Hey all, new here and confused...

[Heavenly4505]

Hello! I'm new to SDN. I've been browsing the forums for a while but finally decided to join yesterday. I'm so confused about what I want to do with my life. I'm tossing around so many ideas for careers. I've considered Optometry, Dentistry, etc. I shadowed an Optometrist and, while it's an excellent field, I don't really feel that it's for me. I have taken a Dental Assisting course, but again I didn't really feel that the field was for me. So, now I'm considering a few things, Physical Therapy being one of them. I'm also considering Anesthesiologist Assistant, which is a relatively new but definitely growing field.

I live near two schools of Physical Therapy (Indiana University and University of Indianapolis). The field interests me, but I'm concerned about the low income figures that I hear. I am married with two very small children (a 2 year old and a 1 year old). My husband is a full-time student, too, and we already have loans at the undergraduate level. I would like to be able to keep the loans as minimal as possible. I'm just not sure Physical Therapy school is practical for me. I mean, it's going to be hard to raise two small children and pay back loans on $40000-$50000 a year. Of course, my husband will be working by then, but he has loans to pay off as well. I know the decision can only be mine, but does anyone here think it will turn out ok if I decided to do Physical Therapy? I have done some observing and the field is great. It's only the income that concerns me. Yes, I know money isn't everything if your'e doing something you love, but I do have children that depend on me for everything they need. Therefore, I need a career that will pay in the end. Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Lisa

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Cyrus44]

Read my post about travelling therapists theres some good information there

 

[Cyrus44]

It depends on how much money u want to make too. Your going to be making more than the average income.

 

[Zagaza]

There are other allied professions that you can look at, that have higher incomes,maybe you can look into that, such as Physicians Assistant

 

[Heavenly4505]

Well, I'm also considering Anesthesiologist Assistant. There are only two Physician Assistant programs in my area and both require a certain amount of previous clinical/patient care experience, which I don't have (aside from a little dental assisting experience). I'd have to earn my Bachelor's and spend a couple years working in patient care before I could go on to PA. I'd rather do something in therapy. But all of the therapy careers seem to not pay too well starting out, and as I said, I have children, a home, and like everyone else, quite a bit of loans to pay back.

 

[ONstudentPT]

Well, I'm also considering Anesthesiologist Assistant. There are only two Physician Assistant programs in my area and both require a certain amount of previous clinical/patient care experience, which I don't have (aside from a little dental assisting experience). I'd have to earn my Bachelor's and spend a couple years working in patient care before I could go on to PA. I'd rather do something in therapy. But all of the therapy careers seem to not pay too well starting out, and as I said, I have children, a home, and like everyone else, quite a bit of loans to pay back.

I think your decision depends on few things ....what kind of income are you expecting ..what do you consider enough?.. also how many hours are you willing to work and what kind of environment do you want to work in ....and how much you are able to get your education for?

 

[DocWagner]

Hi,
I am a Physician, but I teach at Indiana University School of PT (selected lectures) I have a lecture tomorrow (thursday) at IUPUI the school of nursing room 221 on "Laboratory Values", you may ask me in person if you wish.

Otherwise, PT is a great career, money is up and down and in larger cities (ie Indy) it will be low vs smaller towns (ie Fort Wayne, Columbus etc). There is clear growth in ECFs (nursing homes), and the expansion of the Indy Suburbs leads to SOME out patient ortho growth. It isn't tremendous, as most contract companies want to do more with less.
Both of the Schools for PT in Indy are great.
Butler has a fantastic PA program.

But of course, I am biases towards Medicine.

 

[Heavenly4505]

DocWagner,

I didn't get your reply in time to see that you invited me to talk to you in person. However, Indy is a bit of a drive for me, and with my current school schedule and my children, it's a bit of an inconvenience for me to drive over to IUPUI. I do appreciate the offer though.

I have considered both PT schools in Indy and also the PA program at Butler. However, for the PA, you have to have a lot of patient contact, which I don't have. I would have to obtain a Bachelor's degree in something, work for a couple of years, and then apply to PA, which isn't that big of a deal. However, if it's going to take me that long, I might as well just work toward Med school. I'm still considering all of my options. I actually put in an application for the Nursing program at I.U. East for this Fall. If I get accepted, I will get my BSN and then attend University of Cincinnati to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. If I don't get accepted, I am considering other options such as Podiatry, Dentistry, etc.

Thanks!

 

[DocWagner]

Well, it sounds like you already have it planned out.

I must give a last push for you towards medicine or PT. Nursing is not quite my cup of tea, but clearly it works for many many woman and men.

Best of luck.

 

[Grue1some]

Hi,

I am in a similar situation. I must make a choice between physical therapy school and the accelerated nursing program. For the past few months, I sent numerous applications to physical therapy programs. So far I was put on waiting list after waiting list. However, I sent applications to several accelerated nursing programs and got in no problem.

Here is my situation. The physical therapy school which accepted me is a private school. The tuition is 750.00 per credit hour. This is in state tuition so I guess out of state is an extra 100.00. Doing the math, I will have a huge debt to pay. Is this worth it? I need to pay the 500.00 entrance fee in a few days or my spot is given to another person.

On the flipside, the nursing programs last 15 months and costs way less.

 

[dubpt]

I graduated from in 2005 from PT school at a private univ. The tuition at that time was about $500 per unit and I ended up in over 100k in student loan debt.

I would seriously analyze the financial situation of your potential earnings as a PT vs. the debt to be repaid. I personally regret obtaining this much debt to earn 60-70k/year currently.

Good luck.