100k into student loans in a period of 3-3.5 years. Perhaps you will have to relocate temporarily to a location that offers better earning potential or lower cost of living. Yes, you won't be able to just rest on your laurels after you graduate, you will have to keep working as hard as you did in PT school and living on a student budge for a couple more years. But doing what you have to do to make $2500/month payments for a couple years will save you from making $1000/month payments for most of your adult life. Knock that balance way down as quick as you can, get the rate at which interest is accumulating under control, then you can relax a bit and continue to chip away at what's left.

Yes, if you have large student debt and you want to pay it off quickly, your plans for buying a house, buying new cars, etc etc may be delayed for a couple more years. But if you stay poor forever because of student debt, it probably has less to do with your educational and borrowing decisions and more to do with your decisions about how to pay it back.

I'm in no way advocating for borrowing large sums of money if there is any way not to. And obviously there is a limit to what is reasonable. If it came down to the fact that there was no way you were going to become a PT without incurring say $300k in student loans, then it might be time to consider some alternatives. In fact I think somewhere between $100-150k is the top limit of what is reasonable. But let's get grounded in reality here and realize that there are more people graduating PT school today who have 6 figure debt than don't. This reality is not changing any time soon, so there is probably going to be little good that comes from thread after thread where we basically tell people how idiotic they are for becoming a PT without being independently wealthy. How about we accept that we can't change the past and offer some real-world workarounds to the situation instead of continuously posting the same trite "warnings" that have been posted 1000 times over.

Note: I am NOT saying all of the above to bash any other posters in this thread in particular. Just expressing frustration at how this topic comes up constantly on this board and we just parrot the same things over and over without ever offering anything truly constructive.

Very well said, another thing along the same line I see on here in the warnings is the "taking out 100k loans for a job with a 65k salary." Yeah the average starting salaries might be in that range, but if you are any good that number will go up as you gain experience. If you've been at a job for 5-10 years and haven't gotten a raise, you probably aren't very good at that job.

 

[noyceguy]

It is true that salaries tend to rise over time. It is true that there are various options for paying back a loan. it is true that there are bonuses available to assist you in paying back loans.

However, none these facts trump the basic guidelines of financing debt, one of which is that your overall debt load should be equal or less to your annual starting salary. This is true for any field. Anticipating that you will love your work or that you plan to pay it off quickly does not relieve you of the obligation to stick to this guideline.

http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/how-much-student-debt-is-too-much/?_r=0
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/college-finance/how-much-college-debt-is-too-much-1.aspx

 

[NJ DPT HOPEFUL]

It is true that salaries tend to rise over time. It is true that there are various options for paying back a loan. it is true that there are bonuses available to assist you in paying back loans.

However, none these facts trump the basic guidelines of financing debt, one of which is that your overall debt load should be equal or less to your annual starting salary. This is true for any field. Anticipating that you will love your work or that you plan to pay it off quickly does not relieve you of the obligation to stick to this guideline.

http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/how-much-student-debt-is-too-much/?_r=0
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/college-finance/how-much-college-debt-is-too-much-1.aspx

Those guidelines are nice and all but they aren't an absolute. Also both of those links are over 5 years old. A lot has changed in that time.

Simply put, I can make more in PT even with the added education cost, than I can without a DPT degree. So even taking this as a strictly financial move this is a good move for me.

My mother was a PT for about 20 years and opened four clinics, I know she isn't the typical but she made more than double my education costs annually. There is money to be made if you're great at your job. That and the quality of life being involved in the right profession for me is much more important than any "obligation" to the guidelines of an outdated blog post

 

[NJ DPT HOPEFUL]

A job that pays $65,000 a year should have an educational debt burden of no more than $65,000. Do not take out large loans to get this degree.

First, The average pay for PTs is currently closer to 85k according to the board of labor statistics http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291123.htm

Secondly, you seem really out of touch with the current cost of education, job prospects of the current generation. Staying in the health field with my bachelors I can probably top out at around 40k, and that if I can manage to be offered a full time job, rather than the much more common 30 hour part time jobs that we usually get. Now for PT I can start at or around 65, get up to 85, and that's if I'm completely average (which I don't plan on being). so that's a minimum of a 20-45k raise annually for approximately 75k in additional debt.

For the sake of this discussion let's say I have the same cost of living, lifestyle are exactly the same in both fields. Without getting into too much math I would be able to pay that 75k off pretty quickly and then would have a massive change in salary for the rest of my career.



How about let's take the inverse. Lets say you were offered 75k, or even 100k, but had to give up your license and find another job without your degree or PT work experience? Would you do that? Assuming you aren't about to retire I'd assume that would be a no

 

[DesertPT]

Here's a blog post about the merits of intentionally not paying off your loans quickly. The method this guy describes most definitely would not work for a lot of people, but in his very specific set of circumstances he makes an interesting case. In reality I think this strategy would only pan out as described for a very small percentage of PTs in the long run.

https://fifthwheelpt.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/seek-forgiveness-or-pay-off-your-student-loans-early/