Anybody Here a Physical Therapist?

Awesome! I will definitely send you a PM either after work or later this week. I'm pretty sure I want to do this but the cost of a DPT has me a little freaked out. I think in the end if PT is what I really want to do and would make me happy then it's worth the cost and I should go for it.

Thanks again, talk to you soon!

I'm not a PT (but my sister is!).

But I was going to chime in on the life in general aspect.  One of my really good friends is 34 and just started Med School after being an AF pilot for 12 years.  Talk about a career change!  It's really never too late for a career change if you're working towards something you really want to do that will make you happy.  Now, maybe if you were 50 it would be time to say that ship has sailed.  But at 30?  You're still young!  Do what will make you happy!  You can't put a "cost" on happy.  Entry level PTs really don't make much money from what I understand.  But I know I'd rather be doing a job I love than getting paid a lot of money to hate my job.

I know my sis loves her job (not the paperwork, but the job--the paperwork apparently SUX).  I'm often a bit jealous...especially of the fact that she is almost NEVER injured because as soon as she feels any little niggle she can get someone in her office to treat it.  I think her "dream" would be to work somewhere that's for athletes, like the OTC.  But for now she's working at a clinic that sees pretty much the spectrum.  But her favorite patients are often the athletes that are more motivated to get better.   She's been at this since 2001 and still loves what she does.

I am ALL FOR chasing your dreams and being HAPPY - so if that's what you want - go for it!!

But, to be the devil's advocate, just think about how much this is going to cost you.  If you can pay for PT school without loans - then this isn't so much of a factor, but you'll likely get out of PT school with a BOATLOAD of loans.  I have no undergrad loans, and spent and additional 4 years in post grad medical field schooling and have over 100K in student loans - we call it our "invisible house" because my loan payments are as much as the mortgage on our first home.  It's a 30 year commitment that is TOTALLY do-able given my salary, but to be honest, it's kinda a bummer. 

Just something to think about.  Again, I'm all for switchin it up if you think it's going to fulfill your life.  But sometimes that aspect of schooling is over looked becuase so much time is spent looking at the job you'll have when you're done.

Good luck!!

I'm not a PT either, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express.  sorry, just had to!

In all seriousness, do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life.  If you can afford to make the switch and are willing to accept the changes in your life that the career change would make, then I say go for it.

Yeah, my inner accountant tells me that financially this could be a bad idea. I'm a little freaked out about potentially finishing a DPT program with 80K+ in student loan debt. I'd probably come out of school making 70-80K (probably closer to 70K at the start) and I would want to pay that baby off ASAP. My plan is to work my butt off so I could get into NAU which is ranked much higher than any of the private schools in AZ and is nearly $50K less expensive.

However life is too short to keep working some job I don't enjoy. I feel like I dislike accounting enough that I lack the drive to really excel in the profession and that obviously would impact my long term development and earning potential in the profession. I think that with what my wife makes as a PA and the amount of savings we have that I could finish the DPT program without having a huge debt hanging over my head. If I got into NAU I could pay the tuition in cash. If I had to go to a private DPT program I would likely only have half of the 80K+ tuition to pay off if we're smart and make some sacrifices along the way.

Anyways, thanks for the input and advice.