This is mine too.
A PT working with an NHL team described the level of stench in a hockey locker room and the reality of working with the guys pre-shower after practice. He basically said it was pretty gross. That really shattered the shiny, grand idea of working with pro-athletes, hah.
It is pretty sweet. I have the next 11 weeks off while still getting a paycheck
Did you go into it straight out of PT school or worked a higher salary job to pay off loans first?
Straight out of school. The salary isn't awful because my hourly rate is higher than other settings, I can work PRN over breaks if I want, I have amazing benefits because I'm considered a public school employee, I'm planning on PSLF, and my loan payments are really quite small on IBR because I'm married with a child but we file taxes separately. Only working 8-9 months of the year also saves me $$$ in daycare costs.
That's why I mentioned the IBR and PSLF. Unless the PSLF program is eliminated or significantly modified before my 120 payments are up, the smaller the payment the better.
Agreed that is probably the case, but I need to acknowledge that there's some risk since a guarantee hasn't been spelled out. Even a "minor" modification, like closing the married-filing-separately loophole, would be a total game changer for us financially.
In addition, even though you don't count your spouse's income, you do count them in your family size for IBR calculations. That's what I consider the "loophole". The financial benefit is very clear if your spouse is making more money than you. You end up paying more in taxes each year and losing out on some tax breaks that aren't available to "married filing separately", but the savings in monthly payments can be five-figures over the course of a year.
Finish school and apply to become a Naval officer (commission is the technical term for becoming an officer). In addition to the folks they get from Army-Baylor, they also allow a limited number of civilian PTs to apply for commissions to fill PT shortages.
It will vary by region. Essentially your hourly rate is equivalent or a smidge higher than other settings, but you're only working ~160-170 days/year. That said, full-time positions with benefits can be hard to find in many areas, with schools opting to contract out or maintain only part-timers. How hard they are to get is going to depend on your area.
