Want To Be Wanted? Become a Physical Therapist

by Jane Smallman
jane.smallman@careerschoolguide.com
Career School Guide Columnist

The employment outlook for licensed physical therapists is excellent. If you have an aptitude for the sciences, enjoy working with people, and want a hands-on health care job, then a career in therapy services could be for you.

Who Needs Physical Therapy?

At around $10 million a year, soccer star David Beckham—former England player and soon to be part of the U.S. team LA Galaxy—is one of the highest paid sports people in the world. But when he broke a bone in his foot just weeks before the 2002 World Cup, it was the expertise supplied by his team of physical therapists that got him back on his feet in time.

Most physical therapists don’t work with famous sports stars, but they perform an equally vital role for a wide range of people. Therapists treat people who, through injury or illness, have disabilities that limit their mobility and/or cause pain. Physical therapists are responsible for devising and carrying out a program of therapy to help patients back to a normal, pain-free life.

People with a wide range of problems can benefit enormously from effective physical therapy, for example:

• accident victims
• the elderly
• those with disabling diseases
• sports people
• pregnant women

Physical therapists can specialize in any one of these areas, or work in general practice where they treat every type of problem.

Training For Licensed Physical Therapy To practice as a physical therapist in any U.S. state you need to satisfy two qualification requirements:

• graduate from an accredited physical therapist education program (none of which are below master’s or doctoral degree level)
• pass a state licensure exam

Typically this means spending as many as seven or eight years in school (including bachelor’s and graduate degrees), but the rewards are great. Therapists enjoy a worthwhile and satisfying career, excellent job opportunities, and a starting salary of around $54,000 with the possibility of earning $88,580 or more with experience.

For a job that can make a major contribution towards improving the quality of people’s lives, why not investigate physical therapy now?

Sources

American Physical Therapy Association
U.S. Dept Labor, Bureau Labor Statistics
Wall Street Journal

About the Author

Jane Smallman combines freelance writing with running a mountain guiding business with her husband. She has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in the Social Sciences.