My Career in Physical Therapy

By Niquela Elmore-Corbett

I was a freshman in college and not sure of what I wanted to do. While watching television one day, a commercial came on describing a career in Massage Therapy.  I thought that it was something that might be quick and easy and I was also interested in something hands on that would hold my attention. I decided to major in Kinesiology and this led me to pursue a career in Physical Therapy. 

This is a good field because there is always somebody who will get hurt and need assistance getting their body back in shape.  Physical Therapy is an ever changing field because there will always be new developments as a result of ongoing research.  There are many different opportunities within this field.  When I first looked into this as a career, I wanted to do sports related physical therapy; however that vocation is not easily accessible.  So now I’m interested in geriatric physical therapy. 

This might prove to be an important choice for me because as we age, serious injuries can occur on a more frequent basis. These injuries often require seniors to seek treatment from a physical therapist to help them recover.  And I’m not going to lie, I’m also interested in this field because physical therapists working with seniors get paid good money.  

Typically a therapist can earn a salary upwards of $73,000 to $100,000 dollars. One reason physical therapists in this specialty are paid so well is because few people really want to work with the elderly.  One downfall for physical therapy is that there is a high turnover rate within the field.  This is because therapy sessions require you to be on your feet for long periods of time.  In addition, there are long hours and significant travel involved.

This career will be challenging, but I’m definitely up to the test.