I heard so many bad things about SNFs from Indeed. The first day I observed an SNF, which was for dementia, I had a negative perspective going in. Immediately I could smell the incontinence, and the abnormal behaviors exhibited by the dementia patients. Spending several hours in there, however, changed my mind entirely. I ended up liking it there. Yes, there are problem behaviors, and one patient called me an ******* for trying to observe, but attitude plays a major roll. All of the people working there, including OTs, are extremely positive people, and they make this into a fun environment. It is really what you make of it.
I am approaching 100 hours of observation and also work as an OT aide PRN, and I have yet to see anyone who regrets going into OT. The fact is that people who don't like their job will try to find a place to vent, and one of those places happens to be the internet. So there is an over-representation of unhappy people on Indeed. And they complain about things like bathing people and "wiping ass." This is in reality, demeaning and condescending towards the patient who needs assistance with bathing and toileting. It makes me question why these people went into OT in the first place. It was probably to make money. I'm sorry to say, but that is a bad idea. It takes a certain type of person to be an OT. I've performed both bathing and toileting in group homes as a DSP, and it's not as bad as these people make it out to be. If you actually care about people, it's not so bad. Rather, they have a personality that does not fit with the profession, people with self-serving tendencies that are seeking money and prestige. So when they find that the money is not necessarily great, or that they have to do activities that are repetitive and less prestigious than they hoped, they get burnt out and complain.
It's that way with all healthcare professions. People have this facade that the perfect job is out there somewhere, and that if they quit OT and went into another profession, they could find it. Well, people that complain about OT, are probably going to complain about any other health profession that they get into (it's really all about self-gratification for them). They idealize and aggrandize things, which is the problem. It's like a relationship, where they idealize someone, only to realize that that person is not all that great after all, then complain about the BF or GF to everyone and wash, rinse, repeat. Well, they need to stop idealizing and be brutally honest with their selves. Just as there is no perfect person, there is no perfect job or profession either. A job is, guess what, a job.
There are also other variables affecting job satisfaction, it's not just the OT profession itself. The agency that you work for, and the duties that they require of OTs is a significant factor. The people that you work with can make a difference too. These people work one job as an OT, then overgeneralize by saying the entire OT profession sucks. They complain about having to teach people how to put on socks. Again, this makes me question their motive for becoming an OT.
My overall suggestion is to not listen to the people from Indeed. Look at where the complaints are coming from. Look at their logic for going into OT (it's often about money and prestige). They'll say things like "this isn't worth the money," or "I didn't get a master's degree to teach how to put socks on." If you want to find out if OT is for you, than observe OTs for many hours in a variety of settings, or get a job related to the field of OT. Then ask yourself if you see yourself doing this for many years. Money should be secondary to job fit and satisfaction, it shouldn't be the primary factor.