Finding jobs in therapy field

[tloonya]

DD is getting recreational/occupational therapy profession and everyone is telling me she is going to have no problems to find job because this is where everyone hiring now.

Yesterday she texting me that her professor can't find a full time job and she has a doctorate in this field.

Should I be nervous starting now?

[ken a.k.a OMK]

Sometimes PhD's have trouble getting a job because they are over qualified, so they stay in teaching.

[NancysSummerSip]

Is she looking for a job in a specific location, or is she willing to relocate where there is work? If she is deadset against moving away from Mommy and Daddy, it could be a problem, since big cities attract lots of worthy candidates with previous experience. She may have to move to a new place far away to get the job and the money she wants.

Is she willing to work weekends/holidays/night shifts for the money she wants? The odd hours pay the best and have the fewest applicants. And that's where the newbie hires tend to get placed anyway.

Is she willing to work two part-time jobs to make it? She could wind up a contract employee with a PT/OT firm; not bad money, but not necessarily fulltime. And also no benefits, so she will either have to stay on your insurance, or buy her own.

[tskeeter]

Mar 18, 2016 10:45:38 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

Sometimes PhD's have trouble getting a job because they are over qualified, so they stay in teaching.

And because studying and developing theories about a subject are a lot different than performing the work in that field.  Take my uncle, the retired college business professor.  His total experience in the business world was one year with a large company.  I suspect that during his first annual performance review, he was counciled out of the company.  After that, he got a Masters and a Doctorate, spent decades teaching, and wrote questions for a nationwide professional certification exam.  While he has extensive knowledge of the subject matter theory, I wouldn't pick Unk to be my business partner because he doesn't exhibit a lot of the attributes required to be successful in a business.

[kittensaver]

Mar 18, 2016 11:49:13 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

Is she looking for a job in a specific location, or is she willing to relocate where there is work? If she is deadset against moving away from Mommy and Daddy, it could be a problem, since big cities attract lots of worthy candidates with previous experience. She may have to move to a new place far away to get the job and the money she wants.

Is she willing to work weekends/holidays/night shifts for the money she wants? The odd hours pay the best and have the fewest applicants. And that's where the newbie hires tend to get placed anyway.

Is she willing to work two part-time jobs to make it? She could wind up a contract employee with a PT/OT firm; not bad money, but not necessarily fulltime. And also no benefits, so she will either have to stay on your insurance, or buy her own.

 a college degree or professional certification is not your automatic ticket to some sort of Easy Street. It is your admission ticket to the world of working your fanny off, making sacrifices and trade offs, and doing what you need to do to start and build a career.  

[mamasita99]

Mar 18, 2016 10:41:50 GMT -5 tloonya said:

DD is getting recreational/occupational therapy profession and everyone is telling me she is going to have no problems to find job because this is where everyone hiring now.

Yesterday she texting me that her professor can't find a full time job and she has a doctorate in this field.

Should I be nervous starting now?

Is DD in recreation therapy or occupational therapy? Job opportunities and pay is quite different between these two professions. I was a recreation therapy major for my undergrad degree. Most of the jobs available include regular weekend/evening hours, and the pay is not super. Working with special populations is my calling, but crap pay and crap hours is NoT my calling!
OT, on the other hand, offers more opportunities for jobs in a variety of settings .

[zibazinski]

Like the difference between an athletic trainer and a physical therapist.

[lynnerself]

Mar 18, 2016 10:45:38 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

Sometimes PhD's have trouble getting a job because they are over qualified, so they stay in teaching.

DD is in Physical therapy school right now. All new graduates are Doctorates. That's what the schools are doing.  Not a PhD tho.

[tloonya]

Mar 18, 2016 16:52:38 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Like the difference between an athletic trainer and a physical therapist.

Just HAD to chime in, just HAD to? What is the obsession with my thread? You need a therapist?

[andi9899]

If you don't want people posting on your threads, don't start any. Just saying.

[Deleted]

So is it recreational or occupational therapy? Or a dual major?

[tloonya]

Mar 19, 2016 8:04:58 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

If you don't want people posting on your threads, don't start any. Just saying.

It is a free public forum. I will post whatever I will post and not everyone MUST participate. Just letting you know in case you were wondering. You didn't MUST have. You could just move onto something else.

[Deleted]

But, uh, it's a free public forum... She can post, whatever, too....

[tloonya]

Mar 19, 2016 8:28:41 GMT -5 oped said:

But, uh, it's a free public forum... She can post, whatever, too....

Of course. So she did and I did and you did...

[tloonya]

Mar 18, 2016 19:53:42 GMT -5 lynnerself said:

Mar 18, 2016 10:45:38 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

Sometimes PhD's have trouble getting a job because they are over qualified, so they stay in teaching.

DD is in Physical therapy school right now. All new graduates are Doctorates. That's what the schools are doing.  Not a PhD tho.

That is what DD told me 'you will be able to call me a 'doctor''

[Deleted]

Doctor of......?

[tloonya]

Mar 19, 2016 8:38:33 GMT -5 oped said:

Doctor of......?

....all doctors!

I am waiting for her to answer...wait.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Large School districts and combined small school districts employ occupational therapists, but they don't require a doctorate. They'd hire someone with one but the pay would still be comparable to BS or MS.

[andi9899]

Mar 19, 2016 8:19:08 GMT -5 tloonya said:

Mar 19, 2016 8:04:58 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

If you don't want people posting on your threads, don't start any. Just saying.

It is a free public forum. I will post whatever I will post and not everyone MUST participate. Just letting you know in case you were wondering. You didn't MUST have. You could just move onto something else.

What are you babbling about? You're really going to have to learn to write better in English. I just pointed out a simple fact. Don't hate because people post on your thread that you opened on a public forum. You start threads about things that are hard enough to read in your broken English and then get pissed off when certain people post on them or you hear what you don't want to hear. Stop creating new threads then.

[zibazinski]

You're getting to be as hateful as a former poster. What's wrong with you?

[mroped]

When you ask a question, expect answers! There might be answers that you don't like but that doesn't imply that they are necessarily wrong. They might be however in contradiction with what you thought on the subject and they are offed with the intent of letting you know of all the possibilities or all the obstacles that you might encounter in your endeavors.
And as it was already said, since it is a public forum you cannot limit whom answers unless said individual does not abide by the COC.

Back to your question:
it seems that there is need for therapists all over and since the demand for the profession had risen there is a need to be more specific as to specialty.

[NancysSummerSip]

Mar 19, 2016 9:33:07 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

Mar 19, 2016 8:19:08 GMT -5 tloonya said:

It is a free public forum. I will post whatever I will post and not everyone MUST participate. Just letting you know in case you were wondering. You didn't MUST have. You could just move onto something else.

What are you babbling about? You're really going to have to learn to write better in English. I just pointed out a simple fact. Don't hate because people post on your thread that you opened on a public forum. You start threads about things that are hard enough to read in your broken English and then get pissed off when certain people post on them or you hear what you don't want to hear. Stop creating new threads then.

Finally, someone asked the right question. Thanks, andi.

You didn't MUST have

Every English teacher I ever had in my school life just rolled over in his/her grave.

[justme]

Isn't she like only in her second year of college? So she'd have to graduate and get into another program for her doctorate to be called doctor? I could be wrong, but I don't know of any doctorate programs you get into starting your sophomore year. I know of some that let you complete a masters while you're doing your undergrad, but it usually adds on at least a year and you still have to get in that one too.

[lynnerself]

DD has her BS in biology. The Physical Therapy program is for 3 more years and she will be a DPT, Doctor of Physical Therapy.
My understanding is this is the way the occupation is going. There are few masters programs any more.
( The programs also are costing around $100,000) And the demand for the programs is high enough that acceptance is very hard.