Physical Therapist??

dr.mel_PT

dr.mel_PT

Cathlete
So, I've been really thinking about my career and whether I want to continue doing waht I'm doing or completely change. I was going to go back for my MBA next year, but I'm not really sure if I want to continue with marketing or not. I was talking to my aunt and she was looking into becoming a physical therapist and I got really excited about it. I would LOVE to help people esp if you are helping them via exercise. Is anyone here a PT? Any advice? I was going to start looking into schools to get my undergrad and start next year.
 
Melissa...it's such a NOBLE profession. A physical therapist named John changed my family's life. And the excitement of learning something new and doing what you love is priceless. I say DO IT!!! Take that old crappy job and shove it! And do what nourishes your soul! And the most successful people I know changed occupations mid-life. You are so smart to follow your heart and your passion...whatever it is.

Keep us posted!

Warmest,
Jonezie
 
The biggest thing to know is that it is a ton of schooling. From what I have seen (i researched this a while ago for myself) it takes 4 years of pre-reqs followed by another 4 years of actual physical therapist school, which is difficult to get into. And on top of that you'll most likely have an internship or two. I aggree with Jonzie, it's a very noble profession. Just do your research because it's time consuming to become. Becoming a PTA (physical therapist assistant) can be done in 4 years I think. If time isn't an issue for you then go for it! Good luck with whatever you choose!
Shelby
 
Hi there! I'm a physical therapist and it was the BEST decision I ever made for myself. Its an extremely rewarding career and I look forward to going to work each day. Not to mention there are so many specialization areas you can choose from. The schooling was grueling but doable and so worth it. Looking back on it all, I'm so happy I stuck it all out. I ended up getting my doctorate in physical therapy. For me, my love of exercise, health, and the human body led me to this career. I started out in an outpatient sports rehab clinic which I thought I would love. But it turned out that i didn't care for it too much. So I went out on a limb and got a job at an assisted living facility. I never thought I would like working at the geriatric population but i absolutely love it. I feel like i'm really helping these people get moving and improve their strength and balance so they don't fall. I also now teach the exercise class there which is so much fun. I'm rambling a bit but if you have the time, motivation, and drive to go through the schooling i say go for it! If you want to know anything else just drop me a line. Good luck.
 
Kariev, the reasons you mentioned are EXACTLY why I was thinking about doing this. I really want to help people through exercise and I did the personal training route awhile ago but I dunno...something about it wasn't very rewarding. I guess because in a lot of the cases, people just weren't motivated to keep up with the program and adhere to the schedule. I think PT would be so awesome and I am so excited to start looking into it! I do have an undergrad degree in business; would that help reduce some of those initial 4 years of schooling since I have taken a lot of core classes?
 
I say go for it if its something you want to pursue. Look online at collages that offer the program and they usually list the prerequisits to get into the program. I'm not sure if having a business degree would help very much as many of the pre-recs are science based (physics, kinesiology, biology, etc) I did 4 years of undergrade to get my bachelors in kinesiology and then applied for PT school which was a 3 year doctorate program. 2 of those years were mostly bookwork sprinkled with short clinicals and the final year was all clinical rotating 4 different settings each one lasting for 2 months. I have no regrets. I too was going to go into personal training but it just wasn't rewarding enough nor did it pay enough.
 
PT

Melissa, check out Twu.edu and you can look at the Physical therapy program, or the Occupational therapy program. Also tccd.edu for the Physical therapy assistant program which is a Associate degree. These schools are both in Texas-Denton,Dallas, Fort Worth. I am going to apply for the PTA program.

Good Luck
 
Melissa, I'm also a physical therapist and I definitely couldn't imagine doing anything else! My class was the last one to graduate with a Masters before they changed the program to a Doctorate. It was 4 years of undergrad to get in all the pre-recs, then 2.5 years of the actual PT program. The last year was the most fun/interesting since it was mostly clinical rotations.

If you want to help people through exercise, then you'll find this career VERY rewarding. I work in an outpatient clinic and see mostly geriatric patients, but also young kids through college/working age as well. It never ceases to amaze me how many conditions of the body that we can help treat WITHOUT medication. Not to say that PT helps everything or medication is never needed, but to be able to use massage/joint mobilization/exercise/physical modalities and get such great results is awesome. A huge part of being a PT is that you are an educator. You are teaching people how to take care of themselves/correct their bodies to relieve pain/risk injury.

Just a side note about becoming a PTA: yes it's less schooling, but some of the PTAs I've talked to wished that they would have just went for the PT degree instead.;)
 
You can also check out www.bls.gov and look up the PT profession. It has alot of information such as education and work experienced required. I'd say do it too just keep the passion and motivation and things will fall into place.
 
Thanks so much for all the helpful info!! I could be wrong, but it looks like there are only masters/doctorate degrees specializing in PT. What about undergrad? I need to fulfill a lot of the science requirements but I'm not sure what to take and it doesn't look like many schools near me offer a bachelor degree in PT. Any suggestions? I want to make sure I take all the prerequisites before I apply for an advanced degree.

TIA!!!!!
 
I've never heard of an undergraduate in PT, maybe you might be interested in an undergraduate in kinesiology.
 
Nope. There is no undergrad for PT. And now bachelors degree programs for PT are obsolete and soon masters will be too as the doctorate program is taking lead. As far as undergrad to make sure you get all of your credits i would suggest kinesiology (like deborah mentioned) or exercise science. Bachelor degrees are offered for both. Or, you could take whatever prerecs you need to get into a physical therapy assistant program (which is a 2 year program to complete). Usualy this program is offered at community colleges. And then when you are licensed for that you can work as a PTA and continue doing part time school to get your PT degree. I know a few people who did this and it worked well for them.
 
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