Just a random question/concern that passed through my frazzled, exam riddled brain today. I am a current 2nd year student and was wondering if you absolutely need faculty references to snag a job out of school? I always assumed most clinics want to know you passed the boards and then just interview you in person to get a feel as to if you will fit in with their clinic. Am I wrong or have all of you needed a few references? I'm asking because my class size is fairly large (50) and I feel that although I am on good terms with all the faculty, I don't really socialize with them as much as would be needed for a reference. It's hard to even get an appointment with them during the quarter because they are so busy with the younger class and getting the 3rd years ready for boards.
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Securing a Job After Graduation...
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It's not necessary but it's helpful. I used my CIs as references for my job hunting and that was fine (ended up getting hired where I interned at). I would recommend to try to get close with one because you never know when you may need it. While I passed all my internships and was told to let them know if I need a reference; there were some internships that I really didn't like and I had zero desire to contact again. If it wasn't for the great CIs I had faculty would have been my next go to and you never know how your CI will be and what kind of relationship you will have.
You will most likely need references, but there's no reason any of them need to be faculty. CIs, TAs, and former supervisors if you worked before/during school are just a few reasonable choices. Honestly, your last CIs can probably say a lot more about you as a PT than anyone else.
To piggy back on what perspective has been given, although not hired yet, I am going off of ONLY CI and former manager reference. It seems my faculty could give a damn about me (often) and I could often give even less about some of them!
As one who hires, I find the commentary from CIs infinitely more useful than academic types.
