I am curious about physio therapy as a career and would appreciate any information about the career.?

Question

I may be a bit late in the process (already in college) but I'm not sure what I want to do, and I have been to physio many times for 3 knee injuries and enjoyed the enviroment quite a bit. I would like to know about the educational requirements (is it difficult to become certified?), example of job hours, money, and employment (is it fairly self-employed?) can I controll my days and hours... Any advice and direction would be much appreciated.

Answer 1

Here is the page from the Occupational Outlook Handbook
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos080.htm
It will have all the information you want; including:
Significant Points
• Employment is expected to increase much faster than the average, as growth in the number of individuals with disabilities or limited functioning spurs demand for therapy services.
• Job opportunities should be particularly good in acute hospital, rehabilitation, and orthopedic settings.
• After graduating from an accredited physical therapist educational program, therapists must pass a licensure exam before they can practice.
• Nearly 6 out of 10 physical therapists work in hospitals or in offices of physical therapists.

Answer 2

By your use of the term physio therapist, I assume that you are outside of the US (here in the US the proffession is called physical therapy). But, I can tell you what it is like becomming a phsyical therapist here in the US. Your best bet is to get your doctorate of physical theray. It takes 6-7 years to earn the degree.

First you will need a BA or BS in the degree of your own choosing (psychology, biology, and physilogy are popular choices at my own school). While in the process of earning your degree you will need to make sure that you take the approiate pre-req (things like anatomy and physics). After you finish your BA you will need to apply to graduate school. Depending on the school it can take 2-3 years to earn your doctorate degree in physical therapy. After you earn your degree you will need to take a lisencing exam in order to practice. This is essentially a big test over everything you have learned in PT school to prove that you are capible of doing the job.

Working hours and enviroments are highly varied. If you work in a hospital you can expect hours somewhere around 7am-5pm, give or take a few. In an outpatient clinic (like where you went for your knee) I have known therapists who do 3 twelve hour days a week and take the rest of the time off, or therapists who work a regular 40 hour 8-5 week. It depends on your availiablity and the clinics needs. There is also a branch of physical therapy where a PT will go to people's houses and help them get settled after surgeries or just help people who are unable to go to a clinic. With the exeption of working in a hospital, you should have alot of control over the hours you want to work.

As far as salary goes, according to Salary.com physical therapy salaries fall anywhere between 60-85,000 dollars a year. And, since there is a phsyical therapist shorttage in the US right now, those numbers are expected to rise.

If you want to get into physical therapy, start looking for a graduate program to attend and seeing what the require for you to take in your undergrad. Depending on your major, it should not be terribly difficult to switch to physical therapy.