A wonderful career awaits you as a physical therapist. It is one of the best paid in the country. The high demand for physical therapists makes it a great career path. Positions that pay the highest as a PT are listed below to help you make a decision on which one you might like to pursue.
The Highest Paid Physical Therapist Position
The most lucrative position in the physical therapy field is being a sports medicine specialist. Working with athletes can be very rewarding as well. You might work at a private clinic or perhaps at an athletic institution such as with a college or a professional sports team. You will treat injuries that happen in the sport, but you would also deliver preventative care so any sports injuries could be avoided. The salary is around $76,600 yearly.
Two Other of the Highest Paid Specialties
The next two highest paid specialties for a physical therapist are the cardiovascular or pulmonary specialty and the geriatric specialty.
The cardiovascular/pulmonary specialist treats patients who have had heart or lung surgery. They work to make the lungs and heart more stable. They may work with people who have chronic heart disease, hypertension or bronchitis. Salary for this position is around $76,000 per year.
The geriatric specialist works with older patients. The elderly get more health issues than others and often need rehabilitation for knee or hip surgery. The geriatric specialist can also help older patients with arthritis and osteoporosis. Exercises can be adapted for the activities that commonly confront the elderly in daily living. The salary is around $76,000 a year.
Two More Very High Paying Jobs as a Physical Therapist
Two other specialties that offer high salaries are the neurologic and pediatric fields.
The neurologic specialty focuses on the treatment of people who have traumatic brain injury and other similar conditions. The physical therapist has to be able to assess those with issues like that as well as treat them. Salary is around $74,000 yearly.
For those working in pediatrics, the patients served are adolescents and babies. Health conditions of this age group are what will be focused on, and they may or may not be chronic conditions. The salary for this specialty ranges around $73,000 per year. You have an outline of the best paying jobs for a physical therapist and can now look at any that interest you.
Is It Worth Being a Physical Therapist?
So, is it worth being a physical therapist? If you are looking to become a physical therapist, you are possibly wondering if it is worth the time and effort to become educated and do all that is required to be licensed and start practicing. It’s best to look at all the pros and cons of such a career in order to determine the best course of action. We know that physical therapists are in demand and many hospitals and clinics need your services. But what are some other points to consider?
What Does a PT Do?
A physical therapist works to help patients with ailments or injuries recover effectively. They focus on examinations, diagnosis, and developing a treatment plan. Each person is individual as to their requirements in treatment, and the physical therapist will work out a specific plan for the patient’s needs.
The Pros of Being a PT
With any career, there are pros and cons. The list of pros seems much more inviting than the cons, but it is wise to look at both lists. Here are the pros:
- Excellent pay – the highest paid physical therapists typically make about $76,000 a year, while others make almost as much. Some can earn as much as $89,000 yearly. Enjoying a comfortable lifestyle isn’t the most important thing to many physical therapists. They like caring for those that need their help.
- A great balance of work and life – you can choose the type of work you wish to do, setting your own schedule and maintaining the kind of flexibility you require in your life. There are many medical professionals who don’t have that option, so you should take advantage of it.
- Many kinds of environments – you have a wide choice of environments to work in, such as hospitals, rehab centers, clinics, schools and private practice. You can even work out your career where you can travel, selecting peak seasons in various locales.
- You maintain your own health – a physical therapist must do a lot of lifting, stretching and other movements which require your health be in good shape. By including a good diet and getting the proper amount of sleep, you stay in good fit condition.
- Having much medical knowledge – since you have a thorough education to get your license and as you continue your certifications, you accumulate a vast amount of medical information which you will use the rest of your career.
Potential Drawbacks on Being a PT
Of course, any career has its potential drawbacks. Some for a physical therapist include having to spend a lot for school and needing to renew your license every two years. When you work in a hospital environment, it may be more difficult to balance life and work. If you don’t stay fit, it may become very hard to fulfill responsibilities as a PT. In any career, there are pros and cons. It is always wise to look them over yourself and see what you see. A physical therapist is a rewarding job and it is usually well worth the time and effort to become one.
What is a Contract Physical Therapist?
So, what is a contract physical therapist? A contract physical therapist works for someone as an independent contractor, not an employee. They are not staff as such, but work under contract. What is the difference? Below we look at the pros and cons of being both an independent contractor and an employee.
Pros and Cons of Contract PT Salaries
There are a few pros when working as a contract physical therapist. These are:
• Plenty of flexibility in your schedule, less burnout
• Higher hourly rate
• Fewer responsibilities
And of course, the cons:
• You have variable hours so you aren’t guaranteed a certain amount of hours each week
• You have to do your own taxes since an employer isn’t taking out withholding taxes
• Medicare and Social Security tax payments are higher
• No paid time off, no 401(k) assistance, no healthcare
If you need to have a steady paycheck or need the benefits of employment, then a contract physical therapist is not for you. But if you like the flexibility of being your own boss and the higher hourly pay, then it might be just the thing.
Plus and Minus as an Employee PT
As an employee, you have pros and cons to look at as well. The pros are:
- Steady pay
- Easy-to-figure withholding taxes with a W-2 sent to you
- Your employer pays half your Medicare and Social Security taxes
- Benefits package including low-premium health insurance, 401(k), dental and vision
And then the cons:
- Schedule is not very flexible
- Lower hourly rate in pay
- Additional responsibilities assigned by seniors
It seems that the key points in deciding whether to be a contract physical therapist as opposed to an employee of some clinic or hospital is whether you want the freedom of being your own boss and making better money. It really depends entirely upon you and what you want out of your career. You can always start out as an employee and later embark on the adventure of being an independent contractor.
Lawyer Contract Review
When your physician contract is given a review by an experienced attorney, you will find financial benefits which end up outweighing the cost of the attorney review. Leave it to the experts. If you are in need of a review of an agreement or contract analysis schedule with a Physical Therapist Contract Review with Chelle Law today!
Let’s face it: physical therapy school is expensive. REALLY expensive. Even if you get a scholarship, save up money or have generous benefactors, chances are you’re going to be in quite a bit of debt when you finish school. While we all want to practice in the ideal setting and work for the right company, where we feel valued and can make an impact on our patients’ lives, sometimes working in that dream job right after PT school means sacrificing income.
Of course, none of us chose PT for the money, but paying off PT school loans as quickly as possible is a respectable and wise life choice to secure your financial future. Today’s NGPT article aims to help new physical therapists whose priority is to maximize their income.
You can take several paths to high income. One is working your tail off at multiple moderately paying jobs. If you’re dead set on working in outpatient ortho, this may be the solution for you. Another is working in the more high-paying settings, though they may not be as glamorous. Yet another is opting to travel. And still another is to simply live extremely lean. If you’re serious about making some post-PT school dough, this is the article for you!
1. Work for a SNF or Home Health agency
These are the highest paying settings for a therapist. Home health physical therapy pays very well when you can make it work for you and have the right support system. If you’re spending half your day commuting from one end of town to the other, that’s unpaid time that will lead to frustration.
SNF rehab is a popular choice for new grads looking to offset their debt. Because they are not always the best environments to hone PT skills as new grads, you may want to consider that choosing the right setting as a new grad is one of the most important decisions when you first graduate. Make sure you balance financial needs with personal and professional growth.
2. Work in an environment that offers bonuses/incentives.
Listen, this may not be the most stress-free or patient-focused approach for every PT, but some folks thrive on volume. They simply learn the most when they see the most patients. If you can maintain your integrity and provide quality patient care, read on. There is a plethora of options for you if you thrive on fast-paced and performance-rewarded therapy. Be wary of accepting a position in a private clinic that only rewards productivity, though. This can quickly lead to burnout.
When you receive a job offer, you can ask if you will receive bonuses or pay bumps if you take extra continuing education, work weekend shifts, lead initiatives to expand the clinic or teach seminars.
2. Work in an environment that offers paid overtime
Very rarely will you find a small clinic that is willing to pay overtime; in fact, it’s frequently the opposite problem. Private clinics are notorious for keeping employees after hours to treat additional patients or to do paperwork, without paying them overtime.
On the other hand, larger corporations and hospitals are much more careful with how they treat employees, and typically frown upon unpaid overtime. Some larger hospitals will frequently run on the edge of understaffed. If you work in an environment where the option to stay overtime is on the table, take it! Even better, specialize or become experienced in a way that will put you in higher demand.
3. Work weekends
Continuing from above, the most difficult times to staff are the weekends. When negotiating a wage, you may be able to command more when you accept the times that other therapists balk at working. Don’t be afraid to politely inquire about the possibility of increased pay if you’re accepting a position that involves working every Saturday. That said, some large hospitals have set new grad wages, and there is little to no room for negotiation. If you are looking to work overtime (as discussed above), weekends are much easier times to have overtime approved, since there’s usually already a paucity of staff on those days and your supervisor may simply want the patients seen, no questions asked.
4. Sign up to do travel therapy
Travel physical therapy has great appeal to new grads. In addition to offering significantly higher pay than pretty much any other gig, you get the opportunity to have paid relocation costs, paid licensing fees and paid housing. If you moved away for school, you’re already far from home, so why not!? To play devil’s advocate, travel PT can be a tough setting for a new grad. On top of getting your feet wet as a treating therapist, you also need to learn new documentation systems and uproot every few months, just as you’re starting to feel comfortable. But if you’re the type that thrives on change, travel PT is undoubtedly the best way to make some dough out of physical therapy school.
5. Move to a rural location
I grew up in a rural part of Texas and, if I had fulfilled my parents’ dreams and returned to practice physical therapy there, I’d be a wealthy woman. It’s not that the salaries are always that much higher (they sometimes are, but no guarantee); the clincher is that the cost of living is quite low. A penny saved is a penny earned, especially when you’re repaying loans and dealing with interest rates. You may not be super enthused about some of the practice locations, but think of life as an adventure; you just may have the time of your life living in the boonies!
6. Avoid salaried/benefited positions
Salaried positions, by definition, are not paid hourly. You receive a set salary for your role as a PT. Hourly positions, on the other hand, pay you for the time you work. Many small clinics offer salaried positions, then load you up with patients so that you’re treating every second of the time you’re at work. Then you’re expected to take your documentation home and work more after clinic hours. Not only is that a recipe for premature burnout, it’s pretty much going to guarantee that you can’t add a second job to the mix if you need the extra income.
Benefited positions were the way of our parents’ generation. Guaranteed medical and dental was a must for our parents, but they didn’t have the option of the Affordable Care Act. Love it or hate it, Obamacare gives you the option to free yourself from the golden shackles of full-time PT work. If you pay for your own insurance through Obamacare, you can seek per diem positions with the highest hourly rate possible, while allowing yourself the flexibility to explore multiple settings and learn while you earn (<–see how I rhymed that?)
7. Live Lean
Don’t roll your eyes here. I got a little burned out a few years after graduating from PT school. Yes, it was fast, but I had been working in a setting I didn’t realize wasn’t the right fit for me. I decided to switch to per diem for awhile and take more days off for my sanity, while exploring multiple settings. I started cutting costs by limiting dining out, shopping for things I didn’t need (I’m looking at you, TJMaxx), cable, etc. I also moved in with a roommate, which cut down on monthly overhead. Don’t be afraid to give yourself a monthly challenge, such as cutting your grocery bill by 50% or only drinking beer at your home. You’ll be surprised how much you can save. Pack your lunch. It’s almost always the more frugal route.
Enlist the help of a friend to make saving money more fun. Before I went to PT school, I saved aggressively. I didn’t want to be drowning in debt after school, so a friend and I started the dollar meal challenge. Each of us would contribute an item that cost $1 or less. Meals typically consisted of tuna fish on bread with BBQ sauce and an apple. We did this on many nights. It was surprisingly fun and we came up with some really clever meals on nights that it would have been tempting to drop $10 on a quick dinner without batting an eye. I realize this is extreme, but it’s an option to really cut your costs while you pay down your loans.
Mr. Money Mustache is a fantastic resource for anyone attempting to lead a frugal lifestyle.
8. Move to Alaska
The SHARP program seeks to fill positions in rural Alaska areas with qualified healthcare professionals. There is such a need for these professionals that, after three years, Alaska will pay off your student loans, if you’re in good standing with the program. If you fall in love with your job, you can also opt to extend your contract. Learn more on the website.
9. Open a Cash-based practice
This is a tough one to suggest to new grads. Unless you’re VERY confident in your abilities as a PT and have a guaranteed stream of patients, it can be challenging to jump right into a cash pay practice right out of physical therapy school.
If you’re the type of PT who thrives on being the best of the best, you will likely thrive in a cash pay environment. Without the constraints of decreasing insurance reimbursement and clinic red tape, you can treat patients the way you want, while making a very good living.
12. Get Rich Slowly
One of the best ways to become wealthy is to invest wisely. If your employer offers a 401k/403b or any other retirement savings plan, use it. If your employer matches your contributions, even better. Contribute the maximum amount you can afford to your retirement savings, as that is your way to secure your financial future and avoid the burdens of taxes in the process. NGPT is planning to write more on this topic, so stay tuned!
Some parting words:
Remember to temper your expectations with a dose of reality. While you may have earned a DPT in grad school (and, no doubt, you worked your tush off while earning that degree), the biggest factor in how much you’re paid is your years of experience. Try to be patient and, in the meantime, enjoy the fact that you get to paid to love your job 🙂
What do you think, new grads? Are you working in a setting where you’re able to meet your financial goals?
