How Hard Is It to Become an Art Therapist
Are y'all or someone you're close to interested in becoming an occupational therapist?
Later being a The states-based occupational therapist for over 6 years now and having worked in multiple developed-based rehab settings, I want to share with you 7 things I wish I knew before becoming an occupational therapist.
This listing isn't meant to scare you abroad from becoming an OT! But, I do desire to share some of the realities of occupational therapy for you to consider and so you're well prepared. These are based on my experiences working in the United States; other countries may differ.
one. Beingness an occupational therapist can be stressful.
Occupational therapy is not e'er the "sunshine and rainbows" that you read about in the endless news manufactures touting its frequent rating in the summit 10 happiest and least stressful jobs.
Almost every OT setting has productivity requirements, with some settings having less strict standards than others. Then while you practise go to provide meaningful treatments and aid people accomplish their goals, you volition likely take to bargain with the struggle of meeting your productivity on a daily basis.
This is harder than information technology sounds due to the increasing paperwork demands that companies and insurers require. Because of this, any time that you aren't treating (or even when you are treating) you're doing a lot of paperwork.
Unrealistic productivity demands and some unethical companies and managers can exist the biggest factors for burnout, so after graduation, I advise y'all to do your due diligence on these factors before taking your offset job.
two. Becoming an occupational therapist is expensive.
If you're going for the OTR (Principal's or Doctorate) route, you lot can expect to pay anywhere from $40,000 to well over $100,000 for your degree.
Less expensive land schools are harder to get into, so you may have to choose a private school and pay an boilerplate of $80,000+ for your Master's degree, and over $100,000 for your Doctorate.
To rub table salt in the wound, many Occupational Therapy Principal's programs (MOT degrees) are transitioning to solely Doctorate (OTD) degrees, which bumps upwardly the price of tuition considerably compared to OT Master's programs.
If you lot're thinking almost becoming a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant (COTA) you lot volition pay much less in tuition every bit it is now an Acquaintance's degree, but continue in listen this may exist transitioned to a Available'southward degree in the virtually future. This will also increase tuition considerably, without whatsoever foreseen comparable pay raises for either OTRs or COTAs with these pricier degrees.
While the Agency of Labor Statistics states that the average salary for OTR's is $86,280, the average for new grads is quite a bit less (tens of thousands of dollars less). For a more than realistic look on OT salaries, exist sure to check out our comprehensive article, Occupational Therapist Salary: Data From ii,322 OTs and COTAs. Our results indicated that the average salary amidst the participants was actually $70,732.
This is important to consider when your student loans from OT graduate programs alone might be well over $100,000, not including interest.
3. Some big cities are already saturated with OTs and COTAs.
Considering more people are wanting to become occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants, schools in bigger cities are creating more programs and pumping out more than and more than new grads every year.
More new OTs does not automatically equal more than positions being created to run into the demand, and then many new grads are faced with the fact that they might have to move to another city to find a job.
Fortunately, near rural parts of the state have a drastic need for occupational therapists. You can certainly discover a position, whether permanent or travel, just you might accept to make the pick to leave a bigger city.
If yous're wondering if your city is saturated, cheque Indeed.com regularly and come across if new job postings are listed, in add-on to seeing how many OT and OTA programs exist in the city.
4. Getting into occupational therapy school is Difficult.
I tin can't speak for occupational therapy assistant (OTA) programs. Only as someone who has experienced the stresses of applying to OT school, I can tell you: Both Primary's and Doctorate programs are very competitive.
Cohorts typically have twenty-40 students per plan, and schools are getting 300-500+ applicants each bicycle.
Because of this, your application has to be actually stiff to stand out among the massive number of applicants. Each program has unlike requirements, then when you're applying, be sure you're going higher up and beyond the basic requirements.
In addition, I recommend applying to as many schools as y'all tin can reasonably beget to (preferably at to the lowest degree 3 or more). This is will improve your odds of getting into a programme.
5. After graduating, you might not get to piece of work in your dream setting right abroad.
Considering of the over-saturation previously mentioned, your ideal setting might not accept whatever openings when you're washed with OT school and boards. I found this to exist the instance when I graduated, and ended upwardly in a setting I wasn't crazy near. I did learn a lot from the setting and it gave me the experience I needed to go my dream job in inpatient rehab.
If you're open to other types of settings after graduation, this won't be a huge downside. You lot might observe your second or tertiary choice is really a great fit for you.
6. You are ever explaining what you do as an OT.
Virtually daily I'thou rehearsing my OT lift pitch, educating someone (patients, doctors, nurses, my ain family!) what rehab occupational therapists practise. No, we actually don't work on getting people jobs. That's vocational rehab!
I don't heed educating the general population on what we do at all, but I imagine after doing this for your entire career it could get tiring.
I've constitute that, at work especially, I'm also having to explain that no, I'1000 not the physical therapist, and what nosotros do is similar but different, and I go into the reasons why.
I find that providing a short, curtailed clarification of my function as an occupational therapist is the best way for medical professionals and patients to actually understand what I'm telling them. This PDF from AOTA is a bully educational handout you can as well give to patients and medical professionals when you lot're in this predicament.
7. Many occupational therapy settings are physically demanding.
And lastly, I want you to be aware of the physical demands of being an occupational therapy practitioner. Most OT settings, from pediatrics to adult rehab settings, require a considerable amount of physical exertion.
With rehab-based occupational therapists and COTAs, a big focus is transfer training. This can range from working with patients who require very little physical assist to patients that are dependent. This sometimes requires a lot of lifting throughout the day which tin can be taxing on your body, fifty-fifty with proper torso mechanics and equipment.
Many settings besides involve long periods of standing when y'all're not doing transfer training. If you work in pediatrics, you lot will too be doing a lot of physical movement with crawling, kneeling, jumping, chasing, and handling, oft on the floor or mat.
If you don't think you can handle the concrete requirements that many OT settings demand simply still are passionate almost becoming an occupational therapist, you tin can wait into outpatient settings like driving rehab, hand therapy, or working in mental health. These settings volition typically have considerably less physical demands.
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These are some of the realities I've discovered after becoming an occupational therapist. Would I personally change my career pick? Admittedly not!
Every career has its ups and downs. With OT, you're helping people achieve their goals and increase their independence and life satisfaction, which far outweighs the downsides.
I can't imagine doing anything else. If you're passionate about becoming an occupational therapist, you won't regret information technology!
The job flexibility and diverseness of job options combined with knowing you are truly making a deviation in peoples' lives makes it a peachy career choice as long as you're prepared and you know the potential drawbacks you might encounter.
For fifty-fifty more on the realities of existence an occupational therapist, be sure to also check out these informative web log posts:
five Things to Consider When Deciding on a Career in Occupational Therapy (Mama OT Blog)
Is Occupational Therapy Stressful? (My OT Spot)
Is Occupational Therapy a Expert Career? (St. Catherine University)
This post was originally published on May 24, 2018 and updated on January 26, 2022.
Source: https://www.myotspot.com/tips-before-becoming-an-occupational-therapist/
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