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Are you in good shape? Physical therapist have to use a lot of their strength when they lift or move patients for various excercises and so on and often they leave work sore and tired from using their muscles all day long. You have to really pace yourslef in physical therapy because of all the strength that is required. Often you may need to go fill out some paper work or something because you get a little tired and need to take a break. Occupational therapy is a great career in my opinion because it is not physically demanding and your job is just showing people how to get on with their everyday lives. I like occupational therapy because people do not complain as much as they do in physical therapy. Also, occupational therapist have great salary opportunities and can make almost 70-80k annually once they have a lot of experience in the career. I would go with occupational therapy if I were you. Job prospects for a physical therapist or an occupational therpiast are about the same, with good employment and occupational growth. These are both very fast growing occupations, as well as all other medical proffesions. No matter what medical proffesion you chose, you will always be helping someone, which is always rewarding at the end of the day.
Occupational Therapy is a good choice. I just finished receiving an OT Degree. Does anyone have any pointers on taking the certification exam?
Hi, I know this thread is a little dated, but how long does it take to get a masters in occupational therapy for a high school graduate about to start college?
If I had my life over I would have stayed as far away from an occupational therapy career as I could. You must resign yourself to a lot of nasty situations, such as messy diapers, putting people on toilets over and over all day, dressing people, bathing people. I absolutely hate it. It is very strenuous and tiring. I go home exhausted and just want to crawl into bed. It is also very depressing. Physical therapy also would not be for me. If you really really enjoy exercise with disabled people you might enjoy it, but it is not for me. O.T. really consists lately of having to put in the minutes required to maximize the billing at the place you work. It is not fun at all for me. If I had my life to do over again as I say I would stay far far away from this career, and I wish someone would have told me this.
hello. i have a question, i recently took the licensure exam for OT to be an OTR but did not pass, they have now a new requirement to be able to take the test, you should now have a Master's degree (master of science in OT). Does anybody know where I can take the masters program? Everytime I search on the internet, it's only for the practicing OTR (post- professional OT's). Pls I need help. Thanks
If I had my life over I would have stayed as far away from an occupational therapy career as I could. You must resign yourself to a lot of nasty situations, such as messy diapers, putting people on toilets over and over all day, dressing people, bathing people. I absolutely hate it. It is very strenuous and tiring. I go home exhausted and just want to crawl into bed. It is also very depressing. Physical therapy also would not be for me. If you really really enjoy exercise with disabled people you might enjoy it, but it is not for me. O.T. really consists lately of having to put in the minutes required to maximize the billing at the place you work. It is not fun at all for me. If I had my life to do over again as I say I would stay far far away from this career, and I wish someone would have told me this.
You know what...I can definitely see where you are coming from. I was in a rehab hospital for 2 weeks and had daily sessions with both OTs and PTs. The PTs did need to transfer people around and hear complaining...but they seemed far more upbeat. The OTs had to deal with the bathing/bathroom thing (not my OT for me...I was doing almost everything myself!). Although they would really try to show people how to do things, they often just gave up and ended up doing the thing for them (I mean, how much can you beg and plead with a patient to just try to put on their socks). Also as a patient, you sort of expect PT to be hard. But when you realize you can't do simple everyday things like you use to...it just breeds frustration and OTs get the brunt of it.
I should note though I have a cousin who is an OT and seems pretty content. Actually, I don't even know why I'm commenting to this thread, because I think most non-doctoral jobs in the medical field are just too much aggravation for my taste!
I know this is an older topic but I recently subled across this quote someone posted: "If I had my life over I would have stayed as far away from an occupational therapy career as I could. You must resign yourself to a lot of nasty situations, such as messy diapers, putting people on toilets over and over all day, dressing people, bathing people. I absolutely hate it. It is very strenuous and tiring. I go home exhausted and just want to crawl into bed. It is also very depressing. Physical therapy also would not be for me. If you really really enjoy exercise with disabled people you might enjoy it, but it is not for me. O.T. really consists lately of having to put in the minutes required to maximize the billing at the place you work. It is not fun at all for me. If I had my life to do over again as I say I would stay far far away from this career, and I wish someone would have told me this."
If I were this person's supervisor I would help them stay far far away from my facility by giving them the pink slip ASAP. Caring for a patient and fostering independence is not something you "resign" yourself to. Helping a patient relearn a daily life activity is highly rewarding, both professionally and personally. It IS strenuous and tiring, and you do go home tired at the end of the day- BUT it's a GOOD tired and an accoplished tired unless you have a bad attitude like this person does. OT is a wonderful career with a great salary, great benefits, good prospects of finding a career in the location you want to live AND very rewarding. It's the best thing I've ever done. Contact me at jrhelvey@mikrotec.com if anyone wants further information. (Be sure to say something about OT in the subject line).
I just had to comment about the depressing aspect and the physically demanding aspects of both OT and PT (I am a PT). Both fields are great because they also offer flexibility of work environment. Yes, in a major rehab hosp there will be many patients with severe stroke, head trauma, amputations etc that are major life changing events. There are also opportunities to work in sports med, where patients are motivated and can take care of themselves, hand therapy, pediatrics (both hospital and school based), home care, OT's also can work in Mental HEalth areas where there are less physical demands, but other challenges. I could go on.....but anyone who is burnt out, should try a different setting, shake things up or get out!
Regarding the differences between PT and OT, I find the general population understands what PT is, and OT often say they spend a lot of time explaining what they do. I personally OT's more creative than many PT's. Definitely more creative than me!
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