Any physical therapy assistants here?

[spima3]

Is it worth pursuing as a career? DD18 was thinking of being a PT, but did not want to spend 6 yrs (?), in school.

She is currently registered for a BS in Bus Admin. BUT, she recently found out that she could take a 5 semester program for physical therapy assistant.

She could not change this year, classes are limited, but she could maybe qualify for the program next year.

She would have to dorm, so costs would increase significantly. BUT, if it is a profession where she can find work, and it has decent pay, it would be worth it, I think. She would be increasing her college debt quite a bit more as well as taking 3+ years.

From the BLS, it looks like it pays fairly well, and is a growing field.

I just wonder if that is true. Anyone have an knowledge or advice?

 

[SLP958]

I am an SLP but work with lots of PT's and PTA's. Both are great careers and very flexible. Opportunities to work in many settings with all ages.

Just food for thought, 6 years seems like a long time at 18 but PT's make a significantly higher rate of pay.

If I had it to do over I would be a PT.

Tell her to go for it!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

My ds was thinking of doing this. He worked as a pt aide in a physical therapy office his first semester of college.

Our community college has this program (physical therapy assistant and its one of the hardest programs at the college too). Its very competitive just to get into it and you have to do very well in anatomy and physiology 1 and 2.

Our ds decided he wanted to be a nurse instead and is now doing that program for his adn at the comm. college.

Here in metro NY physical therapy assistants pay around $30 k and maybe a little more.

My cousins ds is in the physical therapy doctorate program. Its brutal. Not to mention the over $100k student loans.

If you dd does not enjoy science like animal dissection, biology etc. then this might not be a good field for her. At least around here that is what is expected.

Does she also have good people skills? She would be doing internships too.

I think one of the main reasons my ds got the physical therapy aide job when he just started college was that he was already a lifeguard and was cpr, aed and first aid certified. He said all he did there was put on ice packs, put electrical stim stuff on and empty the garbage and get the towels. He thought that was boring. An assistant does a lot more though.

Best of luck to your dd.

 

[spima3]

Well, thanks for the feedback.

There is no way DD18 would do 6 more years of school, so that was a no go right from the start.

She had torn ligaments in her knee playing b-ball, so had gone through quite a bit of physical therapy, first when she was injured, then the following year after surgery. So she is familiar with aspects of the job.

I was just afraid it was a program like medical coding or phlebotomy. I know there are people who do these jobs, but it seems like there are far more who train than who will ever be employed.

She could take some of the courses for the PTA program starting this year, then if she got accepted into the program, some of the courses will be out of the way.

The $30K for NY metro seems awfully low though. Living in a LCOL area, I would not consider that a decent income.

Lots to think about! Thanks to all.

 

[savannahcat]

I am a PTA, licensed to practice in Ohio. I went back to school at 37, after years of being a SAHM, and graduated in 2012. My original degree is a BS in Accounting. I chose physical therapy primarily for the flexibility it affords.

I work in the school system and also do some PRN work for nursing homes. I work part time by choice, generally around 20 hours per week. Salaries are very dependent on what setting you work in. In my area (rural), I believe the average skilled nursing salary is between $40-45K. Outpatient is lower, around $35-36K. If you don't need benefits, and can find enough PRN work, the hourly rate can be significantly more. Some skilled nursing companies will pay $32/hour or more. School system work can be on the higher end, as can home health.

As far as employment, I believe that there are 2 people out of my class of 30 who remain unemployed. Full time work with benefits can be more difficult to find. Companies seem to prefer to classify employees as "regular PRN" and keep hours slightly below full time.

Schools are very competitive. When I was accepted, there were more than 150 applications for 30 spots. I don't know for certain, but I would say that no one was admitted with less than a 3.7 GPA or so.

If you have questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Well I just looked it up. There are 8 job openings here.

Only one is full time.

Only one lists a salary - $22.00 an hour.

Agree with the other poster about the competitive part and the 3.75. You might want to have your dd inquire as to the last pool of applicants and accepted students and see what the cut off was.

Our nursing program had 1200 applicants and only 120 acceptances and the cut off was probably around 3.7. Also some of those who even get accepted fail out of the program. Our pt asst program here is even more competitive because the class size is so much smaller. I am thinking maybe 30?

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

In general, I'd like my child to have a B.A.. I think that many people find that a career that worked for them at one point, no longer meets their needs at a certain point for whatever reason, and if you have a B.A. it's way easier to switch to something else. I know that in my field (education) someone with a B.A. in any field can get a para job, and in one year can get teacher licensure. On the other hand, someone with a certificate or associates would take years to enter the field.

Given that I feel that way, I'd either steer my kid towards meeting their P.T.A. requirements in the context of a B.A., or towards a similar career that requires a B.A.. I did a little research into P.T. career paths a few months ago, because one of my students expressed interest, and found that many athletic training programs meet the requirements for entry into a P.T. doctorate. I have no idea what the job prospects are like for Athletic Training, but maybe worth exploring?