Physical Therapy job market (Milwaukee, Madison: school, university, place to live)

[mrpbn7]

Physical therapists are in high demand across the country -- except in Madison, evidently.

My fiancee and I are headed to Madison in about a month so I can start a graduate program at UW and she is having the toughest time finding PT job openings. Anyone have any insight into the field? We've tried job hunting all the usual ways (job posting websites galore + calling clinics directly, even Craigslist...) There are a ton of openings in Milwaukee but that's one heck of a drive.

Perhaps Madison is just the kind of place where health care professionals want to work - so they fill up those jobs!

[everwinter]

I sent a private message to your inbox.

[Megan1967]

The UW has a really good physical therapy program and I assume that, like so many others, many of those students decided they like it here and want to stay. They do their practicums in area clinics and hospitals and so are "known" quantities in the local medical community - which makes it much easier to get a job. It is hard to get a job in any area which the UW has a good program.

[7G9C4J2]

The other thing to be aware of is that many employers prefer local applicants to out-of-town ones. They'd sooner work with a candidate who can probably start two weeks after accepting an offer than with one who is a month or more away from being ready to start, and may ask for relocation expenses to boot. As Megan correctly notes, there are a lot of excellent PT practitioners in the area as a result of the UW's program, and with all that local talent available, an out-of-town candidate kind of gets the short end of the stick.

Once you and your fiancee have a local Madison address and she can do some on-ground networking, she may very well find it much easier to get a foot in the door of one of the many hospitals or clinics in the area. If she has any contacts at all through the UW (one of her former profs knows a prof there, a former colleague is now a grad student there, etc.), that can help a great deal as well.

You mention contacting clinics directly, but just in case, I'll offer you some links to some of the bigger places in town where she might try:

Careers, UW Health, University of Wisconsin Hospital, Madison , UW Health, University of Wisconsin Hospital, Madison

Meriter Health Services | Hospitals & Clinics in Madison, Dane County, WI

William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital Home

St. Mary's Hospital

Good luck to both of you.

[JoshB]

When you know the address that your going to reside at maybe put that down on your resume or application.

[ranger17]

i know from previous experience that some chiro clinics there offered PT, so perhaps there are other options from those facilities to sports med places (health clubs?) that may also staff PT's. At least a few more doors to knock on besides the main hospital/clinic locations

[mrpbn7]

Thanks everyone -- we added our Madison address to her resume (moving in ~2 weeks) and will just keep on lookin'! And thanks for the links MidwesternBookWorm, we somehow missed the Middleton VA hospital and should probably check it out.

[ds41207]

Hi,
I lived in Madison from 2005 - spring 2009. It is a lovely place to live. I hope everything has worked out for you in Grad school and trying to find PT work.
I am not in medicine, but HAVE been looking for work for over a year (public relations/marketing or other) - it's just a very difficult market and the recession is literally reorganizing the U.S. market.

I've been back in the Chicago suburbs since spring 2009 & there is more competition here for everything. Should you be interested in hearing some business news that is comprehensive about everything across the U.S. but particularly in the greater Chicago area, (& sometimes includes Milwaukee/Madison), try listening to WBBM radio - 780 AM or 105.9 FM, in particular, during the noon hour Mon-Fri when they do an entire hour of business news. WBBM CAN BE heard in Madison since they have towers there and so many people travel back & forth between Mad/Mil/Chi.

I applied for a job in Madison last week and might, perhaps be returning, but it's too soon to tell.

Madison is primarily a college and bioengineering /medical research driven town. Everything else is secondary.

Diane
Chicago Suburbs