For Those of You Who Are "Older"...

[meliffy18]

...what has your support system been like when you decided to make a career change and go for your DPT? As I mentioned before, I am a 29 year old marketing professional but I really hate my field. I can't stand being stuck behind a desk for 9 hours a day and some of the practices behind marketing/advertising I have grown to loathe.

My boyfriend & family are extremely excited for me to be going back to school to pursue something I love. Everyone else, however, is not. They've actually been giving me a really hard time about it, telling me I should stick with what I'm experienced in and "ride it out" because I'm not married w/ kids yet and I should settle down. I just can't see the point in doing something you hate for the rest of your life just because it's what you know. If I'm miserable, who would want to be with me and if I decided to have kids, what kind of environment would that be for them?!

Has anyone else had this experience too?

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[jbizzle]

Not old at all. Check out the link, it's another thread, all you had to do is scroll down and find it. Im 25 and will be 26 next August 30 when most programs start btw. Im not a career changer, I just couldn't get accepted the first time I applied.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=768086

 

[Muscles00GT]

From what I've seen, you're not old at all. Heck, I'm only 23 and I consider myself old. If I don't get in this admissions cycle (I would be 24 once the program starts), I don't plan on re-applying...I just can't see myself being 25 and starting a 3 year graduate program. I'll definitely pursue something else.

 

[callmecrazy]

My boyfriend & family are extremely excited for me to be going back to school to pursue something I love

In my opinion, these are the only people you should be concerned with having support from. Over the course of earning your DPT, these are the people you'll be turning to for support and encouragement. When I decided to leave my career(s) and go back to school, my husband and family were behind me 100%. Honestly, it would have been really hard to move forward if I didn't have their support. If it's your dream and those that know you best are backing you, just ignore all the naysayers. I still have people question why I wouldn't "just take a job as a teacher; you would get summers off!" Clearly they don't understand why I chose a new career path that would make me happier in the long run, and I think that's the part you have to remember, that you are making a positive change for YOU.

 

[jbizzle]

From what I've seen, you're not old at all. Heck, I'm only 23 and I consider myself old. If I don't get in this admissions cycle (I would be 24 once the program starts), I don't plan on re-applying...I just can't see myself being 25 and starting a 3 year graduate program. I'll definitely pursue something else.

Muscles, what would you pursue. I had the same problem...but I didn't know what to pursue. Honestly if I had known, I wouldn't be on this forum anymore because I really did give up.

Basically after I graduated from Undergrad in 2008 at 22 > skipped fall 2008 admissions > turned 23 while applying for 2009 admissions > Rejected to all > turned 24 > like what you are saying now, I was going to pursue something else > couldn't figure what to pursue other than PT > turned 25 while applying for 2011 > start a program at 26 in the fall if I get accepted.

BTW, some program are 2.5 years...if that matters

 

[markelmarcel]

First, I have to giggle at most of us who have responded and we're all in our mid-20s, when I know for a fact there are some people in their 30s-40s applying as well

Anyway, I'm 25, I will be 26 when I start (if I get accepted) and done by the time I'm 29. A doctorate at 29 sounds like a better life plan that what I had planned originally. (My first degree is in elementary education, so I would've originally been looking to teach in a permanent position for 5 years and only have my masters degree completed. And that's not counting the 2 years I did "waste" substitute teaching because I couldn't get a full-time job. Who knows, I could've been subbing until I was 30!)


For me, the support of my boyfriend and family has been invaluable. Yes, other people always think that "they" know best, and I had a LOT of people continuously ask "Why" I was giving up on teaching with my first degree.

They put you in a situation where you feel like you have to justify yourself, and guess what-- we don't! This has taken me some time to figure out. I am a people-pleaser, one who is always concerned about what other people think...

But, guess what? Those "other people" aren't living MY life, I am! And so, I'm going to do what I want! *finger snap*

 

[phil10]

I am a 29 year old marketing professional but I really hate my field. I can't stand being stuck behind a desk for 9 hours a day and some of the practices behind marketing/advertising I have grown to loathe.

At 33, I quit a fairly high-paying job with MegaCorp to join the Peace Corps (I had been asked to perform an unethical act, and I refused to go along). Thanks to the Peace Corps, I went to places most people would never get to see, and did things very few people get to do.

At 38, I started MBA school. I was the second-oldest student in my class.

And if all goes well, I'll apply to DPT school next year, at 52.

When I talk to the folks who used to work with me at MegaCorp and who are still there, they're all miserable and hate their jobs. Would you want to be like them, 30 years from now?

Of course, everybody called me "crazy" when I joined the Peace Corps. It was the best thing I ever did.

Bottom line - do what you want, and do not listen to the naysayers.

 

[markelmarcel]

I still have people question why I wouldn't "just take a job as a teacher; you would get summers off!" Clearly they don't understand why I chose a new career path that would make me happier in the long run, and I think that's the part you have to remember, that you are making a positive change for YOU.

Is your first degree in education too? Mine is, and I constantly get people asking why I didn't just take the teaching job... Well, because #1 I couldn't get a job (I went to about 7 interviews, didn't get a job with any of them, when I asked for tips on how to make myself a better candidate I was repeatedly told I was the perfect candidate, I answered questions thoroughly, had great experiences and was very personable... Then, I found out so-and-so on the school board's niece applied... Too many politics for me!) and #2 maybe, I have decided I wouldn't be happy teaching in a school setting.

I feel my education degree has prepared me really well for the PT profession.

 

[meliffy18]

First, I have to giggle at most of us who have responded and we're all in our mid-20s, when I know for a fact there are some people in their 30s-40s applying as well

SO true! Actually, my aunt is changing careers and going to get her Masters in OT; she is 45. She is actually the one who inspired me to drop everything and pursue what I love.

They put you in a situation where you feel like you have to justify yourself, and guess what-- we don't! This has taken me some time to figure out. I am a people-pleaser, one who is always concerned about what other people think...

But, guess what? Those "other people" aren't living MY life, I am! And so, I'm going to do what I want! *finger snap*

You are completely right. I am the same way; I always let what other people say affect my decisions. I went from being so excited and so happy for finally figuring out what I want to do with my life to second guessing everything. I told my BF and he put it into perspective; a lot of the people who are telling me not to do it are kind of stuck where they are based on choices they made. I'm not judging how they are living their lives but I know they're not happy with where they are right now. And if I didn't go through with DPT, I would be stuck right where they are for the rest of my life. I'd rather sacrifice 5 years of hard work to be happy than choose to be comfortable and endure 40 years of being miserable!

 

[Muscles00GT]

Muscles, what would you pursue. I had the same problem...but I didn't know what to pursue. Honestly if I had known, I wouldn't be on this forum anymore because I really did give up.

Basically after I graduated from Undergrad in 2008 at 22 > skipped fall 2008 admissions > turned 23 while applying for 2009 admissions > Rejected to all > turned 24 > like what you are saying now, I was going to pursue something else > couldn't figure what to pursue other than PT > turned 25 while applying for 2011 > start a program at 26 in the fall if I get accepted.

BTW, some program are 2.5 years...if that matters

Honestly, I'm not sure. My undergrad is in Kinesiology. There are jobs out there for health fitness specialists/exercise physiologists/etc, but those aren't exactly "good" paying jobs, so to be honest, I'm not sure. I graduated undergrad in Dec. of 2009. I've been working with PT's ever since I graduated...really not making much money at all. I'm in a ton of debt from undergrad. The amount of debt I'll be in after grad school kinda scares me. If I don't get into a DPT program this round, I'm going to be forced to leave my current job and pursue a salaried, full-time position just to pay back loans and basic bills. If I wanted to apply all over again, I'd have to take a few pre-reqs over and then who knows what I would do for LOR's? I'd feel like an idiot coming back and asking the same PT's I worked with to write me another LOR.

That's just how I look at things. I really don't know where I'm going to end up and quite frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way. I like the idea of the unknown. I'd hate to be put in a spot to where I know exactly where I'll be one year from now, five years from now, ten years from now...etc.

 

[jbizzle]

I'm in a ton of debt from undergrad. The amount of debt I'll be in after grad school kinda scares me. If I don't get into a DPT program this round, I'm going to be forced to leave my current job and pursue a salaried, full-time position just to pay back loans and basic bills. If I wanted to apply all over again, I'd have to take a few pre-reqs over and then who knows what I would do for LOR's? I'd feel like an idiot coming back and asking the same PT's I worked with to write me another LOR.

Dude, I feel ya man. Economy sucks right now too. You bring up the fact the you may feel like an idiot if you try to reapply and ask for LORs from the same people....I felt the same way (one of the reasons why I didn't apply for fall 2010).

But I told myself to try one last time no matter what and went back to the exact same PTs and professors that wrote me letters the first time which was in 2008 and told them that, each school had "record breaking" applicants this year, etc. Honestly though, when I walked in to one of the PT clinics I volunteered at, they remembered me and all thought I was coming for an internship when they saw me. Then once I told them I didn't get in I was so embarassed, but they still wrote me LORs.

So i know what you mean, being reluctant to ask for LORs again.

 

[Muscles00GT]

Dude, I feel ya man. Economy sucks right now too. You bring up the fact the you may feel like an idiot if you try to reapply and ask for LORs from the same people....I felt the same way (one of the reasons why I didn't apply for fall 2010).

But I told myself to try one last time no matter what and went back to the exact same PTs and professors that wrote me letters the first time which was in 2008 and told them that, each school had "record breaking" applicants this year, etc. Honestly though, when I walked in to one of the PT clinics I volunteered at, they remembered me and all thought I was coming for an internship when they saw me. Then once I told them I didn't get in I was so embarassed, but they still wrote me LORs.

So i know what you mean, being reluctant to ask for LORs again.

Exactly. The PT's I have been working with are real cool and they are always joking around, "you'll be doing a clinical here before you know it and you'll already know everything" and things along the lines of, "you start school soon" and "you're going to be a great PT," etc. etc.

They tell me not to worry, but like I stated, I don't have the best of grades and unfortunately, schools place such a heavy emphasis on numbers without even taking into considering things that happened during undergrad. But I can't change they way they admit applicants..it is what it is.

 

[jbizzle]

Exactly. The PT's I have been working with are real cool and they are always joking around, "you'll be doing a clinical here before you know it and you'll already know everything" and things along the lines of, "you start school soon" and "you're going to be a great PT," etc. etc.

Maybe you can start softening them up. Like when they say "school starts soon!" or "when do you leave for PT school" maybe you can say; "not yet, I gotta get accepted first"

But I'll be done after this time too. And i'll be definitely old for a fall program starting in 2012.

 

[callmecrazy]

Is your first degree in education too? Mine is, and I constantly get people asking why I didn't just take the teaching job... Well, because #1 I couldn't get a job (I went to about 7 interviews, didn't get a job with any of them, when I asked for tips on how to make myself a better candidate I was repeatedly told I was the perfect candidate, I answered questions thoroughly, had great experiences and was very personable... Then, I found out so-and-so on the school board's niece applied... Too many politics for me!) and #2 maybe, I have decided I wouldn't be happy teaching in a school setting.

I feel my education degree has prepared me really well for the PT profession.

I was a bio major, but with secondary ed certification. Teaching positions are hard to come by here, especially if you are certified in a specific content area. And like you, I realized I wouldn't be happy doing that forever. You will definitely use your background in education in PT school and beyond though.

 

[lee9786]

I'll be 30 not too far from now. I'm still walking so I'm not calling it old. Besides family cheering me on from the sideline, they will not be able to help me out financially to do this. I'm 100 percent dependent on loans and my ability to play a music gig now and then for some additional spending cash which is peanuts in comparison to what I'm looking to spend. I'm still not sold that I'll get enough in loans to be able to finance this. I'm still not sold that I even should try to get these loans out to finance this.

As for others influencing your decision to do what you want with your life, I think I worded it pretty much sums it up. You have one life to live. Unless your decisions are going to hurt someone else that depends on you such as a child, I would do what you feel you need to. Would this be easier with a child, a mortgage, etc? I'd say it's an anchor that limits personal potential.

As for recommendation letters, I find this to be an awkward proposition. Not able to find a job as a PT aide, my observation hours are all over the place, and I have not been able to establish any real relationship with a PT. I find this to be my main bottleneck. As for asking for them again from the same therapist, ask them to save it because with 300 apps for 30 spots for some of these programs, I wouldn't say it's an embarrassment to tell them you didn't get in.

 

[jbizzle]

As for recommendation letters, I find this to be an awkward proposition. Not able to find a job as a PT aide, my observation hours are all over the place, and I have not been able to establish any real relationship with a PT. I find this to be my main bottleneck. As for asking for them again from the same therapist, ask them to save it because with 300 apps for 30 spots for some of these programs, I wouldn't say it's an embarrassment to tell them you didn't get in.

Hey, I know what you mean about getting into a good rap with a PT. I asked a PT to write me one, and he straight up said no, because I didn't work there (as an exercise tech/PT aide), I was just a volunteer. So have you been able to find an LOR from a PT?

 

[lee9786]

Hey, I know what you mean about getting into a good rap with a PT. I asked a PT to write me one, and he straight up said no, because I didn't work there (as an exercise tech/PT aide), I was just a volunteer. So have you been able to find an LOR from a PT?

Not yet. I have two that I plan on asking, but I wanted to let them get to know me better. Time is running out though. If these two don't help I have no back up plan. This area as well as the area I just moved from was not hiring PT techs anywhere. Observe at the hospital and you can't touch anyone and end up shadowing a number of therapists. Very frustrating. If they won't do it what can you do though?