If you’ve ever broken or badly injured yourself you’ve most likely gone through some type of physical therapy. Even if you haven’t I think we all know that it’s pretty difficult when you’re injured, but what about how hard it is for the physical therapist to be there helping you through all the steps to getting better. How much time and effort they used to be able to be where they are. What about how many classes they had to take in college to be able to finally call themselves physical therapists? Or how all their hard work paid off because of how much money they make a year? All of those topics will be covered in this paper.
Salary is probably one of the things people want to know about most when it comes to getting a job. “The salary of a physical therapist is variable, depending on education, experience, location, and skill sets,” (physicaltherapysalary.org). The average annual salary for a physical therapist is actually 103% higher than the average Americans income, being at $86,520. Location is a big part of their salary as well, depending on where you work your salary could be bigger or smaller. As of right now, Nevada is the highest paying state for PT’s, their average salary being $115,670. Cities may also have an effect on it too, metropolitan areas have big effects on salaries, Las Vegas, NV having the highest, their average for PT’s is $121,880. I bet having this money is very useful if they have to pay back for all those years of education is college, because for being a PT it takes years to get what is needed.
To become a physical therapist it takes around 7 years to get what you need to be licensed. First you have to go to college and get your undergraduate degree, and those usually take four years to receive. “In fact, you can have any major in college and as long as you finish the right prereqs for PT school, you can apply through PTCAS. PTCAS is the central application system for physical therapy schools,” (www.ptprogress.com). After you earn your undergraduate degree you should apply for a DTP Program (Doctor of Physical Therapy). “Traditional DPT programs can range from 30-36 months,” (www.ptprogress.com). In total after you receive your undergraduate and finish you DTP program you’d be in school for at least 7 years, but you don’t just need education. They’re are some skills a person should have to make the job easier for them.
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Sometimes it’s not just about the degrees you earn that makes you a good PT, they are other factors. “The following skills are important for this career: reading comprehension (level 5), active listening (level 6), writing (level 4), speaking (level 5), science (level 3), critical thinking (level 5), active learning (level 3), learning strategies (level 3), and monitoring (level 4),” (www.CFNC.org), but also mathematics (level 2) are necessary just not as important. Those are all the basic skills for being a PT, but there are also transferable skills that are important as well. “High level of skill required: giving health care instructions, operating medical diagnostic equipment, planning health care treatments, working as a member of a health service team,” (www.CFNC.org). There will also be workplace skills being, complex problem solving, instructing, time management, coordination, etc. It sounds like a lot, but all that hard work does pay off.
The process to become a physical therapist seems like a long and tough process but with the right mindset you can do it. With all the time spent focusing their life on getting to where they are. All the classes and lecture they had to sit though. However every single second mattered and was worth it, because they help people every single day. As in the end you will have a high education, useful skills, and can make high income.
