Student in need of serious help!

[vincent1010]

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I am a current college student currently pursuing a career in Community Health Education. I recently found out that financially this isn't a good career to go into. I am 10 credits short of graduating so I am not changing my major. Upon completion of my career at a Health Department I have decided that I want to do some further schooling. I would like to pursue a masters in public health possibly. But now that I have been doing some research I am thinking about trying to get into a occupational therapy program. I would like to make money someway. Any advice on a student like myself on some programs I should try and get into like occupational therapy, radiation therapy, or nuclear technology. What would be a good one to go into that isn't that hard to get into and pays off? I am scared that because the occupational schools I want to apply to only accept 20 out of 250, that I am not going to get in. Any advice from some professionals in the field would be very nice!

 

[osato19]

I think any program in the health/medical field will be hard to get into. Its just competetive, no way in getting around that. If your grades are really good and do alot of observation hours then you should be able to get into an OT program, just make sure you apply to a lot of programs.

 

[2bOT]

Advice from a fellow applicant - OT, rad sci, or any other clinical program you pursue you're going to need to have a passion for the profession. Every application includes a personal/goal statement in which you need to demonstrate why you're pursuing the career and if you're just in it because it sounds okay and has a decent salary, admissions commitees are most likely going to see through that. Osato's right, any healthcare field is competitive. Getting into a program is tough, but so is the curriculum - before you take on the challenge, make sure it's worth it to you beyond just securing a job in healthcare. Make sure you shadow professionals in all of the potential fields you're interested in and determine the career you ultimately shoot for is something you love!

 

[hlt0407]

I am a current college student currently pursuing a career in Community Health Education. I recently found out that financially this isn't a good career to go into. I am 10 credits short of graduating so I am not changing my major. Upon completion of my career at a Health Department I have decided that I want to do some further schooling. I would like to pursue a masters in public health possibly. But now that I have been doing some research I am thinking about trying to get into a occupational therapy program. I would like to make money someway. Any advice on a student like myself on some programs I should try and get into like occupational therapy, radiation therapy, or nuclear technology. What would be a good one to go into that isn't that hard to get into and pays off? I am scared that because the occupational schools I want to apply to only accept 20 out of 250, that I am not going to get in. Any advice from some professionals in the field would be very nice!

What are your stats? I did all my shadowing and many of my prereqs (anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, abnormal psych, developmental psych) all in the year after I graduated at a community college because I didn't decide until after graduation that I wanted to pursue OT. Even though it was clear by how quickly I did a lot of the requirements that I didn't always know i wanted to be an OT, I was still able to get into a top 20 school. I would say try to get a lot of shadowing hours in many settings and maybe some unique setting that would set you apart. Most schools do only accept 40 or so applicants out of several hundred so the key is making yourself stand out. Write a kick ass personal statement (where you talk about your shadowing experiences) and get great recommendations. OT definitely pays off (you can make upwards of 150,000 a year in some specialties) but definitely don't go into it if it's not something your genuinely interested in. Good luck!

In case you're curious

GPA: 3.5
Prereq GPA: 3.5
Shadowing: 40 hours in three settings (pediatrics, equine & trauma)..I had a lot of other non-OT volunteering experience
GRE: 1250 4.5 AW
Accepted: Ohio State (will be attending)

 

[LVD]

I think you should definitely shadow some OT's if it is something you think you might want to do. Plus, if you decide to go forward with applying to OT schools you can always count your shadowing as observation hours. It's a win win 🙂 my sister recently graduated with a degree in public health and works at a liquor store because she can not find a job anywhere with her degree. Hospitals want health educators to be an rn and everyone else wants you to have 5+ yrs experience. Another path you might want to explore with you interest in public health is an an RN program to be a health educator in the hospital. They make really good $$ and it's in demand right now. But OT is a great field too with lots of opportunities. Good luck with everything!