A PT graduates perspective

[magic32]

Hey all,

 

First let me start by saying that this web community is great, I’m happy to be a new member and contribute!

 

I am a recent PT grad in the process of finding a job. I thought I’d share my insights of the profession and give you all an inside look. Keep in mind that everything I say comes from my personal experiences.

 

School:

It was a tough 2 years! Undergrad required a lot of work, but it wasn’t necessarily hard as long as you stay on top of things. Pt school is much tougher because of the sheer volume of material that’s thrown at us, and because we don’t have as much free time as undergrad. First semester of first year was by far the toughest, but everybody slowly eased into things afterwards. My buddies tell me the first year of other programs (OT, meds) is similar.

 

The requirements to get in are high (higher than when I was accepted), but I heard rumors that schools are looking into changing the admissions process to place a greater emphasis on ECs and experiences. They may even require the GRE like our American counterparts. This is all speculation however.

 

Salary:

 

I’m often asked by anxious pre-PT students about salary. I’m going to be up-front: if you’re looking for money, PT isn’t the right fit for you. PT salaries are decent, and enough to live comfortably (although everyones definition of comfort varies), but they’re not amazing. They’re nothing compared to doctor or dentist salaries. Now you could make more if you work in a rural area, but most people aren’t willing to do that. A friend of mine started at $40/hr + benefits a few hours outside of Toronto, but he was the only one that was offered that kind of money. In the city it’s a lot more competitive. The number of graduates plus the foreign trained PTs gaining licensure and wanting to work in the city has kept wages rather modest. The offers I received start at roughly $~30/hr and climbs to ~40/hr with experience. The vast majority of jobs are in private clinics.

 

You also have the option of starting your own practice and being your own boss. This was something that really attracted me to PT, especially over similar fields like OT. However, I didn’t realize how hard opening a clinic is. The market in big cities is uber-competitive and hard to break into. Take a drive through any urban area and you’ll see a clinic every few blocks! You can start a clinic, but there’s a high likelihood of it failing. I have seen a few clinics across Toronto that closed down recently. Right now the market is dry imo.

 

PT vs OT:

 

When I finished my undergrad I was torn between PT and OT, but eventually chose PT. I thought it would lead to more career choices and the opportunity to start my own business. In hindsight I would have chosen OT. During my PT clinicals I learned that I liked working in hospitals better than private clinics, but finding hospital jobs is hard at the moment. My OT friends on the other hand didn’t have a problem finding jobs in hospitals, private clinics, or wherever else they wanted to work. You can be particular about where you’d like to work as an OT, but the same isn’t true for PT. Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t hate being a PT. I’ll continue working hard in order to get to where I’d like to be.

 

PT and medicine:

This is a pre-med forum, so I might as well have a section on medicine. For those who didn’t get into medicine but are considering studying PT, think long and hard about it. If medicine is what you really want to do, you will be miserable working as a PT. The two professions are not similar at all. A friend of mine went into PT after he was rejected from med school. His line of reasoning was that it would be a suitable backup to med school, and if he didn’t like it then he could use it as a stepping stone into med. He ended up hating PT and reapplying to med school soon after graduation. He was given a hard time about his PT degree during the interview, but he eventually got into an American school.

 

I have two more friends who were also rejected from med school after undergrad. One did a research masters and the other did an MPH. They both got into med school afterwards, so different people will have different experiences. If meds is your goal, then keep at it. I’ll stop here since I went somewhat off topic.

 

I hope this post was informative to everyone. If anyone has questions post here or PM me.

[vinu_opal]

Hi,

 

Iam finishing up my undergrad currently at UofT. I am looking at med school as a dream for now because my GPA is not as great to make it anywhere for now. I was looking at PT as a alternative to consider. What are my chances of getting in somewhere in Ontario? I mean hows the admission requirements compared to medschools, GPA wise? and what other things would boost up my chances?

Or is it worth to spend more time in school trying to boost my GPA and keep medschool my focus?

Is it easier in a way to look at medschools after post grad like masters or PT if anything? you mentioned something about your friends.

Thanks

[Dr. Jan Intor]

Thanks for the great post magic32. I'd be curious to hear the opinion of your friend you got into the american medical school after PT. Do you think it would be possible for me contact him/her? You can PM their contact information if this is possible. Thanks again!

[magic32]

vinu_opal and Dr. Jan Intor, check your private messages

[Genemo]

This is very helpful! Thank you.

[eller]

do you know why med schools gave him a hard time because of his pt degree? i know quite a few current canadian med students who did their bachelors in pt...

[magic32]

do you know why med schools gave him a hard time because of his pt degree? i know quite a few current canadian med students who did their bachelors in pt...

I'm told that med schools didn't like that he just finished his degree and applied to med school right away. He still maintains that if he had just waited it out a year rather than doing pt then he could've got into a Canadian school and saved himself a ton of debt

 

There's a distinction between the current masters and the former bachelors in PT..

[eller]

There's a distinction between the current masters and the former bachelors in PT..

 

Good point, a bachelor's isn't enough to practice PT anymore. Thanks for the clarification.

[scubagirl]

Thanks alot for that post. I've always thought I'd choose PT as a backup to medicine- going to put a bit more thought into it now.

[Dr. Jan Intor]

I called UofT and they said they had no issues with a MPT vs MSc

[kin_kid]

Hi I'm a long-time lurker. Thanks for the informative post!

 

Could you elaborate on the job market? Specifically with hospitals?

[magic32]

Hi I'm a long-time lurker. Thanks for the informative post!

 

Could you elaborate on the job market? Specifically with hospitals?

 

I'm glad you all found this post helpful.

 

Like I said earlier, it's tough getting a job in a hospital. The government is cutting back spending towards PT, so there are less and less jobs in hospitals. The PTs who already have hospital jobs are reluctant to give them up, and the only time there is an opening is when a PT takes a leave of absence (ie mat leave). These openings are only temporary contract work, so you will not get any of the benefits (ie dental coverage) that full time hospital workers get.

[ilovesummer]

I felt I should comment because this thread doesn't reflect my experience in PT so far. I am so thankful that I got into and accepted PT. The faculty is fantastic, as are the volunteers from the community who take time to come in and teach us. I have had 0 bad or average profs so far. That's not something I have ever experienced before. All the students in the class are brilliant. And, on craigslist there are so many job postings for physiotherapists. Jobs probably aren't going to be as readily available in hospitals, but there are options for home care, clinics in the community... etc. I'm not trying to downplay what the OP has posted, because he/she seems to have valid concerns. I'm only saying what my opinion is because I wouldn't want this thread to stop people from pursuing PT. It's been the best decision I have made to date.

[magic32]

Don't get me wrong, I had a blast during my 2 years. It was a lot of work but it flew by, mostly because I was surrounded by such great people. I've never had a complaint about the staff or my peers. The staff, faculty, and supervisors were all great. I acknowledge that there are jobs readily available, but they are skewed heavily towards private practice. It's also very tough to start your own clinic, which is a disadvantage for lots of people. And I feel as though salaries aren't great considering the hard work and effort needed to get into the program (and succeed in the program too). With a high GPA you'd be better off applying to dentistry or medicine where the earning potential is so much higher. We're also taught a lot more than what we utilize on the job, so I feel some of it goes to waste.

 

One more thing that bothers me is in private practice it's all about seeing as many patients as possible. PTs just stick their patients on the IFC machines with some ultrasound, then send them on their way (this isn't the case everywhere). You'll notice the overuse of these machines (especially with older PTs) when you do your msk clinical.

 

I need to stress that I never realized that these issues existed till I graduated and entered the workforce. I guess you can't realize them if you didn't experience them first hand.

 

With all that being said, I encourage students to volunteer in a PT clinic and see if it's something that they enjoy. If it is then by all means go for it. I'm just trying to share my experiences with this forum.

 

PS. i love summer too:D

[Guest Physioprospect]

I am applying to physio schools this year and have spent the last year and a half working as a physio assistant in a private clinic. Here are my thoughts. Physio is an interesting feild of work but requires a type of person that likes interacting with people and getting people to buy into their type of treatment regime. I was always debating between physio and medicine and opted for physio due to the more relaxed life style and less stressful day to day operation than medicine. The thing I dont like about physio is that in most instances your not really "doing much" is the best way I can put it. Your trying to get a patient better by getting them to do exercise and unless your a manual therapist this is all you do. So the outcome of the patients rehabilitation is based on how well they do there exercises. In medicine (surgery, emergency medicine etc.) I feel like you get to do more hands on stuff to help someone out, which is really attractive to me. There is a very wide range of how physio's work, some are very hands on and educate their patients really well while others tell them to do an exercise, show them and then get them to do them at home on their own. Private practice physio is way more interesting to me. The physios I have talked to said hospitals are sooo boring to work in, most of the time all you are doing is getting people out their bed to go to the bathroom (dont want to do 7 yrs education to do that). In private practice you are your own boss and pick the hours u want to work. The only thing I worry about going into the field is that it will get boring.. sooo many people come in with the same injury (rotator cuff repair, ACL repair) and its the same procedure each and everytime to rehab them. So I worry about the challenge of this. In something like emergency medicine your always challenged with a wide range of different issues. With respect to the comment of not using everything you learned in school, I think any jobs going to be like that. Just because I spent 5 years doing a biochemistry degree doesnt mean that in my job I'm going to be using the detailed information of how MHC interact with T cell receptors. Sorry for the ramble, just trying to get some points across. Hope it helps.

[kin_kid]

Thanks magic32.