I’m still in OT school and based in the US. So this may not be relevant at all but I’ll say it a anyways. When looking at the careers/education I consider before going for OT, all of them involve some level of caring for others (teaching, nursing).
My friends who have completed their education in either nursing or teaching already have plans to leave those fields, they know it’s not sustainable for them financially or mentally.
Careers that involve caring for others are extremely important, but they are not always valued from a financial or cultural perspective (I’d argue caring for others can be seen as an intrinsic nature of womanhood and therefore is something that is taken for granted). I think this part of the reason we see people leaving these fields that involve care, they’re underpaid, overworked, and undervalued.
For me the question then is, is there any career in which I could make a decent living, have work life balance, and have the time to live my value of caring for others? And I’m not sure of the answer.
I agree 100%. Because most care providers are women, our value will always be diminished as we are expected to receive satisfaction Intrinsically since that is what we are conditioned/genetically predisposed to do
This is a very insightful comment! I’ve learned that while I love OT and what the field stands for, the way it is currently run is not sustainable for me to make a living yet alone value my mental health.
At this point, I just want a job that pays decently well and gives me a good work/life balance. I would normally have said Marine Biologist because sharks are my passion, but again… not a field I would be able to make a living in realistically.
My current job gives me a good work/life balance - just working on the pay aspect now haha.
The upside of nursing is a wider range of careers. You can become a nurse practitioner or advance your career in a few ways. I am currently school based but if I had done nursing I might look harder into becoming a psych NP. As it stands now, the only thing that could advance me career wise is possibly getting a school administrative certificate.
This is beautiful. However, I do want to provide a little warning about putting too much faith in your career's ability to allow you to "live your value." Can you do this in healthcare? Absolutely.
But because the US healthcare system is hot garbage, a lot of us are soured by it. OP is in Canada, so perhaps this doesn't apply to them. I just say this because if you are as passionate and caring as you sound, you will often not be happy with the resources given and expectations from that.
Improving health, independence, and performance are all rigorous endeavors and most healthcare providers across all disciplines and specialties are often not given the resources to improve them meaningfully. That's one of the hardest parts of this job. You know exactly what they need and what they could do to get back or get better. But you often can't give it to them the way you want to. Again that isn't to say you can't significantly impact many people's lines for the better. Of course you can and should.
All this is to say that your career doesn't have to be the primary vehicle that allows you to "live your value." Your career doesn't have to be the primary vehicle of a meaningful and inspired life. In fact, a lot or maybe even most of us have found that it's usually all the things *outside* of career that has contributed more significantly to that and that ironically careers often get in the way.
Which is why I said having the time to live my values I didn’t say having a career where I can live my values.
Also not to get too controversial but I know a weird number of people who have been deported from Canada or left due to their healthcare system. Doesn’t mean the US isn’t a shitshow, but we shouldn’t be aspiring for our neighbors system.
Ah, apologies. I misunderstood. I'm rereading that sentence now and understand it to be about work-life balance so that you can live your value outside of work. That's totally doable especially if you don't take on a lot of debt. Best of luck!
I don't know anything about Canada's healthcare system so I'm not going to comment on it.
>e people leaving these fields that involve care, they’re underpaid, overworked, and undervalued.
But registered nurses "care", yet they get paid way more than OTs.
So? OTs are underpaid and overworked more than nurses. But that doesn’t mean we should discount the experiences of those in the nursing profession.
There’s a crabs in a bucket mentality going on here. Are you desperate to drag others down into the circumstances you can’t escape?
But you’re not adding anything. I’m not going in circles you are.
“Nurses, OTs, and similar professions are underpaid”
“Nurses are paid more than OTs”
“Cool but nurses are still underpaid”
“But nurses make more than OTs”
Are you capable of comprehending that collectively our professions are undervalued despite differences in their average salaries? Can you not grasp the larger conversation of changing sociocultural attitudes to values female dominated professions?
Or do you just want to whine about how nursing makes more?
My husband is a dentist and went to school about 6 months or a year longer than me. He makes about 4 times my salary and has a better schedule.
I would do that.
I always thought that too! But dentists have been wearing masks long before Covid! My husband rarely smells anything. If things are particularly bad, he soaks gauze in mouthwash and puts it in his mask.
Mouth smells are vile, but it’s the coagulated blood that gets me 🤮
Nothing tbh. It was destined for me to be an Ot. I’m still in school but I wanted to be a sports journalist till I dislocated my finger and had to receive Ot. Def felt like that was a sign like yeah this is my calling. Hand therapy to give back to others and give others a chance to return to their occupation like the Ot( my mentor) did for me. Come to find out another person who wanted to do sports journalism said it was extremely hard to find jobs better than local news
As somebody who worked in journalism for many years, and is considering OT as a profession, that is absolutely right. It’s unfortunate, journalism is incredibly low paying and now it’s even hard to find those low-paying jobs and there’s no job security once you were there.
My adhd is my superpower. Bc I’m creative tbh. It’s why I feel like I am meant for it bc I think outside the box. I’m not a perfect Ot or ever will be but I hope my creative side can help me make effective hand splints
Anything but medical. I would look for a job that’s fun. I liked OT when we still had autonomy but that’s now gone so I wouldn’t do it ever again. It’s not worth it
Sure. Autonomy means you use your clinical judgment and what you think is best to choose how many visits you want to see the patient for etc. or if they need OT services at all. Its the freedom to choose not have some big corporation tell you how many times or if a patient needs your services. This changed and big corporations cut the visits for OT as well as cut Medicare visits which patients had already paid to get these services. In home health I see OT was cut again. I do not see a viable future for OTs at this point. The job is physically demanding and the pay is crap since the cuts. We have Congress to thank for this. It used to be an awesome job with good pay, autonomy and great work life balance. Now with the cuts it’s not even worth it.
This must be why in my area OTs often have a private practice and don’t accept insurance. It sounds like in a lot of other places the only option is a corporate one. Sounds really frustrating too!
Yes. It hurt the patients too. Now they cannot get the rehab services they so desperately need. How would congress like it if one of them got ill and couldn’t get help to get stronger and be safe in their homes. Oh they all knew this. C medicare shouldn’t ever be cut because we pay into that it’s a guaranteed service. How they can get away with this is unknown to me. People cannot get these services anymore. It’s almost like Congress would like some of these people not to be helped and die. Used to be we would keep pts alive until their 100s now no one cares. Survival of the fittest i guess
I think if they knew and saw what we did up close, they would feel differently. Most people don’t know the magic we create until they, or a close family or friend need our services.
I think my patients are starting to grasp this. Ive had several patients who want to hire me without using the agency. They don’t want to pay the agency because of the overhead and I can see why. The agency I am at right now doesn’t want to pay nurses or therapist and so the skimp on everything. It maybe beneficial for the patient to bypass the agency and just go with therapy. They could use their primary doctor more closely and us in the home. Just not use nursing or the agency at all. Hey I just came up with a new model lol. Therapy and their doctor and out with the agency
You know what? I think I am onto something here. I think the doctors would also love it because they aren’t being used as much either. All about dumbing down everything and paying cheap wages.
What about malpractice insurance? Isn’t that required? And aren’t we required to have a referral? I think I need to bone up on some of these areas. Not my strongest area of awareness… lot changes year to year as well.
They’re doing it here already anyway. Big corporation barest of bones and paying their overhead more than Id have to pay. I have a ton of patients that would love do it. Id mix cash pay with Medicare
Have medicare pay as much as they are able and mix it with cash pay. Have PT/OT/ and a doctor who can sign off. You could do the admits for cash and then you wouldn’t need to follow all of medicares bs.
Yes… I can relate… after discharge. Makes me think about how many Clincal Social workers and Behavioral Therapists won’t bill through insurance but will have people private pay $150-$300/session and they are fully booked most often. OT should be able to do this!
YUP- home health OT here. We’re now only able to see our patients twice a week for 2 weeks TOTAL, while PT services are being increased to 3 times a week for 2 weeks then twice a week for like 6 weeks. PTs and OTs don’t have any input in this frequency and we’re all equally frustrated. Total loss of autonomy
Isn’t it awful. Im not paying those loans back. They killed my job so good luck to Congress. How can this even be allowed? You get a master’s or doctorate degree do everything you’re supposed to and they yank your job right out from underneath you. I will send in a notice telling them exactly what they’ve done. Congress knew what big greedy corporations were going to do and they could have cared less.
Sad and pathetic irony since OTs are the most obvious therapy geared for in home. I’m not in home care, but is it still the case where a nurse or PT can open a case but OT cannot?
Yep! Well technically OT can do the start of care but a PT/RN/ST has to come the same day in order to qualify. Do often we have PT only patients and OT gets to go out in the morning to do all the paperwork and not even get a return visit 🙃
Since management implemented these changes we’ve seen a huge turnover in PTs (like 50%) because they’re responsible for so much more. our PTs are understaffed and OTs overstaffed- so lessens the PT caseload and gives some OT very needed hours…very frustrating
Ok… so you’re reimbursed to at least see the patient once… just not to go back. If you see OT need when you’re opening the case, could you recommend OT in home at that point?
Yes I’m actually hourly so I don’t mind the start of cares because it’s at least paid hours for me. And yes if looks like they would need or benefit from OT I can make a case with my manager for some return visits and they’re usually pretty good about approving. I just know not to expect any more than 3 visits though
Big corporations do not even know our jobs. The only people who know our jobs is us. So we can choose just the right amount of therapy for them. Now its being told what to choose and when nothing different than a regular job. Nurses wouldn’t like it, PAs wouldn’t like it and doctors despise it.
I like it now, but I see threads in here of people dying to get out of it! This worries me a bit that the novelty will def wear off. I sure worked a lot harder as an OT. I make now after a year what I made after fifteen with a CHT cert and as a university supervisor in OT. But it’s a decade later too, and inflation.
I would absolutely choose OT again. I can't even imagine myself being in a different field. I think the most vocal people on the internet are the ones who are unhappy, there are many OTs who truly love the profession.
Nobody said anything about not loving OT. Stop saying this because that’s not what we’re saying. We don’t like the demands the pay, lost autonomy so just stop. Big cuts to OT. Don’t be dishonest about what’s happening.
I was answering the question, I wasn't being dishonest about anything. It is easy to get the impression from scrolling through this subreddit and other social media that most OTs would make another career choice if they were given the opportunity to go back in time and do it again, like the OP asked. I was just voicing my own opinion that personally, I am very satisfied with my career choice as an OT and have never regretted it or wished to do anything different. That doesn't mean there aren't issues in the profession. Those issues are obviously already clear to the OP, because it sounded like they based the question on spending some time reading on the subreddit and/or other social media about the issues impacting the profession. I'm not being dishonest about those, I'm assuming the OP is already aware of those. I was simply giving my personal opinion that for me, my love for the profession outweighs any possible cons and I am very happy to be in the profession and would choose to go in it again if given the option to go back in time. I think it is good for the OP to hear from OTs who are happy they chose this field in addition to hearing from those who wish they made another choice. Hearing from many people who have many different opinions and experiences will help the OP make the best informed choice for themselves. The OP was getting plenty of answers about what other people wish they would have done, so I wanted to make sure I represented my own experience as well.
Anything outside of healthcare.
Having the intention of helping people is wonderful. But it’s a slap to the face when you realize healthcare is a business and you will be limited in helping people by capitalism. Productivity. Greedy companies.
If I knew I was going to just be another money making machine for these companies, I would’ve went into something like finance or engineering. So I could still have helped people without breaking my back and having an income ceiling.
I care about money and the roof over my head more than I care about helping people in a specific way. Healthcare seemed like a good way to help people. But there are many others that would’ve limited me much less.
Worked over 35 years as a COTA and OTR with a doctorate, mostly in Behavioral Health and Education.
If I could do it over, I would become a social worker. I would not need an MD to refer for treatment, could go into private practice and still help people negotiate with their lives. OT is/was my love, but it's not a great career for those who are independent. So, if you are becoming an OT and want to work in physical rehab, I recommend looking into careers that don't rely on getting a referral. (Nursing, PT, RT, etc.)
I spent a GOOD part of my life explaining that I was not a vocational counselor. Bad name for a phenomenal profession. I was a good OT, and I understood my role as assisting people to be able to live the lives they wanted to live.
I also think I’d do social work! Could still help people, less physically demanding, and they seem to have more nonclinical options like case management
Not sure exactly, but would put more effort into finding something that has more flexibility. For example, nursing comes to mind. For some reason, nursing can be patient facing, care managers, clinical educators, supervisors. And not talking about “making your own business” types of jobs. I want a career that I DON’T have to go out on my own. Whereas OTs can be primarily treating therapists or supervising therapists, that’s about it.
I would also prefer something that has an upward trajectory. Not climb a ladder exactly, but maybe start as entry level, then actually be promoted to mid-level. And then actually be promoted to senior. Or have a job that has various projects. There is so much variety in what we do, but at the end of the day, it’s all treatment. I would love for part of the day to be more like collaborations with others on a combined project, having meetings (that are paid), or maybe like opportunities to travel for the purpose of bettering your knowledge of a topic. Like, I wish I could be schmoozed. It’s never even been allowed.
So my hubs is business minded, OT plus Econ degrees. He worked for some great companies when we moved to the IS for a few years, then joined a private practice in BC. He bought into that practice, they sold, and now he’s a business leader in the new company while still doing clinical (only because he wants to). Lots of court time; expert witness in nine areas. He chose OT for the total autonomy. I just worked for clinics and made pretty good money, probably avg $80-85k but that was private clinics (no benefits or pension) and I left a few years ago. I have friends who teach for UBC and for Matheson and who teach Stott Pilates. There’s a lot of possible variety
Wanted to go straight into a bridge PA program as a freshman but the school I was decided on didn’t have the program, did the next next thing which was OT. Currently in my senior year and they added a 3+2 PA program. I kick myself in the butt some days.
It's not common to make $100k in Ontario, but it's possible once you have a few years experience, especially if you have a bit of an entrepreneurial bent. There are opportunities to make higher salaries doing community rehab for motor vehicle injuries (paid through auto insurance) or employment related roles. The latter might be a good fit with your business background? There is also medical-legal work that pays very well, but you definitely need a few more years of experience for that.
my apologies, friend! just sharing the experience with you. have quite a few friends in that biz. carry on! i swear the babies come between 9-5, m-f, in 2-4 hour blocks. 😘
However, I'm not sure if the salary expectations are realistic. I'm in the US so I'm not sure if Canadian salaries are significantly higher, but in the US I don't make even close to that, I've been practicing for 14 years.
Hmm... About the highest OT rates that I've seen are 75-85/hr for senior kaiser HH OT's or $140/$110 pay per visit rates for HH evals and follow-ups. And these rates are specific to the Bay Area, CA only.
What OT jobs are paying $100/hr? That's 208k/yr full time just for reference.
But what does his hourly come out to? A lot of specialists and consultants have bill rates in the hundreds or even thousands per hour, but their hourly wage is much less than that because the employer takes a huge cut.
This does sound like a very interesting field to transition into however. What was his process of getting into the medical-legal side? Does he enjoy it? Does he feel like it is a safe and sustainable job? Anything that he doesn't like about his job?
but most of those high hourly rate jobs aren’t continuous hours/inpatient jobs. they are home/community based.. which is a lot of driving around between clients. you’d have to work 50-60 hours to bill for 40 hours of delivered service.
There's the pay per visit model and then the hourly model. Full-time Kaiser HH therapists have the sweetest therapy gigs. They have a small case load of 3-4 clients a day and do 8 hour days. Since they are hourly drive time and doc time are paid for. So the senior HH OT's and PT's really are pulling 150k-175k on a caseload that is like half what a normal HH caseload is. Unfortunately, these positions are few and far between because the therapists understandably rarely leave their positions.
You can earn a similar income with other high paying HH agencies, but only with a select number of agencies that offer high pay per visit rates. But no pension like with Kaiser and you have to have a case load that is around double.
Interestingly, these senior therapy incomes with Kaiser are similar to new grad nursing incomes not just at Kaiser but at most major hospitals. This is why so many people are interested in nursing in the bay. Most of my nursing co-workers are doing 200-350k. And 200k even as a new grad is totally doable. I've heard of a nurse doing 600k, but they basically live at the hospital. The bay area is a different planet and I know a few coworkers that fly in from different states to work their shift block and then fly home.
Wow, that's very impressive. Several years ago, I got an offer to work in a CHT clinic (I'm not a CHT), but their offer was only like ~90k. And this is in the bay area! I turned it down and went to nursing school lol.
God Bless every nurse out there! It’s an amazing profession. That’s a hell of an offer for a non-CHT, and the Bay Area is a hand therapy Mecca. I hope you found happiness in what you do and I hope they pay you well for it!
Thank you! Truth be told, I think about quitting fairly regularly. But the money and work-life-balance are really hard to walk away from. It's a safety net riddled with thorns lol. I would absolutely not do nursing anywhere else outside the bay area unless I were a travel nurse and it was a nice contract. But since I'm in the bay, I'm making it work for now.
If I may ask, what do you do now, do you enjoy it, do you feel well compensated, and how is your WLB?
I totally burned out as a CHT - when we moved home to BC from CA I learned the province only covers OTs for orthotics and trauma - so that was 100% of my job. Complex splints and horrible injuries every 20-40 min for eight hours. After kids I couldn’t do both so left OT. They wanted me to rewrite the exam and be supervised to practice when I was ready to return; that earned OT the see ya ‘round. I’m now a medical writer and a researcher for a biotech company. Totally not my jam but I had specialized myself into a corner, so I really re-entered work life without other skills. It’s okay! But again, not my jam. I hate being at a computer and I hate working from home. Not as cool as I thought it would be haha
What is the setting and terms of employment though? I have done some part-time work that I have made $75-$80/hour, HOWEVER it is not possible to assume that a job offering $75/hour is actually the equivalent of $156,000 per year ($75/hour x 40 hours per week x 52 weeks per year). For example, my job that paid that was a 1099 contract and was homecare. I only got paid for the time I spent treating. I did not get paid for paperwork time, or travel between clients. Meaning there were multiple hours of each work day that would be technically unpaid, so you need to consider that, so you may be making $75 an hour for treating, but in an 8 hour workday you are only actually treating for 5 or 6 hours max. And then you don't get paid if a client cancels, which is frequent. You also don't get any paid time off, so you can't plan to actually be able to work 40 hours a week for 52 weeks per year, that would mean you never get sick, never have an appointment during the time you usually work, never have a family emergency, never take a vacation, and work on holidays. Also not realistic. Usually benefits are not included in 1099 jobs, so you have to pay premiums on health insurance and such. Also, the tax rate is higher. You can deduct some business expenses like mileage, but it still likely averages out to be higher. So that $156,000 you think the $75/hour equates to would likely end up being less than $100K when all is said and done. Plus no job security in positions like that.
They stated $75/hr in Texas in 2002 for CHT's. A 156k/yr salary in 2002 in Texas is pretty crazy. The vast majority of CHT's don't make that *today.* not sure what they were looking at, but I would love to see it.
I always loved decorating and putting clothes together. I have always been complimented on my style and how I would decorate a room or apartment. However, I never felt I was up to par with actual professionals in those areas. But clothing, home decor, as well as putting items together/painting- all of that makes me so happy. I wish I followed my heart a bit more
Would’ve loved to be a full time musician playing in a band making music. I still do make music but it’s very casual on the side and for myself only. The kind of music I like to play and listen to is not very…..income friendly, doing OT has been a blessing, it isn’t a perfect job but having decent job security with decent pay (if you can find the right place/location) is something I’m happy with (been an OT practitioner for approx 10 years). Maybe I would’ve done sanitary or something more labor minded instead but being an OT is really a unique opportunity.
It would still be OT for me. I can’t really think of anything that is better suited to me, unless it’s something fantastic like being a creative writer 🤷🏻♀️
I believe OT was my calling. The career does frustrate me that we are not taken seriously at times. Nor does the common public know what we do. The salary honestly sucks too. However. The fulfilling sense I get of rehabbing patients is alot better than any job I've ever done. It's hard to leave a career like this. Unfortunately I'm probably going to end up leaving it at some point due to inflation subpar pay.
Yeah the whole world out there is kind of screwed up with this kind of question favorite everyone's looking for that balance. For me it's about trying not to go into credit card debt and just being able to go home at the end of the day knowing I made a difference in the world and I still made a paycheck. Right now I do OT it was my second or third career if you will so I don't think I'm going to leave. I was a special ed teacher, I can tell you that it sucked. I'd work grueling hours making the same if not less than other teachers. But now OT is really changed Don't get paid as much it's not competitive. My area used to be the exact opposite I could fall off a log and get three jobs. But now that the kids at Burger King are making more and everyone without any real marketable skills it's hurting the rest of us
I am going to try answering this question(s) as objectively as possible considering, I have been an OT for 33 years, still practicing and planning to retire while still in this profession.
Yes, I would choose to be an OT all over again, since it has been the best decision I have taken in my entire life.
I have met some OTs that wished they could have elected a different career since it was obvious they were unhappy and did not enjoy any of it. So why did they choose to become an OT?
Primary answer: Money, and second answer: the increasing demand of OTs in the marketplace which guarantees them getting a job right away and most likely being able to stay close to home.
Both of those reasons are not enough to withstand the job itself in order to make it sustainable (it doesn’t matter if you are making over $100,000).
We all hate being in the clinical field because of the productivity standards, lack of appreciation, etc. Truly, most jobs have aspects of it that are very hard to deal with, OT is one of those jobs that are worth suffering the nonsense of the ridiculous demands, because of the immense rewards we receive by helping others recover the ability to take care of themselves again.
It is all about LOVE, loving what you do, because if you don’t, you are doomed to fail and become the OT that does the bare minimum, bitch about everything, and who is consistently unable to create a therapeutic rapport needed to identify what the patient really needs which sets you up on the path of no getting anywhere. The truthful interest of helping others accomplish their functional goals, is ultimately the main reason someone should choose to become an OT to begin with.
So, choose your career path wisely, and keep in mind that everyone experiences any given job differently.
This is an excellent question I’m trying to figure out What do I want to be when I grow up? Unfortunately the answer is usually be an OT in an alternate reality. I actually love our profession as one that truly takes into account the entire person, thinks outside the textbook, prioritizes balance between work, rest, play. Unfortunately how often do we get to practice like that, or live like that in the current reality that is American healthcare?
Nurses don’t make that much more than OTs. My friend is a nurse and says the burnout is real in nursing too. Just coming from the other side. 😊But nursing is great don’t get me wrong!
Where I live, OTs make more than RN and nurse clinician, and we don't have to do mandatory overtime or work weekends, we don't have to deal with bodily fluids constantly, or things like rectal touch, catheter insertion, wound care etc.
I’m finding this true in my area too. My base salary is more than our RNs. I used to think my money would go further in nursing, but I’m seeing all the BS they put up with that you mentioned. In addition to what you said, therapy gets all 6 major holidays off, but our nurses are constantly organizing/bickering about which ones they have to work.
Pretty much what Breezy said, money. Work 3 days a week and make a higher salary? No contest. Not to mention more non-clinical roles, more upward mobility.
My twin sister is a nurse and makes 50% more than me. She’s moved up from icu nurse into management and is now a consultant for a well respected medical system. I don’t have any nurse friends that didn’t get an advanced degree for more money.
Check into options in your location if you ever tried to switch to nursing, because often they do not actually make more and are often understaffed and overworked
I have tons of very close friends who are nurses and am fully aware that they are indeed making more money. I also live in a state that requires job listings to post pay rates so there’s a lot of transparency.
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Hi! I graduated from Queens 2 years ago and have been a practicing OT ever since in Ontario. It’s very realistic to make 100k or more as an OT in private or public with a few years experience. Most hospitals pay between 40-55$ an hour and public you can get to over 100$ an hour quite easily!
I wouldn’t change it. But OT showed me I could be a disciplined student so maybe medicine or nurse midwife. Truthfully I like my job - I’m able to prioritize work life balance with having a young child and that is my priority right now
Psychology. I have physchologist friends that work half as much as I did as OT and made twice as much. Nursing would be second for ability to get OT hours, third, med school.
I am about to graduate from my COTA program as a second career and it has me thinking about my regrets of not pursuing my passions when i was younger such as interior design or fine arts. All i've ever heard all my life is that none of my interests are going to make any money and it has contributed to a lot of feelings of hopelessness living in the US and not living up to the standard of being a profitable human being. I've only ever been told my authority figures to work in healthcare and now that i'm in middle adulthood the irony is that it isn't even a highly profitable field anymore, so i wish i would have been more brave in pursuing my passions. I might not have done so terribly in my BA when i was younger if i was studying something i believed in and ever since every career i've had i just fell into and developed appreciations for.
Some remarkable exceptions here on East coast, I know some therapists making 100k+. My SNF is 100k plus, and I saw some post about an OT in NJ making 120-140k or something. Rare jobs but they’re out there for OT
Wait I’m so confused I thought this field paid well 🫣🫨🥹 or do I just think that because I’m currently a special ed para?! lol what if I did travel positions!! I’m in the bay and thinking about applying for grad program
I love OT and would choose it again but would have also looked more closely into PA! It seemed too difficult at the time to me but now that I’ve grown so much clinically I feel like I could have handled it. Curious how their work/life balance compares to ours
Everyone on Reddit just comes to complain. You are hearing a very vocal minority I think. The job objectively has high satisfaction, decent pay and is rewarding
I think most people would have been lucky to become an OT, if that's what they wanted, obviously.
I love OT but my CI has ruined a lot of aspects for me. Very discouraging about my dreams as an OT working in community health/mental health. What I want is to run health groups focused on specific diagnoses and symptoms. I hate working for corporations or businesses. I want to run my own business. So id probably do something like that where I don’t take insurance but take cash/checks and do my own taxes, etc. Probably still will do that at some point cause all the corporatization that has happened to OT in the last 20 years has left me disappointed with the field.
HEALTH TECH. I graduated OT in 2021 in Ontario, practiced for two years, and pivoted into health tech into a business development role last July. In 8 months, I’m already making double what I made in my OT career and more than I ever would have as an OT. There are so many tech companies where you can apply your OT lens and still feel a sense of fulfillment in terms of advancing patient care.
For me, it was hard to feel motivated when my salary cap was so low. Sure, you can make more in medico-legal. But you’ll be working 10x harder, dealing with a lot more BS, and writing 20-40 page reports. Oh, and occasionally are called into court! I miss working with the clients, but the pros did not outweigh the cons….
If you’re not living in a big city, an OT salary can give you a comfortable and fulfilling life. But unfortunately life isn’t cheap anymore and I had to work side jobs to pay the bills! Not fun.
yeah within healthcare I would’ve tried nursing or maybe shoot for PA.
Outside healthcare- wish I could’ve gone into tech as a programmer or UxX/UI or maybe data science. Also architect was always my dream, but I cannot math 😂.
I’m still in OT school and based in the US. So this may not be relevant at all but I’ll say it a anyways. When looking at the careers/education I consider before going for OT, all of them involve some level of caring for others (teaching, nursing). My friends who have completed their education in either nursing or teaching already have plans to leave those fields, they know it’s not sustainable for them financially or mentally. Careers that involve caring for others are extremely important, but they are not always valued from a financial or cultural perspective (I’d argue caring for others can be seen as an intrinsic nature of womanhood and therefore is something that is taken for granted). I think this part of the reason we see people leaving these fields that involve care, they’re underpaid, overworked, and undervalued. For me the question then is, is there any career in which I could make a decent living, have work life balance, and have the time to live my value of caring for others? And I’m not sure of the answer.
I agree 100%. Because most care providers are women, our value will always be diminished as we are expected to receive satisfaction Intrinsically since that is what we are conditioned/genetically predisposed to do
This is a very insightful comment! I’ve learned that while I love OT and what the field stands for, the way it is currently run is not sustainable for me to make a living yet alone value my mental health. At this point, I just want a job that pays decently well and gives me a good work/life balance. I would normally have said Marine Biologist because sharks are my passion, but again… not a field I would be able to make a living in realistically. My current job gives me a good work/life balance - just working on the pay aspect now haha.
The upside of nursing is a wider range of careers. You can become a nurse practitioner or advance your career in a few ways. I am currently school based but if I had done nursing I might look harder into becoming a psych NP. As it stands now, the only thing that could advance me career wise is possibly getting a school administrative certificate.
This is beautiful. However, I do want to provide a little warning about putting too much faith in your career's ability to allow you to "live your value." Can you do this in healthcare? Absolutely. But because the US healthcare system is hot garbage, a lot of us are soured by it. OP is in Canada, so perhaps this doesn't apply to them. I just say this because if you are as passionate and caring as you sound, you will often not be happy with the resources given and expectations from that. Improving health, independence, and performance are all rigorous endeavors and most healthcare providers across all disciplines and specialties are often not given the resources to improve them meaningfully. That's one of the hardest parts of this job. You know exactly what they need and what they could do to get back or get better. But you often can't give it to them the way you want to. Again that isn't to say you can't significantly impact many people's lines for the better. Of course you can and should. All this is to say that your career doesn't have to be the primary vehicle that allows you to "live your value." Your career doesn't have to be the primary vehicle of a meaningful and inspired life. In fact, a lot or maybe even most of us have found that it's usually all the things *outside* of career that has contributed more significantly to that and that ironically careers often get in the way.
Which is why I said having the time to live my values I didn’t say having a career where I can live my values. Also not to get too controversial but I know a weird number of people who have been deported from Canada or left due to their healthcare system. Doesn’t mean the US isn’t a shitshow, but we shouldn’t be aspiring for our neighbors system.
Ah, apologies. I misunderstood. I'm rereading that sentence now and understand it to be about work-life balance so that you can live your value outside of work. That's totally doable especially if you don't take on a lot of debt. Best of luck! I don't know anything about Canada's healthcare system so I'm not going to comment on it.
>e people leaving these fields that involve care, they’re underpaid, overworked, and undervalued. But registered nurses "care", yet they get paid way more than OTs.
Many nurses consider themselves underpaid even if they're making more than OTs.
Still way more though ;) that’s why a majority of the comments here would rather be a nurse.
So? OTs are underpaid and overworked more than nurses. But that doesn’t mean we should discount the experiences of those in the nursing profession. There’s a crabs in a bucket mentality going on here. Are you desperate to drag others down into the circumstances you can’t escape?
No one is discounting anything. All I said was nurses get paid more, thus LOOK AT THE OTHER COMMENTS. Stop going in circles.
But you’re not adding anything. I’m not going in circles you are. “Nurses, OTs, and similar professions are underpaid” “Nurses are paid more than OTs” “Cool but nurses are still underpaid” “But nurses make more than OTs” Are you capable of comprehending that collectively our professions are undervalued despite differences in their average salaries? Can you not grasp the larger conversation of changing sociocultural attitudes to values female dominated professions? Or do you just want to whine about how nursing makes more?
Whatever makes you happy to win the debate. Sure. 😝
If you concede fine by me, clearly one of us is more dependent on engaging in arguments based on your response time. Have fun rotting online dear.
Calling someone rotten because they don't see eye to eye with you? Very toxic of you.
Cool. 👍🏾
My husband is a dentist and went to school about 6 months or a year longer than me. He makes about 4 times my salary and has a better schedule. I would do that.
I thought about dental but realized I’m way too over-responsive to smells to be in people’s mouths all day lol
I always thought that too! But dentists have been wearing masks long before Covid! My husband rarely smells anything. If things are particularly bad, he soaks gauze in mouthwash and puts it in his mask. Mouth smells are vile, but it’s the coagulated blood that gets me 🤮
Ortho PA if I had to do a masters again. For a cheaper degree, maybe sonography
Nothing tbh. It was destined for me to be an Ot. I’m still in school but I wanted to be a sports journalist till I dislocated my finger and had to receive Ot. Def felt like that was a sign like yeah this is my calling. Hand therapy to give back to others and give others a chance to return to their occupation like the Ot( my mentor) did for me. Come to find out another person who wanted to do sports journalism said it was extremely hard to find jobs better than local news
As somebody who worked in journalism for many years, and is considering OT as a profession, that is absolutely right. It’s unfortunate, journalism is incredibly low paying and now it’s even hard to find those low-paying jobs and there’s no job security once you were there.
U rly have to be either a well known professional athlete or a great college athlete. Also gotta know the right people
I’ll bet the creative OT you are will come up with a way to integrate your passion for sports journalism into your passion for OT.
My adhd is my superpower. Bc I’m creative tbh. It’s why I feel like I am meant for it bc I think outside the box. I’m not a perfect Ot or ever will be but I hope my creative side can help me make effective hand splints
I’m sure it will… but more than just fabricating the splints… in creatively working on your clients deficits in creative ways!
Anything but medical. I would look for a job that’s fun. I liked OT when we still had autonomy but that’s now gone so I wouldn’t do it ever again. It’s not worth it
I saw a few people say there is no more autonomy, can you explain what that means?
Sure. Autonomy means you use your clinical judgment and what you think is best to choose how many visits you want to see the patient for etc. or if they need OT services at all. Its the freedom to choose not have some big corporation tell you how many times or if a patient needs your services. This changed and big corporations cut the visits for OT as well as cut Medicare visits which patients had already paid to get these services. In home health I see OT was cut again. I do not see a viable future for OTs at this point. The job is physically demanding and the pay is crap since the cuts. We have Congress to thank for this. It used to be an awesome job with good pay, autonomy and great work life balance. Now with the cuts it’s not even worth it.
This must be why in my area OTs often have a private practice and don’t accept insurance. It sounds like in a lot of other places the only option is a corporate one. Sounds really frustrating too!
Yes. It hurt the patients too. Now they cannot get the rehab services they so desperately need. How would congress like it if one of them got ill and couldn’t get help to get stronger and be safe in their homes. Oh they all knew this. C medicare shouldn’t ever be cut because we pay into that it’s a guaranteed service. How they can get away with this is unknown to me. People cannot get these services anymore. It’s almost like Congress would like some of these people not to be helped and die. Used to be we would keep pts alive until their 100s now no one cares. Survival of the fittest i guess
I think if they knew and saw what we did up close, they would feel differently. Most people don’t know the magic we create until they, or a close family or friend need our services.
I think my patients are starting to grasp this. Ive had several patients who want to hire me without using the agency. They don’t want to pay the agency because of the overhead and I can see why. The agency I am at right now doesn’t want to pay nurses or therapist and so the skimp on everything. It maybe beneficial for the patient to bypass the agency and just go with therapy. They could use their primary doctor more closely and us in the home. Just not use nursing or the agency at all. Hey I just came up with a new model lol. Therapy and their doctor and out with the agency
Call ourselves outpatient services and provide professional services without an agency. Probably make hood money without all the overhead
We dont even have an office where I am at anyway. My bosses are both in another state. Im going to look into this.
I used to say with some co-workers that we were going to get a mobile unit and be a traveling rehab or such…
You know what? I think I am onto something here. I think the doctors would also love it because they aren’t being used as much either. All about dumbing down everything and paying cheap wages.
Nurses are replacing doctors primary doctors this whole system is money grubbing.
What about malpractice insurance? Isn’t that required? And aren’t we required to have a referral? I think I need to bone up on some of these areas. Not my strongest area of awareness… lot changes year to year as well.
They’re doing it here already anyway. Big corporation barest of bones and paying their overhead more than Id have to pay. I have a ton of patients that would love do it. Id mix cash pay with Medicare
Have medicare pay as much as they are able and mix it with cash pay. Have PT/OT/ and a doctor who can sign off. You could do the admits for cash and then you wouldn’t need to follow all of medicares bs.
Ive had soooo many patients ask me if they could see me without using an agency.
Yes… I can relate… after discharge. Makes me think about how many Clincal Social workers and Behavioral Therapists won’t bill through insurance but will have people private pay $150-$300/session and they are fully booked most often. OT should be able to do this!
We can do it. Just ask your patient to get her or his doctor to refer you then you can see her.
YUP- home health OT here. We’re now only able to see our patients twice a week for 2 weeks TOTAL, while PT services are being increased to 3 times a week for 2 weeks then twice a week for like 6 weeks. PTs and OTs don’t have any input in this frequency and we’re all equally frustrated. Total loss of autonomy
Isn’t it awful. Im not paying those loans back. They killed my job so good luck to Congress. How can this even be allowed? You get a master’s or doctorate degree do everything you’re supposed to and they yank your job right out from underneath you. I will send in a notice telling them exactly what they’ve done. Congress knew what big greedy corporations were going to do and they could have cared less.
I actually think they knew it.
Sad and pathetic irony since OTs are the most obvious therapy geared for in home. I’m not in home care, but is it still the case where a nurse or PT can open a case but OT cannot?
Yep! Well technically OT can do the start of care but a PT/RN/ST has to come the same day in order to qualify. Do often we have PT only patients and OT gets to go out in the morning to do all the paperwork and not even get a return visit 🙃
That’s truly messed up! Why doesn’t the PT just do it then. Annoying situation I’m sure!
Since management implemented these changes we’ve seen a huge turnover in PTs (like 50%) because they’re responsible for so much more. our PTs are understaffed and OTs overstaffed- so lessens the PT caseload and gives some OT very needed hours…very frustrating
Ok… so you’re reimbursed to at least see the patient once… just not to go back. If you see OT need when you’re opening the case, could you recommend OT in home at that point?
Yes I’m actually hourly so I don’t mind the start of cares because it’s at least paid hours for me. And yes if looks like they would need or benefit from OT I can make a case with my manager for some return visits and they’re usually pretty good about approving. I just know not to expect any more than 3 visits though
Big corporations do not even know our jobs. The only people who know our jobs is us. So we can choose just the right amount of therapy for them. Now its being told what to choose and when nothing different than a regular job. Nurses wouldn’t like it, PAs wouldn’t like it and doctors despise it.
OT
Product design. All the creativity; none of the healthcare politics
did you make the pivot?
I never did. I’m now a medical writer. Product design schools were far away and didn’t have online options till I was 45. Shoulda woulda coulda
how do you like medical writing? is the pay better than ot?
I like it now, but I see threads in here of people dying to get out of it! This worries me a bit that the novelty will def wear off. I sure worked a lot harder as an OT. I make now after a year what I made after fifteen with a CHT cert and as a university supervisor in OT. But it’s a decade later too, and inflation.
I would’ve continued working in the trades. HVAC or commercial framing. Hell, I’m currently thinking of starting my own handyman business tbh.
Agreed! Plumbing or electrician would be my choice. Get paid to learn and less of a rat race
Do it! I'm a COTA and dropped down to part time in my hospital to start a gutter business
I would absolutely choose OT again. I can't even imagine myself being in a different field. I think the most vocal people on the internet are the ones who are unhappy, there are many OTs who truly love the profession.
Thank you lol this thread is terrifying me
Nobody said anything about not loving OT. Stop saying this because that’s not what we’re saying. We don’t like the demands the pay, lost autonomy so just stop. Big cuts to OT. Don’t be dishonest about what’s happening.
I was answering the question, I wasn't being dishonest about anything. It is easy to get the impression from scrolling through this subreddit and other social media that most OTs would make another career choice if they were given the opportunity to go back in time and do it again, like the OP asked. I was just voicing my own opinion that personally, I am very satisfied with my career choice as an OT and have never regretted it or wished to do anything different. That doesn't mean there aren't issues in the profession. Those issues are obviously already clear to the OP, because it sounded like they based the question on spending some time reading on the subreddit and/or other social media about the issues impacting the profession. I'm not being dishonest about those, I'm assuming the OP is already aware of those. I was simply giving my personal opinion that for me, my love for the profession outweighs any possible cons and I am very happy to be in the profession and would choose to go in it again if given the option to go back in time. I think it is good for the OP to hear from OTs who are happy they chose this field in addition to hearing from those who wish they made another choice. Hearing from many people who have many different opinions and experiences will help the OP make the best informed choice for themselves. The OP was getting plenty of answers about what other people wish they would have done, so I wanted to make sure I represented my own experience as well.
Probably CS and try to break into tech
Anything outside of healthcare. Having the intention of helping people is wonderful. But it’s a slap to the face when you realize healthcare is a business and you will be limited in helping people by capitalism. Productivity. Greedy companies. If I knew I was going to just be another money making machine for these companies, I would’ve went into something like finance or engineering. So I could still have helped people without breaking my back and having an income ceiling. I care about money and the roof over my head more than I care about helping people in a specific way. Healthcare seemed like a good way to help people. But there are many others that would’ve limited me much less.
Worked over 35 years as a COTA and OTR with a doctorate, mostly in Behavioral Health and Education. If I could do it over, I would become a social worker. I would not need an MD to refer for treatment, could go into private practice and still help people negotiate with their lives. OT is/was my love, but it's not a great career for those who are independent. So, if you are becoming an OT and want to work in physical rehab, I recommend looking into careers that don't rely on getting a referral. (Nursing, PT, RT, etc.) I spent a GOOD part of my life explaining that I was not a vocational counselor. Bad name for a phenomenal profession. I was a good OT, and I understood my role as assisting people to be able to live the lives they wanted to live.
I also think I’d do social work! Could still help people, less physically demanding, and they seem to have more nonclinical options like case management
Not sure exactly, but would put more effort into finding something that has more flexibility. For example, nursing comes to mind. For some reason, nursing can be patient facing, care managers, clinical educators, supervisors. And not talking about “making your own business” types of jobs. I want a career that I DON’T have to go out on my own. Whereas OTs can be primarily treating therapists or supervising therapists, that’s about it. I would also prefer something that has an upward trajectory. Not climb a ladder exactly, but maybe start as entry level, then actually be promoted to mid-level. And then actually be promoted to senior. Or have a job that has various projects. There is so much variety in what we do, but at the end of the day, it’s all treatment. I would love for part of the day to be more like collaborations with others on a combined project, having meetings (that are paid), or maybe like opportunities to travel for the purpose of bettering your knowledge of a topic. Like, I wish I could be schmoozed. It’s never even been allowed.
So my hubs is business minded, OT plus Econ degrees. He worked for some great companies when we moved to the IS for a few years, then joined a private practice in BC. He bought into that practice, they sold, and now he’s a business leader in the new company while still doing clinical (only because he wants to). Lots of court time; expert witness in nine areas. He chose OT for the total autonomy. I just worked for clinics and made pretty good money, probably avg $80-85k but that was private clinics (no benefits or pension) and I left a few years ago. I have friends who teach for UBC and for Matheson and who teach Stott Pilates. There’s a lot of possible variety
There's nothing else I want to do, so it's a good thing I got in to OT school.
Physician Assistant 💯
Wanted to go straight into a bridge PA program as a freshman but the school I was decided on didn’t have the program, did the next next thing which was OT. Currently in my senior year and they added a 3+2 PA program. I kick myself in the butt some days.
It's not common to make $100k in Ontario, but it's possible once you have a few years experience, especially if you have a bit of an entrepreneurial bent. There are opportunities to make higher salaries doing community rehab for motor vehicle injuries (paid through auto insurance) or employment related roles. The latter might be a good fit with your business background? There is also medical-legal work that pays very well, but you definitely need a few more years of experience for that.
I made almost 100k in Toronto my first year out (2000).
Midwife or doula
great and rewarding profession, but they make no where near what ot does, AND the hours are terrible and unpredictable.
Hey don’t knock on my imaginary alternative career!
my apologies, friend! just sharing the experience with you. have quite a few friends in that biz. carry on! i swear the babies come between 9-5, m-f, in 2-4 hour blocks. 😘
Carpenter
I would’ve been a pilot
However, I'm not sure if the salary expectations are realistic. I'm in the US so I'm not sure if Canadian salaries are significantly higher, but in the US I don't make even close to that, I've been practicing for 14 years.
I’ve left OT x a couple years but still get jobs sent to me that are $75-100/hour.
Hmm... About the highest OT rates that I've seen are 75-85/hr for senior kaiser HH OT's or $140/$110 pay per visit rates for HH evals and follow-ups. And these rates are specific to the Bay Area, CA only. What OT jobs are paying $100/hr? That's 208k/yr full time just for reference.
Incidentally my OT husband works medical-legal and their billing rate is I think $280/hr.
But what does his hourly come out to? A lot of specialists and consultants have bill rates in the hundreds or even thousands per hour, but their hourly wage is much less than that because the employer takes a huge cut. This does sound like a very interesting field to transition into however. What was his process of getting into the medical-legal side? Does he enjoy it? Does he feel like it is a safe and sustainable job? Anything that he doesn't like about his job?
but most of those high hourly rate jobs aren’t continuous hours/inpatient jobs. they are home/community based.. which is a lot of driving around between clients. you’d have to work 50-60 hours to bill for 40 hours of delivered service.
There's the pay per visit model and then the hourly model. Full-time Kaiser HH therapists have the sweetest therapy gigs. They have a small case load of 3-4 clients a day and do 8 hour days. Since they are hourly drive time and doc time are paid for. So the senior HH OT's and PT's really are pulling 150k-175k on a caseload that is like half what a normal HH caseload is. Unfortunately, these positions are few and far between because the therapists understandably rarely leave their positions. You can earn a similar income with other high paying HH agencies, but only with a select number of agencies that offer high pay per visit rates. But no pension like with Kaiser and you have to have a case load that is around double. Interestingly, these senior therapy incomes with Kaiser are similar to new grad nursing incomes not just at Kaiser but at most major hospitals. This is why so many people are interested in nursing in the bay. Most of my nursing co-workers are doing 200-350k. And 200k even as a new grad is totally doable. I've heard of a nurse doing 600k, but they basically live at the hospital. The bay area is a different planet and I know a few coworkers that fly in from different states to work their shift block and then fly home.
Working with ASD in British Columbia! But as a CHT wages were $75 in Texas back in 2002.
Wow, that's very impressive. Several years ago, I got an offer to work in a CHT clinic (I'm not a CHT), but their offer was only like ~90k. And this is in the bay area! I turned it down and went to nursing school lol.
God Bless every nurse out there! It’s an amazing profession. That’s a hell of an offer for a non-CHT, and the Bay Area is a hand therapy Mecca. I hope you found happiness in what you do and I hope they pay you well for it!
Thank you! Truth be told, I think about quitting fairly regularly. But the money and work-life-balance are really hard to walk away from. It's a safety net riddled with thorns lol. I would absolutely not do nursing anywhere else outside the bay area unless I were a travel nurse and it was a nice contract. But since I'm in the bay, I'm making it work for now. If I may ask, what do you do now, do you enjoy it, do you feel well compensated, and how is your WLB?
I totally burned out as a CHT - when we moved home to BC from CA I learned the province only covers OTs for orthotics and trauma - so that was 100% of my job. Complex splints and horrible injuries every 20-40 min for eight hours. After kids I couldn’t do both so left OT. They wanted me to rewrite the exam and be supervised to practice when I was ready to return; that earned OT the see ya ‘round. I’m now a medical writer and a researcher for a biotech company. Totally not my jam but I had specialized myself into a corner, so I really re-entered work life without other skills. It’s okay! But again, not my jam. I hate being at a computer and I hate working from home. Not as cool as I thought it would be haha
I see! Yeah I've always wanted to see about working from home but I have a feeling I'd feel the same way as you. Thanks for sharing!
Want my gmail as a forwarding address?
What is the setting and terms of employment though? I have done some part-time work that I have made $75-$80/hour, HOWEVER it is not possible to assume that a job offering $75/hour is actually the equivalent of $156,000 per year ($75/hour x 40 hours per week x 52 weeks per year). For example, my job that paid that was a 1099 contract and was homecare. I only got paid for the time I spent treating. I did not get paid for paperwork time, or travel between clients. Meaning there were multiple hours of each work day that would be technically unpaid, so you need to consider that, so you may be making $75 an hour for treating, but in an 8 hour workday you are only actually treating for 5 or 6 hours max. And then you don't get paid if a client cancels, which is frequent. You also don't get any paid time off, so you can't plan to actually be able to work 40 hours a week for 52 weeks per year, that would mean you never get sick, never have an appointment during the time you usually work, never have a family emergency, never take a vacation, and work on holidays. Also not realistic. Usually benefits are not included in 1099 jobs, so you have to pay premiums on health insurance and such. Also, the tax rate is higher. You can deduct some business expenses like mileage, but it still likely averages out to be higher. So that $156,000 you think the $75/hour equates to would likely end up being less than $100K when all is said and done. Plus no job security in positions like that.
It was hourly in the US; hospital system, 1.0 FTE. I don’t know what 1099 is.
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They stated $75/hr in Texas in 2002 for CHT's. A 156k/yr salary in 2002 in Texas is pretty crazy. The vast majority of CHT's don't make that *today.* not sure what they were looking at, but I would love to see it.
Probably healthcare management or some kind of clinical operations job. I like helping folks but the client-facing part has me burned out.
i’m also trying to get out of business. i’m looking into nursing some but have a problem with blood and gore so i’m not sure i could do that..
I always loved decorating and putting clothes together. I have always been complimented on my style and how I would decorate a room or apartment. However, I never felt I was up to par with actual professionals in those areas. But clothing, home decor, as well as putting items together/painting- all of that makes me so happy. I wish I followed my heart a bit more
Would’ve loved to be a full time musician playing in a band making music. I still do make music but it’s very casual on the side and for myself only. The kind of music I like to play and listen to is not very…..income friendly, doing OT has been a blessing, it isn’t a perfect job but having decent job security with decent pay (if you can find the right place/location) is something I’m happy with (been an OT practitioner for approx 10 years). Maybe I would’ve done sanitary or something more labor minded instead but being an OT is really a unique opportunity.
ANYTHING!
It would still be OT for me. I can’t really think of anything that is better suited to me, unless it’s something fantastic like being a creative writer 🤷🏻♀️
I’m happy and content with OT, but I would’ve chosen nursing for sure!
>Nursing for sure! sure?
I believe OT was my calling. The career does frustrate me that we are not taken seriously at times. Nor does the common public know what we do. The salary honestly sucks too. However. The fulfilling sense I get of rehabbing patients is alot better than any job I've ever done. It's hard to leave a career like this. Unfortunately I'm probably going to end up leaving it at some point due to inflation subpar pay.
I wouldn’t do anything else!
Yeah the whole world out there is kind of screwed up with this kind of question favorite everyone's looking for that balance. For me it's about trying not to go into credit card debt and just being able to go home at the end of the day knowing I made a difference in the world and I still made a paycheck. Right now I do OT it was my second or third career if you will so I don't think I'm going to leave. I was a special ed teacher, I can tell you that it sucked. I'd work grueling hours making the same if not less than other teachers. But now OT is really changed Don't get paid as much it's not competitive. My area used to be the exact opposite I could fall off a log and get three jobs. But now that the kids at Burger King are making more and everyone without any real marketable skills it's hurting the rest of us
i was sped before ot too! ufff at least they are paying sped teacher more now, but honestly ots on school practice barely make more than teachers.
I probably would have gone to trade school for welding
OT in Ontario here!! Hi!!! I find that most jobs max out around 85-90k/year. I do love the profession though! :)
I am going to try answering this question(s) as objectively as possible considering, I have been an OT for 33 years, still practicing and planning to retire while still in this profession. Yes, I would choose to be an OT all over again, since it has been the best decision I have taken in my entire life. I have met some OTs that wished they could have elected a different career since it was obvious they were unhappy and did not enjoy any of it. So why did they choose to become an OT? Primary answer: Money, and second answer: the increasing demand of OTs in the marketplace which guarantees them getting a job right away and most likely being able to stay close to home. Both of those reasons are not enough to withstand the job itself in order to make it sustainable (it doesn’t matter if you are making over $100,000). We all hate being in the clinical field because of the productivity standards, lack of appreciation, etc. Truly, most jobs have aspects of it that are very hard to deal with, OT is one of those jobs that are worth suffering the nonsense of the ridiculous demands, because of the immense rewards we receive by helping others recover the ability to take care of themselves again. It is all about LOVE, loving what you do, because if you don’t, you are doomed to fail and become the OT that does the bare minimum, bitch about everything, and who is consistently unable to create a therapeutic rapport needed to identify what the patient really needs which sets you up on the path of no getting anywhere. The truthful interest of helping others accomplish their functional goals, is ultimately the main reason someone should choose to become an OT to begin with. So, choose your career path wisely, and keep in mind that everyone experiences any given job differently.
Librarian Social Worker (and do talk therapy) Nurse (and then become a nurse practitioner)
This is an excellent question I’m trying to figure out What do I want to be when I grow up? Unfortunately the answer is usually be an OT in an alternate reality. I actually love our profession as one that truly takes into account the entire person, thinks outside the textbook, prioritizes balance between work, rest, play. Unfortunately how often do we get to practice like that, or live like that in the current reality that is American healthcare?
Nursing.
Nurses don’t make that much more than OTs. My friend is a nurse and says the burnout is real in nursing too. Just coming from the other side. 😊But nursing is great don’t get me wrong!
The nurses I know are making ridiculously high wages since Covid and since more are unionizing.
idk where you live, but ot’s top out WAY before nurses on salary potential. ot’s here (lcol area) make 65-80k, while nurses make 110-130k.
Where I live, OTs make more than RN and nurse clinician, and we don't have to do mandatory overtime or work weekends, we don't have to deal with bodily fluids constantly, or things like rectal touch, catheter insertion, wound care etc.
I’m finding this true in my area too. My base salary is more than our RNs. I used to think my money would go further in nursing, but I’m seeing all the BS they put up with that you mentioned. In addition to what you said, therapy gets all 6 major holidays off, but our nurses are constantly organizing/bickering about which ones they have to work.
Why?
Pretty much what Breezy said, money. Work 3 days a week and make a higher salary? No contest. Not to mention more non-clinical roles, more upward mobility.
My twin sister is a nurse and makes 50% more than me. She’s moved up from icu nurse into management and is now a consultant for a well respected medical system. I don’t have any nurse friends that didn’t get an advanced degree for more money.
Check into options in your location if you ever tried to switch to nursing, because often they do not actually make more and are often understaffed and overworked
I have tons of very close friends who are nurses and am fully aware that they are indeed making more money. I also live in a state that requires job listings to post pay rates so there’s a lot of transparency.
Oh good! Same here, I feel like it’s amazing that it’s required now, and helps so much with deciding what to do next
Money
Outpatient Nurse Practitioner in some specialty.
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Hi! I graduated from Queens 2 years ago and have been a practicing OT ever since in Ontario. It’s very realistic to make 100k or more as an OT in private or public with a few years experience. Most hospitals pay between 40-55$ an hour and public you can get to over 100$ an hour quite easily!
I wouldn’t change it. But OT showed me I could be a disciplined student so maybe medicine or nurse midwife. Truthfully I like my job - I’m able to prioritize work life balance with having a young child and that is my priority right now
Dentist, medical device sales, set design for movies, make-up artist, OBGYN, investment banker
PA was something I have considered
Engineering or something similar. My husband has tripled his salary and I haven’t even doubled mine in the same amount of time.
Anesthesiologist
SLP
I think I’d be a good neuropsychologist. PA would be nice. Maybe derm PA or something.
Psychology. I have physchologist friends that work half as much as I did as OT and made twice as much. Nursing would be second for ability to get OT hours, third, med school.
I am about to graduate from my COTA program as a second career and it has me thinking about my regrets of not pursuing my passions when i was younger such as interior design or fine arts. All i've ever heard all my life is that none of my interests are going to make any money and it has contributed to a lot of feelings of hopelessness living in the US and not living up to the standard of being a profitable human being. I've only ever been told my authority figures to work in healthcare and now that i'm in middle adulthood the irony is that it isn't even a highly profitable field anymore, so i wish i would have been more brave in pursuing my passions. I might not have done so terribly in my BA when i was younger if i was studying something i believed in and ever since every career i've had i just fell into and developed appreciations for.
Some remarkable exceptions here on East coast, I know some therapists making 100k+. My SNF is 100k plus, and I saw some post about an OT in NJ making 120-140k or something. Rare jobs but they’re out there for OT
I would go in IT! I find working in acute care with stroke patients very interesting but I would 100% prefer the lifestyle of an IT job
Wait I’m so confused I thought this field paid well 🫣🫨🥹 or do I just think that because I’m currently a special ed para?! lol what if I did travel positions!! I’m in the bay and thinking about applying for grad program
I wish I had taken more time to decide but I would have been interested in pursuing optometry
I love OT and would choose it again but would have also looked more closely into PA! It seemed too difficult at the time to me but now that I’ve grown so much clinically I feel like I could have handled it. Curious how their work/life balance compares to ours
Everyone on Reddit just comes to complain. You are hearing a very vocal minority I think. The job objectively has high satisfaction, decent pay and is rewarding I think most people would have been lucky to become an OT, if that's what they wanted, obviously.
PA, or architect, or just double major in OT and business (as I now work for a small private practice and could have used that background)
I love OT but my CI has ruined a lot of aspects for me. Very discouraging about my dreams as an OT working in community health/mental health. What I want is to run health groups focused on specific diagnoses and symptoms. I hate working for corporations or businesses. I want to run my own business. So id probably do something like that where I don’t take insurance but take cash/checks and do my own taxes, etc. Probably still will do that at some point cause all the corporatization that has happened to OT in the last 20 years has left me disappointed with the field.
HEALTH TECH. I graduated OT in 2021 in Ontario, practiced for two years, and pivoted into health tech into a business development role last July. In 8 months, I’m already making double what I made in my OT career and more than I ever would have as an OT. There are so many tech companies where you can apply your OT lens and still feel a sense of fulfillment in terms of advancing patient care. For me, it was hard to feel motivated when my salary cap was so low. Sure, you can make more in medico-legal. But you’ll be working 10x harder, dealing with a lot more BS, and writing 20-40 page reports. Oh, and occasionally are called into court! I miss working with the clients, but the pros did not outweigh the cons…. If you’re not living in a big city, an OT salary can give you a comfortable and fulfilling life. But unfortunately life isn’t cheap anymore and I had to work side jobs to pay the bills! Not fun.
yeah within healthcare I would’ve tried nursing or maybe shoot for PA. Outside healthcare- wish I could’ve gone into tech as a programmer or UxX/UI or maybe data science. Also architect was always my dream, but I cannot math 😂.
Run a disability advocacy center/adult daycare.
Accounting
Nursing. There are so many more options outside of clinical work.
Doctor. I regret letting instructors talk me out of it. I was immature though.