Other OT-Related Information Current OTs - what was your first starting salary?

[Myze]

New grad here, Houston, TX. I've had 3 jobs since I graduated and 4 job offers so I'll give you a quick breakdown of my experiences

Dallas - Outpatient, FT - $30/hour (62K)
Houston - Outpatient hands, PRN 24hrs/week - $40/hour
Houston - Home Health, Contractor - $65/visit
Kansas - Inpatient/Acute, FT travel... roughly $1400 a week after taxes

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[beestrng]

New grad here, Houston, TX. I've had 3 jobs since I graduated and 4 job offers so I'll give you a quick breakdown of my experiences

Dallas - Outpatient, FT - $30/hour (62K)
Houston - Outpatient hands, PRN 24hrs/week - $40/hour
Houston - Home Health, Contractor - $65/visit
Kansas - Inpatient/Acute, FT travel... roughly $1400 a week after taxes

Hi thanks for the info. Is there any other compensation details for the home health visit? Like gas etc?

 

[2016OTHopeful]

Thanks everyone for being candid and chiming in with great info!

I chatted w/ a young OT in Oregon who started in a SNF at $35/hr, and is now in an inpatient acute setting earning $39/hr. These are fulltime rates, PRN in both these settings make more, as is typical.

 

[OldHopeful]

New grad here, Houston, TX. I've had 3 jobs since I graduated and 4 job offers so I'll give you a quick breakdown of my experiences

Dallas - Outpatient, FT - $30/hour (62K)
Houston - Outpatient hands, PRN 24hrs/week - $40/hour
Houston - Home Health, Contractor - $65/visit
Kansas - Inpatient/Acute, FT travel... roughly $1400 a week after taxes

How did you like the travel gig? I am pretty interested in it.

 

[LittlePuppy]

Thanks everyone for being candid and chiming in with great info!

I chatted w/ a young OT in Oregon who started in a SNF at $35/hr, and is now in an inpatient acute setting earning $39/hr. These are fulltime rates, PRN in both these settings make more, as is typical.

By young, I'm assuming he/she is a fresh grad? How many years of experience did that OT get prior to working at the inpatient actue setting? That's my dream field, and $39/hr seems pretty reasonable!

 

[BLS614]

I graduated in December 2016. I work in early intervention in central Virginia. My company is a nonprofit and pays 50k a year for full-time. I do PRN instead and make $60 per visit. Definitely makes more than full time, but I also face a lot of cancellations so sometimes it evens out. My CI in the public schools started at 47k and my CI in an inpatient rehab setting started in the low 60s a year. My friends in private practice peds started at 62k as did my friend in acute care. My friends who work prn in snfs make 50 an hour. I start a travel therapy contract at a school in DC and I'll make 1350 a week after taxes, so with the school schedule, roughly 63k a year AFTER taxes. Travel therapy can definitely be the way to go if you're looking to make more. I plan on doing it for at least a year to create a down payment for a future home. Student loans be damned.

 

[BLS614]

I graduated in December 2016. I work in early intervention in central Virginia. My company is a nonprofit and pays 50k a year for full-time. I do PRN instead and make $60 per visit. Definitely makes more than full time, but I also face a lot of cancellations so sometimes it evens out. My CI in the public schools started at 47k and my CI in an inpatient rehab setting started in the low 60s a year. My friends in private practice peds started at 62k as did my friend in acute care. My friends who work prn in snfs make 50 an hour. I start a travel therapy contract at a school in DC and I'll make 1350 a week after taxes, so with the school schedule, roughly 63k a year AFTER taxes. Travel therapy can definitely be the way to go if you're looking to make more. I plan on doing it for at least a year to create a down payment for a future home. Student loans be damned.

Also, if you're interested in travel therapy, check out the Facebook group Travel Therapy Therapists. It was insanely helpful for me when I was first looking at travel therapy, which I didn't even consider when I was in school. There are tons of posts about how pay works, good companies and recruiters, what a tax home is, and helpful ways to find short term housing.

 

[2016OTHopeful]

By young, I'm assuming he/she is a fresh grad? How many years of experience did that OT get prior to working at the inpatient actue setting? That's my dream field, and $39/hr seems pretty reasonable!

Yep, she's 3 years out of school, I believe! Worked in SNF for a year before switching to acute.

 

[LittlePuppy]

Yep, she's 3 years out of school, I believe! Worked in SNF for a year before switching to acute.

Awesome! Would it be too much to ask where she works or what company she's associated with?

 

[occupationalguy]

USC is 131k? I can't believe the administration at USC thinks that it is ethical to sell students a degree for that cost when they full well know these students will be immersed in debt for the rest of their lives. I hope a person in admissions/administration at USC is reading this: how do you get away with this?
USC is a school that needs no introduction, their academics and OT program are phenomenal; but, unless you plan on becoming a researcher (even then, you will need a PhD) why would you pay this amount for schooling? We do not make more money based on where we go to school, you will be asked if you have a license to practice, and what experience you have. Your future employers do not much care what school you went to, or, what your GPA was. This isn't law school.
I do not understand how a student can pay off 150-200k in debt when we make 65kish at our first jobs, and top off in our careers at 90-100k. Why wouldn't a qualified student forego this and opt for a similar debt load from med school? Doctors make 4-6 times as much as OTs. How does this make any sense? It's outrageous.

 

[occupationalguy]

I'm applying to OT school, but my dad has contacts. A friend of his will start me at $80/hr when I graduate.

My advice: get that offer in writing, especially if the guy was drinking when he made you that offer. The avg OT salary in the US is 75k a year. In middle America you can expect your starting salary to be 65k or so, pop over to the DPT forum to check out the fantasy figures they think they will be making.

In high end markets you can look at your starting salary being around the average salary, or a bit more, like say 85k. I'm curious as to why they would pay a new graduate $163k a year, a figure which is over double the average OT salary in the US. Are you running several private practices? I honestly can tell you I have never heard of an OT making 160k, needless to say a *starting salary* as high as what you are mentioning.

Our salary is directly related to the amount we bring in with reimbursement. Remember that.

 

[occupationalguy]

Just FYI, I am also in Los Angeles. Among my cohort (we graduated about 3 years ago) the average offer was 65 to 70k. Of course there were outliers (especially for home health or snf), but most other jobs offers were in that range (Lowest offer I heard of was 57k at a peds clinic). For home health and snf, the average was probably 68k to 78k. Of course this is all in terms of salary. If we want to talk about billable hour pay, then that system is different (refer to earlier posts).

Resot: Thank you for reinforcing the truth here. I always tell people to expect they will make 65-70k at their first OT job. If you're making more, there is a reason why.

 

[2016OTHopeful]

USC is 131k? I can't believe the administration at USC thinks that it is ethical to sell students a degree for that cost when they full well know these students will be immersed in debt for the rest of their lives. I hope a person in admissions/administration at USC is reading this: how do you get away with this?
USC is a school that needs no introduction, their academics and OT program are phenomenal; but, unless you plan on becoming a researcher (even then, you will need a PhD) why would you pay this amount for schooling? We do not make more money based on where we go to school, you will be asked if you have a license to practice, and what experience you have. Your future employers do not much care what school you went to, or, what your GPA was. This isn't law school.
I do not understand how a student can pay off 150-200k in debt when we make 65kish at our first jobs, and top off in our careers at 90-100k. Why wouldn't a qualified student forego this and opt for a similar debt load from med school? Doctors make 4-6 times as much as OTs. How does this make any sense? It's outrageous.

Random, but I'm curious; how long have you been out of school?

I've been quite pleased with my decision to attend USC. I worked my butt off to get scholarships from both the school as well as external scholarship sources, and I kept my job part-time when I started the program. I 100% stand behind the incredible program and faculty that support us the entire way, and provide us with an amazing education and opportunities for practice. Do other schools provide this for less? Sure. Go do your research and apply to those schools if financially you aren't willing or savvy enough to handle the loans from a program like USC (or the many others that also charge above 100k).

Unethical of USC admin? Please. They're not tricking anyone into paying anything; cost of tuition is clearly outlined on their website (USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy) and easy to find with a 5-second Google search. If you're not smart enough to be able to research salaries, career trajectories, loan structures, and tuition, you're not smart enough to get into OT school anyway, regardless of how much or little it costs.

 

[FINGERS_CROSSED]

Yeah but 130K is an outlier, don't ya think?

 

[occupationalguy]

Random, but I'm curious; how long have you been out of school?

I've been quite pleased with my decision to attend USC. I worked my butt off to get scholarships from both the school as well as external scholarship sources, and I kept my job part-time when I started the program. I 100% stand behind the incredible program and faculty that support us the entire way, and provide us with an amazing education and opportunities for practice. Do other schools provide this for less? Sure. Go do your research and apply to those schools if financially you aren't willing or savvy enough to handle the loans from a program like USC (or the many others that also charge above 100k).

Unethical of USC admin? Please. They're not tricking anyone into paying anything; cost of tuition is clearly outlined on their website (USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy) and easy to find with a 5-second Google search. If you're not smart enough to be able to research salaries, career trajectories, loan structures, and tuition, you're not smart enough to get into OT school anyway, regardless of how much or little it costs.

I'm glad you feel good about your choice to attend USC, no sarcasm implied in my comment, it's great. The concern I have is the very decision to charge such an astronomical rate of tuition for clinicians who will make nowhere near that much money; not to mention how students from disadvantaged backgrounds are being disenfranchised by those tuition rates. The tuition being charged is approaching medical school debt, for a profession in which clinicians can count on making a fraction of a physician's salary.

Personally if I was in charge of USC's program I would elect to raise the school's already high regard by dipping into the earned interest on their endowment as Harvard does and admit each OT student to a full or hefty partial scholarship. USC could easily afford to charge the 50-60k that so many first tier schools do. You mention the myriad of schools which also charge over 100k; unlike USC some of these schools are for profit, or have less impressive academic rigor and research. In the later case the tuition rates are not only unethical, it should be prohibited by law at public schools.

No OT or PT program should exceed 100k; I think it is unethical to charge that much when they know full well what the market is like for OTs. Has anyone thought why public institutions funded with our tax dollars are permitted to charge the cost of a house or a hefty downpayment on one for a public education?

 

[OT2BE2017]

USC is 131k? I can't believe the administration at USC thinks that it is ethical to sell students a degree for that cost when they full well know these students will be immersed in debt for the rest of their lives. I hope a person in admissions/administration at USC is reading this: how do you get away with this?
USC is a school that needs no introduction, their academics and OT program are phenomenal; but, unless you plan on becoming a researcher (even then, you will need a PhD) why would you pay this amount for schooling? We do not make more money based on where we go to school, you will be asked if you have a license to practice, and what experience you have. Your future employers do not much care what school you went to, or, what your GPA was. This isn't law school.
I do not understand how a student can pay off 150-200k in debt when we make 65kish at our first jobs, and top off in our careers at 90-100k. Why wouldn't a qualified student forego this and opt for a similar debt load from med school? Doctors make 4-6 times as much as OTs. How does this make any sense? It's outrageous.

Everyone needs some Dave Ramsey in their lives. It has helped me pay off $30k of undergrad loans within 8 months, so I can save and go to an affordable graduate school debt free!!

 

[occupationalguy]

Everyone needs some Dave Ramsey in their lives. It has helped me pay off $30k of undergrad loans within 8 months, so I can save and go to an affordable graduate school debt free!!

30k - that's cute!

 

[OT2BE2017]

30k - that's cute!

Luckily, I was smart and went to an "affordable" undergrad as well. Gotta love state schools!

 

[beestrng]

Luckily, I was smart and went to an "affordable" undergrad as well. Gotta love state schools!

You calling me dumb bruh?

 

[occupationalguy]

No! I meant I have a lot of student loans, sadly!

 

[beestrng]

No! I meant I have a lot of student loans, sadly!

I got that 100k debt tho. So pretty dumb.

 

[dobber]

#team100kdebt

I'll be living with my parents for the forseeable future lol

 

[occupationalguy]

#team100kdebt

I'll be living with my parents for the forseeable future lol

Already in that club. Thoroughly depressing. To get out of this debt I either need to be part of the student public service loan forgiveness program (the one that our secretary of education and president want to axe entirely from the budget) or aggressively pay off my debts and live with mom and dad for a few years. To actually pay all of this off AND save enough to buy a house will require 3-4 years. It's so depressing it's hard to think about sometimes.

 

[BLS614]

Already in that club. Thoroughly depressing. To get out of this debt I either need to be part of the student public service loan forgiveness program (the one that our secretary of education and president want to axe entirely from the budget) or aggressively pay off my debts and live with mom and dad for a few years. To actually pay all of this off AND save enough to buy a house will require 3-4 years. It's so depressing it's hard to think about sometimes.

The public service loan forgiveness program cuts proposed by the new administration would apply to loans taken out in 2017 or after, so luckily those cuts wouldn't affect those of us already done with school. I have nearly 100k in debt and I had no undergrad debt and went to an in-state public university for my MSOT. Seven semesters of full time tuition and 2.5 years of living expenses add up and the interest rates are awful! I agree with you on finding the cheapest school possible. Our degrees aren't compensated enough for those tuitions, which is why I'm also very much against entry level OTD programs, which my school now does exclusively over the MSOT. I start a travel job in a couple weeks and my goal is to save enough money for a house down payment in a year. I eventually want to be a school system OT, so I'm going to be relying on that PSLF very soon. It's the only feasible way for me to get rid of the loans in less than 25 years.

 

[Bokonomy]

Already in that club. Thoroughly depressing. To get out of this debt I either need to be part of the student public service loan forgiveness program (the one that our secretary of education and president want to axe entirely from the budget) or aggressively pay off my debts and live with mom and dad for a few years. To actually pay all of this off AND save enough to buy a house will require 3-4 years. It's so depressing it's hard to think about sometimes.

I've read that those of us who are in a program or who graduated will be grandfathered in for PSLF. I'll look for the source that claimed it later. So while we'll be okay, I wouldn't recommend this route to be grads.

 

[Bokonomy]

The public service loan forgiveness program cuts proposed by the new administration would apply to loans taken out in 2017 or after, so luckily those cuts wouldn't affect those of us already done with school. I have nearly 100k in debt and I had no undergrad debt and went to an in-state public university for my MSOT. Seven semesters of full time tuition and 2.5 years of living expenses add up and the interest rates are awful! I agree with you on finding the cheapest school possible. Our degrees aren't compensated enough for those tuitions, which is why I'm also very much against entry level OTD programs, which my school now does exclusively over the MSOT. I start a travel job in a couple weeks and my goal is to save enough money for a house down payment in a year. I eventually want to be a school system OT, so I'm going to be relying on that PSLF very soon. It's the only feasible way for me to get rid of the loans in less than 25 years.

I've read that it's for new borrowers, which would be someone not already enrolled in a program. So those of us who are already in OT school are okay, but the new enrollees won't be. Under the Trump adminstration, it would be risky to go to an expensive school.

 

[slpOT]

Maybe there's a more appropriate thread to ask this question, but for companies that offer tuition reimbursement, what are the usual stipulations? Is it $xxxxx per year immediately, or after so many years working full-time, or.....? I found out that my 1st level 2 site offers reimbursement if you sign full-time with the company after 6+ weeks of internship (which I'd qualify for), but have yet to find a straight answer about the terms. Just looking to compare between companies!

 

[beestrng]

Maybe there's a more appropriate thread to ask this question, but for companies that offer tuition reimbursement, what are the usual stipulations? Is it $xxxxx per year immediately, or after so many years working full-time, or.....? I found out that my 1st level 2 site offers reimbursement if you sign full-time with the company after 6+ weeks of internship (which I'd qualify for), but have yet to find a straight answer about the terms. Just looking to compare between companies!

Clawback and they may pay you half of it end of year for 2 years.

 

[OurJourneyToOT]

.

 

[occupationalguy]

I currently live in a large metro area (coastal), and I make $50 an hour with a contract company working in a school district. The pay is much better than regular district employees until you factor a couple things:
1- I get three sick days
2- I do not get paid if I do not work. I get no vacation days. I do not get paid when school is not in session (Christmas break etc)

Benefits:
1- I do get health insurance through my company, but it's not so great
2- I do get a 401k But it's not so great, with no matching funds
3- I make $50 an hour, which is way more than the entry level OT salary of 45-50k a year
4- I CAN work for $50 an hourish in the summer as a traveling OT. I won't take anything less.
5- I only work 180 days a calendar year.

Is this winning? Not so sure. I can honestly say that at 1600 bucks a month my rent is rather expensive. If I wanted to be a district employee I could, but my income would drop very very far. I would get a lot more benefits, including being in a union, and, have a plush retirement. If anyone is going to take contract work, ask the following:

1. How many sick days do I get?
2- Do I get vacation time?
3- Do I get healthcare, and how much are the premiums and what is the deductible
4- Am I precluded from student loan forgiveness program (the answer is nearly always yes, even if you are in a non profit enviornment as I am)
5- Do you have any student loan repayment programs (it's usually paltry if it exists)

I feel really awful for the students with the six figure debt load. I live very comfortably for a single man, but I can't imagine this salary with a family to support.

 

[occupationalguy]

I've read that those of us who are in a program or who graduated will be grandfathered in for PSLF. I'll look for the source that claimed it later. So while we'll be okay, I wouldn't recommend this route to be grads.

Hopefully, probably, maybe. No one knows. The theory is that we are grandfathered in with our promissory note. A court ruled that any changes would need to be approved by congress. The likely form of that would be in a budget. The Republican Party controls every house of congress and the White House. If Trump passes his budget, this program will be axed. The rationale I heard expressed by our secretary of "education" is that truck drivers are subsidizing "rich" students like us. What a *&%?$!. The better question is: why are PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES like USC, UCLA, etc charging six figures for an OT degree? They get public tax money to run their universities. Tuition should be free at public universities like it was in the 1960s when my dad went to them. You get the government you clamor for, most Americans believe education is a private for profit experience.

 

[OurJourneyToOT]

I currently live in a large metro area (coastal), and I make $50 an hour with a contract company working in a school district. The pay is much better than regular district employees until you factor a couple things:
1- I get three sick days
2- I do not get paid if I do not work. I get no vacation days. I do not get paid when school is not in session (Christmas break etc)

Benefits:
1- I do get health insurance through my company, but it's not so great
2- I do get a 401k But it's not so great, with no matching funds
3- I make $50 an hour, which is way more than the entry level OT salary of 45-50k a year
4- I CAN work for $50 an hourish in the summer as a traveling OT. I won't take anything less.
5- I only work 180 days a calendar year.

Is this winning? Not so sure. I can honestly say that at 1600 bucks a month my rent is rather expensive. If I wanted to be a district employee I could, but my income would drop very very far. I would get a lot more benefits, including being in a union, and, have a plush retirement. If anyone is going to take contract work, ask the following:

1. How many sick days do I get?
2- Do I get vacation time?
3- Do I get healthcare, and how much are the premiums and what is the deductible
4- Am I precluded from student loan forgiveness program (the answer is nearly always yes, even if you are in a non profit enviornment as I am)
5- Do you have any student loan repayment programs (it's usually paltry if it exists)

I feel really awful for the students with the six figure debt load. I live very comfortably for a single man, but I can't imagine this salary with a family to support.

I've seen two recent job posting straight from the district website in my county for school based that offers 103,000 a year salary... and they consider new grads with school based experience.. and an immediate family member of mine runs a contracting home health agency paying new grads. 75 a visit ( OT & PT ) 50 a visit for pta and ota and higher pay for SOC (start of care visits) and I know a RN in home health whoee agency pays OT 85 a visit and there are OTs who do more than 6 visits a day at that rate 5 days a week...

 

[OurJourneyToOT]

On

Hopefully, probably, maybe. No one knows. The theory is that we are grandfathered in with our promissory note. A court ruled that any changes would need to be approved by congress. The likely form of that would be in a budget. The Republican Party controls every house of congress and the White House. If Trump passes his budget, this program will be axed. The rationale I heard expressed by our secretary of "education" is that truck drivers are subsidizing "rich" students like us. What a *&%?$!. The better question is: why are PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES like USC, UCLA, etc charging six figures for an OT degree? They get public tax money to run their universities. Tuition should be free at public universities like it was in the 1960s when my dad went to them. You get the government you clamor for, most Americans believe education is a private for profit experience.

on a side note ppl shld not be pursuing this field for the money period. It bothers me so much ppl pursue this field or any field for the pay.. when I personally don't care I legitimately love this field and call me crazy but I legit believe I am called to this field.. to me getting paid to do what I'm called to do is an extra blessing in itself.

 

[LittlePuppy]

On

on a side note ppl shld not be pursuing this field for the money period. It bothers me so much ppl pursue this field or any field for the pay.. when I personally don't care I legitimately love this field and call me crazy but I legit believe I am called to this field.. to me getting paid to do what I'm called to do is an extra blessing in itself.

That would be the ideal way to look at it.. but school ain’t cheap

 

[OT2Be17]

I've seen two recent job posting straight from the district website in my county for school based that offers 103,000 a year salary... and they consider new grads with school based experience.. and an immediate family member of mine runs a contracting home health agency paying new grads. 75 a visit ( OT & PT ) 50 a visit for pta and ota and higher pay for SOC (start of care visits) and I know a RN in home health whoee agency pays OT 85 a visit and there are OTs who do more than 6 visits a day at that rate 5 days a week...

Can I ask where you live?

 

[OurJourneyToOT]

Can I ask where you live?

So cal. Inland Empire.

 

[slpOT]

I currently live in a large metro area (coastal), and I make $50 an hour with a contract company working in a school district. The pay is much better than regular district employees until you factor a couple things:
1- I get three sick days
2- I do not get paid if I do not work. I get no vacation days. I do not get paid when school is not in session (Christmas break etc)

Benefits:
1- I do get health insurance through my company, but it's not so great
2- I do get a 401k But it's not so great, with no matching funds
3- I make $50 an hour, which is way more than the entry level OT salary of 45-50k a year
4- I CAN work for $50 an hourish in the summer as a traveling OT. I won't take anything less.
5- I only work 180 days a calendar year.

Is this winning? Not so sure. I can honestly say that at 1600 bucks a month my rent is rather expensive. If I wanted to be a district employee I could, but my income would drop very very far. I would get a lot more benefits, including being in a union, and, have a plush retirement. If anyone is going to take contract work, ask the following:

1. How many sick days do I get?
2- Do I get vacation time?
3- Do I get healthcare, and how much are the premiums and what is the deductible
4- Am I precluded from student loan forgiveness program (the answer is nearly always yes, even if you are in a non profit enviornment as I am)
5- Do you have any student loan repayment programs (it's usually paltry if it exists)

I feel really awful for the students with the six figure debt load. I live very comfortably for a single man, but I can't imagine this salary with a family to support.

How do you like the school setting? Do you have to travel between schools, or do you have a base in a particular one? I did 140 hours for my undergrad senior practicum w/ an OT in an amazing preschool prep program as part of the public school distric & connected to an elementary school... but I think that I was spoiled & got to see the best case scenario for a school OT. Definitely interested in going into a school maybe later on in life.

 

[resot]

Hopefully, probably, maybe. No one knows. The theory is that we are grandfathered in with our promissory note. A court ruled that any changes would need to be approved by congress. The likely form of that would be in a budget. The Republican Party controls every house of congress and the White House. If Trump passes his budget, this program will be axed. The rationale I heard expressed by our secretary of "education" is that truck drivers are subsidizing "rich" students like us. What a *&%?$!. The better question is: why are PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES like USC, UCLA, etc charging six figures for an OT degree? They get public tax money to run their universities. Tuition should be free at public universities like it was in the 1960s when my dad went to them. You get the government you clamor for, most Americans believe education is a private for profit experience.

First, I 100% agree that schools cost way too much. However, just to clarify your posting.

USC is a private university. I don’t know whether or not they are accepting public tax money like you stated, but they are private.

And UCLA is a public university, but they do not have an OT program at the moment.

As far as I know, the only 2 public universities in CA for OT are CSUDH and San Jose State. If there are others, please feel free to correct and clarify.

 

[occupationalguy]

I've seen two recent job posting straight from the district website in my county for school based that offers 103,000 a year salary... and they consider new grads with school based experience.. and an immediate family member of mine runs a contracting home health agency paying new grads. 75 a visit ( OT & PT ) 50 a visit for pta and ota and higher pay for SOC (start of care visits) and I know a RN in home health whoee agency pays OT 85 a visit and there are OTs who do more than 6 visits a day at that rate 5 days a week...

School districts doing direct hire work off a salary schedule. Salary in school districts is determined by the number of years and degree level which you possess. For every OT school job I have seen that hovers at 40-50k a year. Eventually you MAYY reach 6 figures as your years of service and/or your degree level increases immediately prior to retirement. How can someone enter the salary grade 1 at 103K ???? I sometimes think directors of admissions to OT programs post these fantastical ideas: making 75 an hour as an OT, or six figures as a starting school therapist. Please take these posts with a grain of salt, don't count on it.

If you have a link to the district, please post, I'd love to see that. That is over double the pay entry level OTs make in my district. If this is true, I am ready to quit immediately.

 

[occupationalguy]

On

on a side note ppl shld not be pursuing this field for the money period. It bothers me so much ppl pursue this field or any field for the pay.. when I personally don't care I legitimately love this field and call me crazy but I legit believe I am called to this field.. to me getting paid to do what I'm called to do is an extra blessing in itself.

Well that's good for you. I have student loan payments, car payments, some of us have children, mortgage payments, clothing food and all the other things in life. Sadly I don't have a choice but for pay to matter to me. Don't be surprised that some of us worry about it.

 

[OurJourneyToOT]

Wow, well that's good for you. There are some of us who have student loan payments, car payments, children, mortgage payments, clothing food and all the other things in life. Yep, pay matters to me. That's fine that it doesn't matter to you, but don't be surprised that some of us worry about it.

Idk why you're so aggressive in your response. Honestly you sound like you have some sort of regret entering the field based on finances. I get the needs.. but I think if your heart isn't in it to truly help people in the field of OT you should consider another field. On another note, it isn't a director of an OT program posting $75 a VISIT in home health.. once again I worked in the home health field for ~6 years and the person that runs the agency is family. And the county OT jobs...FYI entry level is 90,000.. and the school based is 103,000. You can look it up on Edjoin.org. And I also shadow a county contracting OT, also county and state jobs their salary is made available to public since it's based on tax payers. Also, LLU OT hires at 47-50 an hour.. 8 hours shift.

And your "good for you" attitude about my comment how people should do this field not for the money is pretty rude and condescending. I know people have mortgage, loan payments, kids, etc etc do not speak to me about that I too am an adult and not a traditional typical youngster. However, when you're motivation and number one concern is money, you're losing sight on the importance of people's lives! That's my opinion. How many times I walk into the doctors office or ER and 95% of the RNs are terrible. They all look miserable, they are as competent as they should.. and honestly I blame that on the fact the need for nurses led to a bunch of people going into the profession for the money.. and I think is a shame if that's what happens to OT. The people we encounter need us to truly want to be there for them, it is sad when we treat patients like it's a chore! Would you want your elderly parent needing OT be treated as if they're a chore? just a thought.

 

[lao27746]

Wow, well that's good for you. There are some of us who have student loan payments, car payments, children, mortgage payments, clothing food and all the other things in life. Yep, pay matters to me. That's fine that it doesn't matter to you, but don't be surprised that some of us worry about it.[/QUOTE

School districts doing direct hire work off a salary schedule. Salary in school districts is determined by the number of years and degree level which you possess. For every OT school job I have seen that hovers at 40-50k a year. Eventually you MAYY reach 6 figures as your years of service and/or your degree level increases immediately prior to retirement. How can someone enter the salary grade 1 at 103K ???? I sometimes think directors of admissions to OT programs post these fantastical ideas: making 75 an hour as an OT, or six figures as a starting school therapist. Please take these posts with a grain of salt, don't count on it.

If you have a link to the district, please post, I'd love to see that. That is over double the pay entry level OTs make in my district. If this is true, I am ready to quit immediately.

I saw a newspaper article about an elementary school in Arizona starting 2 OT's out at 103,000 each at a school district. I agree that's not the norm but I guess it happens. live in CA and one of the biggest school districts on the west side starts OT's out at 75,000 a year and by 5 years OT's earn a little over 90,000. For accurate salary info, I just check transparent California. They post all public employees salaries.

 

[occupationalguy]

"For accurate salary info, I just check transparent California. They post all public employees salaries"

Sure you can see the salaries made by public employees here as well. The thing you don't see is how many years these employees have put into their districts: in my district the people who make 100k have been there for 20-30 years.

 

[occupationalguy]

Idk why you're so aggressive in your response. Honestly you sound like you have some sort of regret entering the field based on finances. I get the needs.. but I think if your heart isn't in it to truly help people in the field of OT you should consider another field. On another note, it isn't a director of an OT program posting $75 a VISIT in home health.. once again I worked in the home health field for ~6 years and the person that runs the agency is family. And the county OT jobs...FYI entry level is 90,000.. and the school based is 103,000. You can look it up on Edjoin.org. And I also shadow a county contracting OT, also county and state jobs their salary is made available to public since it's based on tax payers. Also, LLU OT hires at 47-50 an hour.. 8 hours shift.

And your "good for you" attitude about my comment how people should do this field not for the money is pretty rude and condescending. I know people have mortgage, loan payments, kids, etc etc do not speak to me about that I too am an adult and not a traditional typical youngster. However, when you're motivation and number one concern is money, you're losing sight on the importance of people's lives! That's my opinion. How many times I walk into the doctors office or ER and 95% of the RNs are terrible. They all look miserable, they are as competent as they should.. and honestly I blame that on the fact the need for nurses led to a bunch of people going into the profession for the money.. and I think is a shame if that's what happens to OT. The people we encounter need us to truly want to be there for them, it is sad when we treat patients like it's a chore! Would you want your elderly parent needing OT be treated as if they're a chore? just a thought.

You have chosen to see implied sarcasm where none exists. I have posted the BLS data about the average OT hourly pay by sector. I have heard a lot of accusations thrown at nurses and OTs etc over the years but I've never heard of someone accusing nurses of choosing their profession for the money. Same with us. The average OT salary in this country is 80 k. I don't doubt that in parts of this country income is going to be adjusted to some extent to accommodate the high cost of living; but in general you will find that salaries will comply with the BLS stats, or else they wouldn't be stats. I would hate someone reading this forum to believe that the average school position is 90-100k.

The average nurse's salary is 71k, the average OT salary is 80k a year, and it isn't typical to be hired on into a big organization at the median salary, or it wouldn't be a median salary it would be a starting salary; that figure often hovers in the 60k range. Many of us have six figure medical school sized debts (and we make a fraction of what a MD does). As we move to the OTD those debts will only increase, but incomes will not increase along with this added cost. I chose my profession to make a difference in patients lives, we can talk more about that and our experiences with patients, conditions and my commitment to patient wellness: but this thread is centered around salary, not patient care. I have to pay my student loans back, keep the lights on in my apartment, and put food on the table.

I think prospective OTs should know what they are getting into with debt load, and have realistic salary expectations.

 

[occupationalguy]

How do you like the school setting? Do you have to travel between schools, or do you have a base in a particular one? I did 140 hours for my undergrad senior practicum w/ an OT in an amazing preschool prep program as part of the public school distric & connected to an elementary school... but I think that I was spoiled & got to see the best case scenario for a school OT. Definitely interested in going into a school maybe later on in life.

I LOVE it. The kids are a joy to work with, even the "difficult" cases. You will find that there are a lot of meetings (IEP, team meetings etc) and a LOT of documentation requirements. You get to work more independently compared to working in a clinic or hospital when you conduct your treatment sessions. I like it a lot.

 

[Bokonomy]

I LOVE it. The kids are a joy to work with, even the "difficult" cases. You will find that there are a lot of meetings (IEP, team meetings etc) and a LOT of documentation requirements. You get to work more independently compared to working in a clinic or hospital when you conduct your treatment sessions. I like it a lot.

It's always nice to hear someone who enjoys schools. There's a lot of criticism of OTs in schools having to do a lot of handwriting. Do you feel that it's true?

 

[beestrng]

I LOVE it. The kids are a joy to work with, even the "difficult" cases. You will find that there are a lot of meetings (IEP, team meetings etc) and a LOT of documentation requirements. You get to work more independently compared to working in a clinic or hospital when you conduct your treatment sessions. I like it a lot.

Are there direct hire opportunities available for schools? I do not see many in my state compared to contract jobs with Soliant etc. Benefits/pay are pretty much the same as you shared.

How long do you work on paperwork/teacher/parents compared to actual tx time?

 

[occupationalguy]

Are there direct hire opportunities available for schools?

Absolutely! You need to search for district HR websites.

I do not see many in my state compared to contract jobs with Soliant etc. Benefits/pay are pretty much the same as you shared.

Exactly. If you know you want to stay in that state or district I strongly encourage you to look for HR websites of the districts. The benefits balance out the lower pay as a direct hire; personally I need benefits. You start to make higher pay as you get closer to retiring in the schools, however, when you factor in the lower pay in your earlier years....well.

How long do you work on paperwork/teacher/parents compared to actual tx time?

I won't lie. The paperwork shuffle is immense, and I shuttle between 4-5 schools throughout the district. It's nice because it breaks up your day and you're not micromanaged. I would say 50% of the day is spent doing paperwork & meetings. Some days are very long when you have early morning and late IEP/student meetings. Other days are regular school day length, all depends.

 

[occupationalguy]

It's always nice to hear someone who enjoys schools. There's a lot of criticism of OTs in schools having to do a lot of handwriting. Do you feel that it's true?

Absolutely. Many teachers are under the impression that poor handwriting is a justification for OT services being provided and you have this constant struggle with other clinicians who aren't aware that we don't do spelling tutoring. If there is a fine motor deficit then we certainly treat, otherwise, poor handwriting can often require practice. Schools no longer teach handwriting.

 

[OTDxtravel]

Los Angeles, CA - $40/hour + benefits in acute care at a large university hospital , PRN $75/hour early intervention pediatrics