How does one become an occupational therapist?

amother

Amethyst

Fri, Mar 08 2019, 4:07 pm

DD is also highly interested n becoming an OT or possibly PT (since it looks like OT will also require a doctorate). She's been very hesitant about TTI since she's heard that many graduate programs won't accept it. DVOM, you write that your husband got into several programs after a year of volunteering by taking his prerequs at a community college. You mean a 2 year college like OCC or RCC?

amother

Ivory

Fri, Mar 08 2019, 4:28 pm

My sister just graduated last year (took her exam in September) and just got her first job starting this week. She is 23. The schooling was hard but she wasn't married the full time and she did ok. She did have a hard time finding a job but bh just got one.

amother

Jade

Fri, Mar 08 2019, 5:08 pm

amother wrote:

I can't speak for the Midwest specifically, but I have to agree with the amother above that a "good job" is not necessarily easy to find outside of NY. True that there are always clinics hiring therapists, but the pay rate is not great. And many clinic jobs require working after school/ evening hours to accommodate all the kids going to therapy after school. Just something to keep in mind; as I wrote earlier in the thread, compensation varies tremendously depending on location.

I would disagree. It may be flooded in Lakewood but all over the country there are kids with autism adhd and so on that need OT. Plus geriatrics is needed everywhere.

amother

Jade

Fri, Mar 08 2019, 5:09 pm

amother wrote:

She should look into joint programs, Stern and Touro have I think.

amother

Seagreen

Fri, Mar 08 2019, 5:12 pm

amother wrote:

I would disagree. It may be flooded in Lakewood but all over the country there are kids with autism adhd and so on that need OT. Plus geriatrics is needed everywhere.

I didn't write anything about Lakewood or the field being flooded. I wrote that the compensation outside of NY isn't very high, and many of the jobs require Sunday/ after school hours.

amother

Jade

Sat, Mar 09 2019, 7:47 pm

amother wrote:

I didn't write anything about Lakewood or the field being flooded. I wrote that the compensation outside of NY isn't very high, and many of the jobs require Sunday/ after school hours.

Not if you work in a school for example. Someone else wrote about Lakewood then.

amother

Aubergine

Sat, Mar 09 2019, 8:49 pm

outside of ny state OT barely exists in school based environments for example. and often the public school positions are very few as theres barely any need as so little OT is offered and people don't easily give up their jobs. that leaves you with clinics which are hard for mothers and have little career growth and benefits or ei which also is no benefits or paid time off. its really hard out of new york area. I am not sure about other fields like rehab or hospitals, there may be openings in those fields

amother

Silver

Sat, Mar 09 2019, 8:57 pm

Just FYI that some may not be aware of. You do not need a BA to get into all OT programs. There are a few programs that are combined BS/MS and you just need the required prerequisite courses to get in and then you recieve your bachelors and masters once you graduate the OT program.

amother

Seagreen

Sat, Mar 09 2019, 9:01 pm

amother wrote:

Thanks for corroborating. I still think I chose a great field, but I wish I had known the reality outside of NY/ NJ beforehand.

amother

Brunette

Sun, Mar 10 2019, 5:48 pm

amother wrote:

What about an assistant OT? What are the study reuirements? How many years in total? Whats the pay in NYC ?

I was looking into that. I think its about two years. You only come out with an associates degree. I didnt do it (yet!) because I couldnt get enough info on jobs available in this field. I would love to work with children in a school or center and the info I have gotten so far is that this degree would be used more in a clinic type setting although I never verified this

amother

Jade

Sun, Mar 10 2019, 6:07 pm

amother wrote:

Thanks for corroborating. I still think I chose a great field, but I wish I had known the reality outside of NY/ NJ beforehand.

I’m interested in hearing more about the difficulties. As a PT I get emails from recruiters in different states all the time. And I can confirm there is plenty of school based OT in NJ.

amother

Royalblue

Sun, Mar 10 2019, 6:14 pm

amother wrote:

I’m interested in hearing more about the difficulties. As a PT I get emails from recruiters in different states all the time. And I can confirm there is plenty of school based OT in NJ.

I can only say what I know, a PT moving out of town. Having a hard time getting a job and the school based options pay 40% less than ny/ nj.

amother

Seagreen

Sun, Mar 10 2019, 6:35 pm

amother wrote:

I’m interested in hearing more about the difficulties. As a PT I get emails from recruiters in different states all the time. And I can confirm there is plenty of school based OT in NJ.

Once again, I'm referring to the job market outside NY/ NJ. The pay is really not great. Really, really. The maximum per diem rate is $55/hour where I live, and not a single employer will guarantee any number of hours at that rate. No one gets billable hours even close to the number they want you to commit per week and they almost all expect you to work after school hours. Salaried rates are much lower, and very rare to find a salaried job altogether. I'm referring specifically to pediatric OT, since that's how this conversation started. I recently spoke to a recruiter for the nearest school district that's been hiring at all for the last five years, and they wanted to pay in the 30s per hour for someone with my level of experience (10 years). That's not what I was expecting when I went to OT school.

newlywed613

Fri, Mar 15 2019, 10:21 am

Ny jaa more oppurtunites for ots and otas. Espec staten island area. However nj and not just lakewood has very few open positions even in public school system. They are hard to fidn so ppl keep their jobs for a long time. Geriatrics easier to find. Dont go into foeld assuming to do peeds.....ot is alot harder ota is 2 years manageable workload in college. Way cheaper schooling and u cud get paid 40 n hr in nj as new grad...more realostically 30 to 35 but u hv potential to get raises....ots strt at lime 50 alot of times so otas are not so far behind pay wise....prob mames more sense to do ota

aricelli

Fri, Mar 15 2019, 10:32 am

newlywed613 wrote:

Do you see any jobs for an OTA in peds in a center, school or private homes? O

amother

Seagreen

Fri, Mar 15 2019, 10:37 am

Once you look at salaries a few years down the line, OTs can often make double what OTAs are making. The rate difference is significant and I wouldn't down play it at all. I think being an OT requires a very different skill set than being an OTA, and it's not common that someone would be happy and successful in one field if she was better suited for the other. Really not interchangeable in their roles.

ces

Fri, Mar 15 2019, 10:38 am

FYI if you're thinking geriatrics, Medicare is implementing major changes in October to how they reimburse subacute rehab facilities. This will likely cause a significant reduction in therapy positions, I've heard as high as 40% staff reductions predicted.

aricelli

Fri, Mar 15 2019, 10:46 am

amother wrote:

I was doing research in this and have heard that too- can you explain the differences?

amother

Lime

Fri, Mar 15 2019, 10:48 am

ces wrote:

R u sure? Cuz I do Medicare billing for skilled nursing facilities and didn't hear Anything about that.