Is being an OT lucrative ?

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amother

Tue, May 21 2024, 10:00 pm

I think I would love it and thought they make good money, but someone in social work thread said they don’t?
Also, around how long does it take to pay off student loans?
Any and all information appreciated!

amother

Narcissus

Tue, May 21 2024, 10:02 pm

No unfortunately its not really lucrative. Maybe if you go private you can do better but for the most part you definitely won't be rich being an ot. I am in the field 15 years and wouldn't recommend it.

marvinkay

Tue, May 21 2024, 10:05 pm

amother Narcissus wrote:

Why are all the therapists on this website saying this recently?( speech, ot

amother

Vermilion

Tue, May 21 2024, 10:09 pm

marvinkay wrote:

Why are all the therapists on this website saying this recently?( speech, ot

Saying that its not lucrative? Bec for the most part it is not...

amother

Narcissus

Tue, May 21 2024, 10:13 pm

marvinkay wrote:

Why are all the therapists on this website saying this recently?( speech, ot

Because it's not a lucrative field like it used to be. The pay hasn't increased in years from the nyc doe. Health insurance is constantly cutting their reimbursement rates. Schooling is long, hard, and costly and it's Just not worth it.

marvinkay

Tue, May 21 2024, 10:18 pm

I don’t know, I feel like everyone I know is taking kids to speech and ot. And most don’t take insurance. I’m in Lakewood. I think an ot working privately can make a lot

amother

Hibiscus

Tue, May 21 2024, 10:18 pm

marvinkay wrote:

Why are all the therapists on this website saying this recently?( speech, ot

The therapy jobs became popular among frum women years ago because they are more lucrative and more flexible than teaching. It was meant to be a nice supplementary salary to a working husband. I think people are saying this now because women are just expected to be the primary breadwinners for longer.

amother

Narcissus

Tue, May 21 2024, 10:24 pm

amother Hibiscus wrote:

Yes as a second income it can be a great job. If you are an independent contractor you can have flexible hours with decent pay. If you work for a salary the pay isn't usually as impressive and less/no flexibility but you sometimes get benefits. If I was choosing a career now, I would probably do something in tech that could partially or fully be done remotely and have greater growth potential. As an OT you cap out and can't really grow that much in terms of salary and also position.

amother

Foxglove

Tue, May 21 2024, 10:55 pm

I am an OT and really wish I did something else. I don’t enjoy the work, it’s physically taxing, a lot of paperwork, and like others have said what the pay used to be did not change much and the cost of living is so much higher . It’s really not lucrative . Yes, going private can be more lucrative but not by so much . I also think it gets very boring . Like it’s a lot of the same old everyday.

amother

Sienna

Tue, May 21 2024, 11:28 pm

I'm going to agree with everyone else. When you're working for someone else, the pay is not great. It may sound high for a starting job, but doesn't go up very much. Depending where you live, it may be difficult to find positions that offer salary and benefits, so you might not have any PTO, paid maternity leave, insurance, etc. Earning potential increases if you work on your own privately, but you need a lot of years of experience to be competent enough for that. Even then, your earning potential is limited by the number of sessions you can work. The only people who might really make out well are those who make it into a full business, hiring many therapists to work for them. It takes a lot of work to get there and it's a big responsibility to make sure your therapists are trained well enough to warrant the cost to parents.

amother

Firebrick

Wed, May 22 2024, 12:32 am

I do per diem homecare in Lkwd and I think that between the pay and the flexibility it’s a pretty decent second salary

amother

Pansy

Wed, May 22 2024, 1:13 am

There are several aspects of the way people feel about the therapies lately
1. Some went into the field because "you can make your own hours and earn well". Please, only become a therapist if it's something that you want to do and will bring you joy in the work. The ones I've met who didn't have their heart in it, it showed
2. As far as reimbursement, many other fields have grown a lot in the past few years and therapy has not. A large part of that is that reimbursement is largely dependent on insurance companies/state early intervention or BOE. Yes, there are quite a few therapists who go private and many parents including myself need the help badly enough that we pay for it. But I don't know how easy it is to fill a caseload and maintain it, as well as juggle the business aspect of it on the back end. You also will likely only receive generous private pay after working a number of years abd becoming very skilled in your field. OT is a very broad field and some of the areas commonly worked on in our community are touched on minimally in school.
3. Some jobs pay hourly and offer no benefits so if a child is out sick, unless you can rearrange your schedule, you get to enjoy a free unpaid break.
4. Realize that not all therapists get to "make their own hours". That is more common with EI or school based therapists. But working in an outpatient clinic, hospital or rehab will have long and demanding hours
5. That being said OT is a great field with lots of different areas within which you can work or specialize so there is a broad range of what can talk to you

I am not an OT but a therapist in a similar field and I work with many OTs. It is an extremely rewarding profession and beautiful to see the impact that you have on others lives

amother

Daisy

Wed, May 22 2024, 7:35 am

amother Narcissus wrote:

Also because most therapists here seem to be working for agencies, which is a trade off. More flexible with hours, you can easily take off when your kids are off, but you don't get the same pay and benefits than working elsewhere. For example, I had a friend who was working in a rehab facility and loved her job. I also know a few people working in public school systems and they are happy there.
But originally, as others said, the therapy field became popular for frum women with working husbands, often as a second career once their kids were older and they went back to school. It wasn't thought of for a primary breadwinner.

amother

Poppy

Wed, May 22 2024, 7:41 am

Anecdotally my friends who are OTs are happier than those who went into speech. My PT friends are happier than OTs but the schooling is grueling. Special Ed varies.

amother

Ivory

Wed, May 22 2024, 7:42 am

I was living in NJ when I became an OT and assumed I would either end up staying there or moving to NY. If that had been the case I think it would be ok. Ultimately though I moved oot to a red state where it's impossible to make any normal kind of wage doing OT. I am very passionate about it though, and have specialized over the years, so at least I get to do a job that I love while I'm earning my pennies LOL

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