Employment & Professional Networking OT Job Prospects

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reems112

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Hello everyone! Hope everyone is doing well during these crazy times! I have just accepted my spot into an OTD program and I am super excited! I was looking through some posts that students had made and wanted some insight about the OT field holistically! First, I was wondering if the market is truly saturated for OTS already, how will it be like for new OT grads coming in? How do new grads stand out when applying to jobs? There are some programs that offer fellowship opportunities and I was wondering if that would help when applying to jobs in the future. Does a fellowship opportunity increase your chances of a better job and better salary? Secondly, there was another post where a student posted about the low wage they were being offered and I wanted to know if this was true for alot of the OTS currently working in the field? Do you really not get paid much for what you are putting in? Is the job satisfaction truly not there? Lastly, I also know of some people who were OTs that ended up switching career paths to PA school or something higher to make twice as much than what they were currently making. They had told me that they felt that they were on the bottom of the totem pole and that their work was very underappreciated and it is very hard to move up in the therapy world. I am not sure how truthful this statement is honestly but everyones experiences are very different.
Again, any insight is welcome and I just wanted to know what everyones thoughts were about these couple of things. Thank you so much!

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Hey! Congrats! I was accepted into an OTD program as well for fall 2021. I'm interested to read over any responses to your questions! As to your last point of people feeling underappreciated, I feel like it is also a mindset issue (although it can also be a toxic work scenario as well). Knowing that the service you are providing is beneficial - and not requiring validation from outside sources, having that internal confidence can offset feelings of inadequacy as a member of a care team. BUT sometimes all the confidence and optimism in the world can't offset a toxic work environment. My sister, for example, is an RN (COVID floor for the last year) and was berated nearly daily with little support to the point of her beginning to hate the profession. She recently made a big switch to ER and is 100% happier, respected and offered support. I have heard that it can be somewhat of a stagnant position to hold in the therapy world as well, as far as OT goes - but while completing observation hours I did run into a few OT's that made major changes, like working peds for nearly their whole career and switching to sub-acute rehab, and them enjoying that option and change.

I suppose my personal position is a little different than most though - I'm pursuing OT to provide what I believe to be a beneficial service to people in my community with a husband that has a great paying job - been a stay at home mom for 12 years and now I just want to make a positive contribution to society. So, salary is not a huge concern for me, however, it would definitely be cool to actually enjoy my job! If any part time positions at rehab facilities or a hospital are available (I like fast paced), that will probably be the direction I take. What school did you get into? :)
 
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Hey! Congrats! I was accepted into an OTD program as well for fall 2021. I'm interested to read over any responses to your questions! As to your last point of people feeling underappreciated, I feel like it is also a mindset issue (although it can also be a toxic work scenario as well). Knowing that the service you are providing is beneficial - and not requiring validation from outside sources, having that internal confidence can offset feelings of inadequacy as a member of a care team. BUT sometimes all the confidence and optimism in the world can't offset a toxic work environment. My sister, for example, is an RN (COVID floor for the last year) and was berated nearly daily with little support to the point of her beginning to hate the profession. She recently made a big switch to ER and is 100% happier, respected and offered support. I have heard that it can be somewhat of a stagnant position to hold in the therapy world as well, as far as OT goes - but while completing observation hours I did run into a few OT's that made major changes, like working peds for nearly their whole career and switching to sub-acute rehab, and them enjoying that option and change.

I suppose my personal position is a little different than most though - I'm pursuing OT to provide what I believe to be a beneficial service to people in my community with a husband that has a great paying job - been a stay at home mom for 12 years and now I just want to make a positive contribution to society. So, salary is not a huge concern for me, however, it would definitely be cool to actually enjoy my job! If any part time positions at rehab facilities or a hospital are available (I like fast paced), that will probably be the direction I take. What school did you get into? :)
Thats awesome!!! Congratulations to you! I got into Brenau University! wbu? And I definitely do love the field of OT and want to make a difference in people's lives. I do think the money aspect is important because although my fiancé just started working it will take me another 2 years to start making money to help us out too you know. So I want to make sure I will be able to obtain that with the profession I am going into. I have heard people who end up changing into different settings or even end up changing into like different career pathways as a whole such as going into NP or PA school because they make twice as much in those settings. But again Im hoping with an OTD we have better if not more job prospects and are able to broaden our horizons by a lot more. I also was reading posts about the market being saturated and such too but I would assume that is only plausible where there are fewer universities let alone in remote places correct? Whereas in a big city you're bound to find something. I was also talking to a recent colleague of mine who graduated and passed her boards. She was offered her first job for only $25 an hour. I thought that was absolutely absurd for what she was getting! I told her that she shouldn't step so low because her worth is so much more than that! So sometimes when I hear and see scenarios I like I question it and wonder if I will have to change career paths later in the future or will I be okay given that there is an upward climb for OTs and just the therapy world in general.
 
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