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Occupational Therapy Job Outlook Question -

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LeBronto2019 Newbie

LeBronto2019

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I have a quick question about the job prospects of OT in Ontario. I rarely ever hear of any postings, so I just wanted to know if this is a good career to pursue.

 

I cannot necessarily say about it in Ontario but I think on a global scale, particularly in Canada, the aging population will need these allied health professionals. I've looked quite a bit into OT and their practices are diverse: elderly, mentally/physically disabled, young children with learning disabilites, etc. Definitely look into it and I'm sure you'll see that there are very few downsides to this career, especially for the future.

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Physio101 Newbie

Physio101

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Def highly needed profession, but severely underfunded and going more so that way. I shadowed an OT that because a change in the ontario funding model made horrible money. She was doing homecare and only say a couple of patients a day and had a ton of paper work to do for those patients. She told me that she pretty much made minimum wage even though she got $60/visit. On another placement in a hospital, the OTs were very short staffed and were so frustrated because they could never do anything for their patients. Meanwhile physio's funding is increased and theirs jobs lots of jobs.

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d2bot Newbie

d2bot

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Depends where in Ontario you are looking. In Toronto, the options are very limited for new grads as there are so many students graduating every year that are looking for jobs in the GTA. It's better once you have more experience though. If you are willing to go to more rural areas then finding a job should not be too difficult. In general in Canada though there is a high need for OTs and it should be increasing!

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LeBronto2019 Newbie

LeBronto2019

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Okay thanks for the information ! So would something like nursing or PT be a wiser career choice to pursue, as they will always be in higher demand ?

 

Just make sure you understand the roles of each profession and recognize where you see yourself. If you are open to which people you want to work with or even where in Ontario you'd live, then your possibilities are endless. If you say "I only want to work with blind people in the GTA" then it's narrowing it down a bit. PT and nursing are great jobs, but do your research and speak to practicing OTs.

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Joey123 Newbie

Joey123

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Def highly needed profession, but severely underfunded and going more so that way. I shadowed an OT that because a change in the ontario funding model made horrible money. She was doing homecare and only say a couple of patients a day and had a ton of paper work to do for those patients. She told me that she pretty much made minimum wage even though she got $60/visit. On another placement in a hospital, the OTs were very short staffed and were so frustrated because they could never do anything for their patients. Meanwhile physio's funding is increased and theirs jobs lots of jobs.

 

That does not sound quite convincing however with that being said with the GTA population increasing and with that the aging population also increasing don't you feel there will be more opportunities available for OTs in the GTA.

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OThopeful55 Newbie

OThopeful55

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Ok I know this was already mentioned but is anyone else feeling a little stressed about the job prospects for OTs? It seems like hospitals are getting rid of them and unlike PT, most people's insurance doesn't cover OT. I have mostly been focused on the fact that it seems like the demand for OT will go up, which I still think it will but I am wondering if that is not going to matter if the gov. won't fund it and people won't pay out of pocket for it.

 

Plus if you look in other countries it is not much better. There is a high demand for OTs in the US at the moment but their schools are amping up enrollment and it seems like only a matter of time before the market there will start to get flooded. Plus most therapists in the US seem to be employed in skilled nursing facilities and from what I understand a small change in legislation related to those facilities could put a whole bunch of OTs out of work. Australian schools are also starting to flood the Ozzie OT job market with too many grads.

 

I love OT and I want to do it but the idea of having to fight tooth and nail to find a new grad job when I am done does not sound very nice...

 

Any thoughts?

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OT2014hopeful Newbie

OT2014hopeful

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Ok I know this was already mentioned but is anyone else feeling a little stressed about the job prospects for OTs? It seems like hospitals are getting rid of them and unlike PT, most people's insurance doesn't cover OT. I have mostly been focused on the fact that it seems like the demand for OT will go up, which I still think it will but I am wondering if that is not going to matter if the gov. won't fund it and people won't pay out of pocket for it.

 

Plus if you look in other countries it is not much better. There is a high demand for OTs in the US at the moment but their schools are amping up enrollment and it seems like only a matter of time before the market there will start to get flooded. Plus most therapists in the US seem to be employed in skilled nursing facilities and from what I understand a small change in legislation related to those facilities could put a whole bunch of OTs out of work. Australian schools are also starting to flood the Ozzie OT job market with too many grads.

 

I love OT and I want to do it but the idea of having to fight tooth and nail to find a new grad job when I am done does not sound very nice...

 

Any thoughts?

 

As was mentioned before, it is a diverse field, and it is a necessary service for the population, so I don't think the issue will be a lack of jobs, especially because, as far as I know, Canada hasn't increased its output of OTs from universities.... Rather, I think the problem with this field is that it can be very difficult to find full-time work. Normally what happens when funding is cut is that the necessary positions (RNs, OTs, etc) have their hours cut back, rather than removed completely.

 

As well, certain regions are in higher need of OTs than others, and certain populations have a higher demand for OTs than others. I think these are some things that everyone should research well before considering it as a career. For example, I know someone who was able to find a permanent job as an OT in northern Alberta immediately out of school, which is basically unheard of in Vancouver.

 

So, yeah. I too am a little bit stressed about job opportunities after graduating but I know I really want to be in the field, and it seems like there still will be *some* work, so I'm gonna stick with it.

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hopefulptstudent14 Newbie

hopefulptstudent14

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I volunteered at a local hospital for nearly 1.5 years and I volunteered as a pta. The pt department worked closely with the ot department; however, the pt department was always busy and the ot department had about 2-6 patients a day. Maybe private healthcare is busier for ot but from what I saw at the hospital I didn't see the demand for ot's. I am definately baised with my opinion (as you can see by my username) but when I see applicants on this board getting 3.9+ sub GPAs and opting to pursue OT instead of PT I scratch my head. Maybe I'm missing something but when I look at job-search sites I rarely see OT openings. I think the current OT's are stable with employment because they have the experience but entry level positions seem to be hard to find, especially when you compare it to PT entry level positions. Personally I am in a dilemma myself. I have applied to PT and OT however my passion is with PT. If I don't get in to PT this year I may re-apply next year instead of opting to OT. I think you should pick the career that you think is better for you, the job market is difficult to predict in the future especially with changes in the insurance coverage and canadas healthcare system.

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Joey123 Newbie

Joey123

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I was wondering if gender may influence one's job prospects. Since OT is a highly female dominant field, would a male OT have a higher chance of being hired compared to a female OT. I know such instances have been seen in the field of nursing where male nurses are on demand, so would that be the case of OTs?

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OThopeful55 Newbie

OThopeful55

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As was mentioned before, it is a diverse field, and it is a necessary service for the population, so I don't think the issue will be a lack of jobs, especially because, as far as I know, Canada hasn't increased its output of OTs from universities.... Rather, I think the problem with this field is that it can be very difficult to find full-time work. Normally what happens when funding is cut is that the necessary positions (RNs, OTs, etc) have their hours cut back, rather than removed completely.

 

As well, certain regions are in higher need of OTs than others, and certain populations have a higher demand for OTs than others. I think these are some things that everyone should research well before considering it as a career. For example, I know someone who was able to find a permanent job as an OT in northern Alberta immediately out of school, which is basically unheard of in Vancouver.

 

So, yeah. I too am a little bit stressed about job opportunities after graduating but I know I really want to be in the field, and it seems like there still will be *some* work, so I'm gonna stick with it.

 

Interesting to hear about Vancouver...I think I had kind of half expected that since there is only only OT school in BC (versus FIVE in Ontario) that the job market would be less tight out there.

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OT2424 Newbie

OT2424

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I feel that as an OT student currently it is my responsibility to advocate/clarify some common misconceptions about the occupational therapy profession.

 

Firstly, OT and PT roles frequently overlap in a hospital settings, however, there are many other settings in which OT and PT roles are distinct. For example, in mental health settings it rare to find a PT on the health care team, whereas OTs play an essential role on most mental health teams (conversely there are many settings in which you will find PTs and not OTs). In a hospital setting OTs and PTs have different roles, generally PTs focus on muscle strength, endurance, and ROM, whereas OTs primarily focus on home safety, ADLs, seating, assistive equipment, and wheel chair recommendations.

 

When applying to OT and PT it is important to do your research and ensure you are choosing a career that aligns with your values, passions, and skills. It is important to consider the job market in order to have a fully informed decision, however, it is important to recognize that the career path you choose will guide the rest of your life.

 

It is true that it is difficult to find a job in today's economy (which is true for almost every discipline). However, former OT students who come to our class after graduating report that all of their classmates are able to find work within the first 6 months of graduating.

 

Overall, I believe OT and PT are two very different professions, they require different skills and different personality types. If someone's passion aligns with the values of OT, then they should not be deterred from pursuing their career goals based on their uncertainty about the job market. The same should be said for PT, or any profession.

 

Don't let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.

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OT2014hopeful Newbie

OT2014hopeful

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Interesting to hear about Vancouver...I think I had kind of half expected that since there is only only OT school in BC (versus FIVE in Ontario) that the job market would be less tight out there.

 

I think its like any health care profession these days- the work is in rural areas, not near the city. Central, eastern and northern BC, as well as the island, seem to have more f/t and permanent p/t positions from what I've seen, although maybe this will change.

 

I would think that Ontario has more jobs, so they train more students. My thought is they plan for where the demand will be? Maybe I'm wrong? Because with only 48 students coming out of Ubc every year there definitely isn't a massive shortage of OTs here. Unless there are lots of people coming to BC after finishing school elsewhere... I don't know. Lol.

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Mhunte03 Newbie

Mhunte03

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In Quebec, you don't need to worry about that! Employers even come to us to recruit us during our last year at university! We are pretty much guaranteed a full-time job. Even though most schools turn out new grads here, many of them decide to pursue a different career path (like switching to PT, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, speech therapy) ... so there are always job openings!

 

This may be a silly question - but with McGill continuing to be one of my top choices is speaking French a must for these positions? - apologies if the answer is an obvious "yes"

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