Yeah I gotta look into public service loan forgiveness. Not sure how it works out with hospital systems being non profit etc. Hopefully it may work out, but again with interest IDK if it is worth it.
I'm in my last semester of OT school before FWII (yay!) and I've done a bunch of research on public service loan forgiveness programs. From my understanding those who qualify include: OTs who work for state and nonprofit hospitals (including the VA), OTs who work in behavioral health, and OTs who work in Title I schools. That last one is tricky because OTs in schools bounce between several schools, so unless you are going to a district where pretty much every school is Title I, you will probably not get loan forgiveness there. So basically if you work in SI, SNFs, private hospitals (of which most actually are), etc. you won't qualify for loan forgiveness. I am hoping to work at my local nonprofit hospital or in the hospital associated with my university because public service loan forgiveness would be great. Bear in mind though, these places also tend to pay less.
If your thinking about doing academics, OTD is definitely the way to go. No, you usually cannot become a full professor in a psychology or biology department for example. However, you can become a full professor in Occupational Therapy programs, where as having a masters you can teach but usually hold a title such as 'faculty advisor' or some type of program administrator.
There is no doubt that a person with 5+ years of experience with a bachelors or masters degree will be hired over a no experience OTD student, but there also is no doubt that if you are an OTD student competing with a masters student that you will have higher priority in most cases.
The difference between OTD professors and PhD professors is generally level of research. The top OT researchers in the country are all PhDs. As some have mentioned, the profession is moving towards doctorates, however, it is not mandatory. At one time many schools thought it would be, so they started the transition, however, AOTA issued a statement last fall explaining that they were sticking with the masters as the point of entry for the profession. My school is switching to an OTD next year, and honestly it's because they got the ball rolling when the belief was that the OTD would eventually be mandatory. No turning back now. I think as the profession turns to OTDs, academia will transition to all PhDs. Professors who work at schools with their OTDs are not generally tenured and work as actual OTs in addition to teaching. Those who work solely in academia are doing research, which our profession honestly needs in order to justify our services. In the AOTA magazine I receive each month, all of the open professor positions they advertise nearly always require a PhD. I say this only to explain that an OTD is no longer an entry point to teaching, especially now that so many entry level clinicians will come out with an OTD. Also, an OTD level student competing with an MSOT student for a job would not have an edge over the masters students. It depends much more on the reputation of the school and geographic area. If I were to apply to a hospital in Chicago with my entry level OTD as a first year clinician and was competing against a masters student from UIC, the UIC student would be more likely to get the job. This student may have already had a FW placement at that hospital, for example, and their school has significant ties and a stellar reputation, especially in Chicago. Now, in five years when two people are looking to move up to management and one has an OTD, that's where you may see an edge. The OTD was created to move OTs into management positions. That's why it was originally not an entry-level program. Keep in mind, many places will pay, at least partially, for an OTD once you've worked there a couple of years. That's a huge perk if you can find a place that will do that.
Ultimately, it's everyone's personal decision and there are pros and cons to both. I would just think really hard about taking out a ton of loans to go to a program. As someone who is older (almost 30, eek!), living expenses add up quickly even when you work. Paying 1300 a month for loans is not easy and, at least for me, I don't want to live a student lifestyle after I graduate. After 2.5 years of counting pennies, I want to live more comfortably. To put it in perspective, my sister just graduated from pharmacy school with 160,000 in debt. She pays about 1400 a month in loans. She also makes 120,000 a year. I would be impressed if an OT makes that much at the end of their career, much less as a new clinician. She still complains about making the payments. Everyone is in a different situation and everyone wants something different out of their program. Just make sure that if you are taking out a lot of debt that you are super committed to that decision. Being an OT is definitely worth it, you just have to be ok with all of the sacrifices!
