Wondering if PT is for me....

[jman128]

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I graduated with a degree in biomedical science last year with a 3.8 gpa. I was originally pre-med but I realized that medical school was not the right path for me.

Every since graduating I have been exploring careers. Nothing really sticks out. I worked at an office job for a little while and I hated it. I couldn't stand sitting at a computer staring at excel spreadsheets all day. I love being on the computer on my own free time but I like to be active if I am working (if that makes any sense).

I know that I want a career where I am doing something rewarding and I'm happy with going to work everyday. I have pretty much all the pre-reqs complete due to my degree and I'm studying for the GRE anyway just in case I want to apply to grad school in the fall.

One thing that really puts me off from this career is the debt and the pay. I'm an incredibly frugal person so getting into more debt for a career that might not pay enough kind of scares me. Also, I'm not a very "sporty" person and it seems to me that sporty types choose this field.

What should I do to see if this career is for me?

 

[AbbaZabba]

I graduated with a degree in biomedical science last year with a 3.8 gpa. I was originally pre-med but I realized that medical school was not the right path for me.

Every since graduating I have been exploring careers. Nothing really sticks out. I worked at an office job for a little while and I hated it. I couldn't stand sitting at a computer staring at excel spreadsheets all day. I love being on the computer on my own free time but I like to be active if I am working (if that makes any sense).

I know that I want a career where I am doing something rewarding and I'm happy with going to work everyday. I have pretty much all the pre-reqs complete due to my degree and I'm studying for the GRE anyway just in case I want to apply to grad school in the fall.

One thing that really puts me off from this career is the debt and the pay. I'm an incredibly frugal person so getting into more debt for a career that might not pay enough kind of scares me. Also, I'm not a very "sporty" person and it seems to me that sporty types choose this field.

What should I do to see if this career is for me?

Well, I will say that I certainly not "sporty", and I am just about to begin PT school. So, I wouldn't worry about that. I will allow that most PTs that I have personally shadowed/worked with tend to be physically fit... but that seems to be a necessity, as being a PT is a physically demanding job-or it can be.

As for the debt, yes it is very nerve-wracking for me as well. I would suggest that you really need to like what you're doing to go into this field, simply because the monetary incentives are not there.

I was not sure if I liked PT a couple years ago. Sure, it looked good on paper, but I needed some actual experience in the field. I highly suggest that you do some volunteer/shadowing work in various settings to see if you like what you see. If you do like what you see when you volunteer/shadow, I would say go for it, as grad school is probably not likely to get any cheaper.

Have you considered something along the lines of PA? I imagine you have, but just a thought.

I hope this helped! Good luck, mate.

 

[ml0925]

I graduated with a degree in biomedical science last year with a 3.8 gpa. I was originally pre-med but I realized that medical school was not the right path for me.

Every since graduating I have been exploring careers. Nothing really sticks out. I worked at an office job for a little while and I hated it. I couldn't stand sitting at a computer staring at excel spreadsheets all day. I love being on the computer on my own free time but I like to be active if I am working (if that makes any sense).

I know that I want a career where I am doing something rewarding and I'm happy with going to work everyday. I have pretty much all the pre-reqs complete due to my degree and I'm studying for the GRE anyway just in case I want to apply to grad school in the fall.

One thing that really puts me off from this career is the debt and the pay. I'm an incredibly frugal person so getting into more debt for a career that might not pay enough kind of scares me. Also, I'm not a very "sporty" person and it seems to me that sporty types choose this field.

What should I do to see if this career is for me?

Volunteer!!! I would definitely say volunteering at a local PT clinic is a way to see what PTs do on a daily basis. You may not get to "just" shadow them (they may put you to work!), but at least you can watch and listen and ask questions. I think all of us newly-anointed PT students will agree with you about the debt thing. But for me at least, it's completely overshadowed by how much I know I'll love what I do every day.

I definitely think that "sporty" people are attracted to this profession--it may require a good deal of physical labor--but I definitely know non-sporty types who work with neuro patients or peds patients and love what they do. I volunteered at a VA for both inpatient and outpatient experience and saw a lot of amputees and neuro patients. Very interesting and very different than, say, a post-op athlete. (To me, at least.) 🙂

But I've been there... at the what-do-I-do-with-my-life crossroads. So good luck to you!!

 

[Carpe Tiramisu]

jman,
I graduated in 2009 with a degree in biomedical engineering and was in the exact same crossroads as you. I was considering going onto my Master's cuz that's just what all my friends were doing. But I realized that I didn't want to be in a lab all day, or work on models on the comp sitting in an office all day, like a lot of my friends are doing. I really loved the anatomy aspect of BME and had wished there was more emphasis on that.

Now this next part might sound a little backwards to you, but I then applied to my community college's PTA program (physical therapist assistant). I still had a couple pre-reqs to do before I could apply to grad school, but I wanted to "try out" physical therapy. I found shadowing to be very interesting (it was one of the pre-admission requirements) and I loved seeing the relationship they had with the patients. I'm about to graduate from this 2 yr program and actually just got accepted into a DPT program. PTA is one route you can go, as most of my classmates are not looking to continue on like me. It's the same working environment, and there are only a few things you can't do that a PT can. It's sooooooo much cheaper since it's an associate's degree, if money is a worry for you. At the same time, if you ultimately want to be independent at work, or you're looking for that doctorate, I'd say go straight for the DPT

I've also been working as a PT aide for about a year and a half now, and I'd have to say even when I have to get to work at 7:30, I'm looking forward to seeing the patients, as well as the PT I work with. It's a great environment to work in, you're not stuck at a desk job, you're moving around constantly, and its like social hour at times. It's very rewarding to see someone who started out with a cast and crutches progress to a cane, and ultimately no assistive device, or someone coming in after surgery and you are a part of helping them return to their previous function.

Sporty is definitely not a requirement. For me, getting into this field actually helped MY health habits. There I was, telling patients the virtues of keeping fit and doing their exercises when I wasn't really doing any of that. So I ended up joining a gym and my I'm much better for it (now I don't feel like a hypocrite!). I think sporty people go into PT b/c a lot of them (myself included!) have had an injury and have had to go to PT for it, so they have that patient experience which drew them in. It is much more important to be able to understand how things work biomechanically, than about any particular sport- although patients love talking about the game!

Sorry for this long winded post, but bottom line, shadowing is an awesome part of this field, where you really get to immerse yourself in the day of a PT to decide if it's right for you. And when it comes to money, there's always a range. There are some super cheap schools that only cost ~$35,000 for ALL 3 years, and there are others that will cost over $100,000. And as for after school, depending on what setting you work and in which state, your salary could be anywhere from $50,000 to over $100,000. You just gotta do your research, but ultimately, I'd say for most of us going into this field, money is not the #1 reason. I want a job where I don't dread going in everyday, and one where I feel like I can make a difference in someone's life. But definitely do the shadowing, and try different settings (hospital, outpatient, VA) so you get a complete idea.

 

[jgold72288]

I graduated with a degree in biomedical science last year with a 3.8 gpa. I was originally pre-med but I realized that medical school was not the right path for me.

Every since graduating I have been exploring careers. Nothing really sticks out. I worked at an office job for a little while and I hated it. I couldn't stand sitting at a computer staring at excel spreadsheets all day. I love being on the computer on my own free time but I like to be active if I am working (if that makes any sense).

I know that I want a career where I am doing something rewarding and I'm happy with going to work everyday. I have pretty much all the pre-reqs complete due to my degree and I'm studying for the GRE anyway just in case I want to apply to grad school in the fall.

One thing that really puts me off from this career is the debt and the pay. I'm an incredibly frugal person so getting into more debt for a career that might not pay enough kind of scares me. Also, I'm not a very "sporty" person and it seems to me that sporty types choose this field.

What should I do to see if this career is for me?

You can work around the debt issue. There are plenty of schools with tuition <20k/year, though you may want to ensure that you've got something in your resume that jumps out. Pre-req GPA is the big one, though overall GPA, observation hours, and GRE scores are important as well.

As far as the pay goes, you can have a dang good life on a PT salary. I wouldn't think you'd start off less than 55k, and could start out as high as 75k depending on the line of work and location. Get into the management side of things and you could eventually be making six figs. Supplement that with a spouse's salary in the long term and you'll be more than sitting pretty financially.

As far as being sporty goes, that mostly fits in with outpatient orthopedic settings. While you could certainly do that without being "sporty", there are other areas in which that word would never be associated, like neuro and geriatrics.

 

[fallingreason]

Best way to find out is get your feet wet and volunteer.

If you like being in front of the computer during your off time, then it would probably be good to choose a job that does not require you to do that the rest of the day. PT would fit.

What you want in a career is what everyone should want. No one here will be able to tell you if being a PT will give you that.

Regarding debt: Yes you will have a lot of debt. Yes you will have to be frugal and/or minimalistic in many aspects of life. You will have to budget. Lot's of people have to do this, not just PT's. Lots of people here think student loans mean the end of the world because you're not going to have more than $4,000/mo to live off of and save with. Well, lots of people don't and yea for a lot of people that means financial stress. But, if you're a smart person and a hard worker, which a lot of PT's are, you'll figure out a solution that works for you. You'll have job security, hopefully a job you love, and payments are not forever . You can't put a price on job satisfaction.

Regarding being sporty: I've found people like this choose PT because they really appreciate what PT does. They are very affected by incidents that put their body in a debilitated state and appreciate when things are good to go again. Through using their body for so many things, they come to understand it in deeper and more complete ways than those who simply walk to the bus stop as their physical activity of the day. When I worked with PTs at an ortho clinic, there were three. A dancer, a fitness/sports enthusiast like myself, and one who was overweight with no interest in anything "sporty". I worked with all of them and they were all capable and helped their patients get better, but the first two got raving reviews on the yelp page for our clinic while the third had some negative reviews. She was also on her laptop more often than the other two and was not able to give the same type of insight in certain situations. I even noticed a few times where she told patients things that seemed to come straight out of CNN news/lay press...o_0

 

[jman128]

Thanks to everyone who responded so far. I'd like to hear more.

How do you suggest I shadow/volunteer? Also, I see ads on craigslist for Physical Therapy Aides. Is that the same type of think as volunteering, except you get paid?

I'm also considering Physician Assistant if anyone had any comments on that compared to PT.

 

[Runner107]

Jman...you are doing the right thing in exploring all options. I think the biggest thing is in terms of PT vs PA is whether you want to practice medicine...or rehabilitation.

As a PA...your role will be much different. You can work in all areas of medicine, including being the first assistant in surgeries, diagnose injuries/illnesses, order/interpret labs/diagnostic tests, prescribe medications, conduct physicals...essentially anything your MD does with their consent. Typically, a PA works 35-40 hours, average salary is 90K and max is 130K. It's 2-2.5 years depending on the program/area you specialize in. PA is in large demand...and as many MD's have told me...the future health care system will be relying more and more on PA's and NP's.

As a PT, you will work in or specialize in certain areas of rehabilitation (which is a large range as well). It will vary on your restrictions depending on what state you work in. The APTA is trying to lessen restrictions across the board by 2020, but you def. should consider the states you see yourself working in and look at the current restrictions. The typical work week is 40-50 hours, average salary is 75K, typically maxes at 100K (if you work your butt off in additional care/or own your own clinic). School will be 3 years. The demand will be high for quite some time.

I was set on PT for several years, and after getting into several programs...I decided PA. The biggest reasons were the debt-salary ratio (didn't have cheap, instate schools/all schools in surround states were incredibly costly), and the current restrictions of practice. There were also many more avenues open for getting PA school paid for after school/passing boards.

Both are great fields, but are very different. If you are considering both, shadow PT's and PA's in a variety of settings in your pursuit. Ultimately, you should pick which career you see yourself in for the long haul! Best of luck!