not a PT but I've done tons of research on it/reports from PTs
I've never done PT nor do I even like sports. At first I wanted to be a PA but realized you don't really see tangible evidence or results of your efforts. I got a PT tech job for PCE hours and I ended up liking PT a lot because of the patients, regular hours, many different specialties, ability to travel (there are locum tenens PA jobs, but not many).
I researched the pros and cons of pursuing PT for weeks and hours. I made the decision over a weekend in June 2022. I had to schedule classes soon and initially was taking genetics, biochem, something else, and only had to take physics 1 & 2 for PT school. Tbh I'd considered PT school before but felt they didn't make much money. Wasn't until I started shadowing in acute and SNF that I realized there's many different paths.
I know people say that PTs don't have much autonomy because insurance and productivity demands, but it depends on where you work. I realized that I couldn't/didnt want to be a PA because you never know what kind of doctor you may end up under, and I just don't want to hear "let me speak to the real doctor," and at some point I probably wouldn't be satisfied with the knowledge and wanna go to med school. While I was considering PTA, I had the same sentiment--I wouldn't be satisfied and would want to know more. If you go into PT set on ONLY outpatient, then yeah you may burn out quick. another point some people have brought up is that a lot of people who are so dissatisfied with being a PT is because they're typically younger and haven't had their first full-time job yet.
People complain about this job, but I feel like many of them haven't witnessed people close to them struggling. I'm the first in my family to go to college, all of my family members worked manual labor jobs (my mom was/is a warehouse worker, used to deliver car parts; my grandma built houses; my dad was a carpenter; my aunt owns a port-a-potty business and has to do all the physical work at 55 y/o). all of this for companies that do not care about them (aunt is an exception, people love her). I see the physical strain and stress that these jobs put on them. obviously PT is physical by nature, but not necessarily grunt work like picking up 2-by-4s, risking injury with tools, picking up auto parts. I guess if someone else has the perspective of a family member with a WFH job and a family of wealthy people who have pretty relaxed jobs, then yeah PT is gonna seem "bad" in comparison. I saw a post on the PT subreddit of someone saying that PT, compared to their old HVAC job, is great. Just depends on your experience.
