Physical Therapy Assistant Programs
I actually learned about the job of “Physical Therapy Assistant” when I broke my arm. After having my arm in a cast for six weeks I was required by the hospital to see a Physical Therapy Assistant before my treatment was considered completed.
I had been working in a manufacturing plant at the time. The physical therapy assistant was a very amiable fellow and we got to talk about jobs. I mentioned that my job was horribly boring but the money was excellent and so were the benefits. He suggested I go back to school and start another career.
I told him I did not want to go to school for six years which it would have taken to get a regular four-year degree. He asked me if I got along with people which I answered affirmatively. He said “why not become a Physical Therapy Assistant”.I reiterated my complaint about how long it would take to get a four-year degree to which he replied “you can become a Physical Therapy Assistant with a two-year degree”.
That day became a real eye-opener. After all, I really did like my job. Maybe I could do that. The seed had been planted. Of course right after that the economy tanked and I lost my job.
It seems like fate stepped in and gave me a push. So then I went on my journey of gathering information regarding The Physical Therapy Assistant.
This website is a result of the culling of a tremendous amount of information that I gathered in my “off time” a.k.a. being laid off.
I must say that without all of my research I probably would have gone nuts. I went from working seven-day weeks to not working at all.
After a couple of weeks of looking at what type of jobs were out there, I quickly came to the conclusion that I needed another field to work in.
I actually saw ads in Craig’s list for jobs ranging from assistant store manager to front desk at a gym requiring and associate degree, yet paying between eight and nine dollars an hour!
It seems the associate degree is the new high school diploma! Yet, the Physical Therapy Assistant, starts on average at about $21 an hour! The guy I had a conversation with was making much more than that in less than five years.
For purely a bang for the buck comparison you will not find a better “net gain” for a two-year degree in any field!
With an aging population there will be no lack of demand for the services of a Physical Therapy Assistant.
All in all, in my humble opinion the Physical Therapy Assistant is the way to go.