Becoming A Physical Therapist Essay

524 Words3 Pages

After a license to practice is obtained and a starting job is acquired, the entry-level salary for a physical therapist typically ranges from $55,000 to $65,000 ("Physical Therapist: What It Takes"). Nationally, the annual wage for physical therapists as of May 2016 ranges from an estimate of $58,000 to over $122,000 with a median salary of $85,400 (“Pay”). With a closer look, “Physical Therapist Ranks Among Best Jobs of 2017” provides an estimate of the mean annual wages for physical therapists for the average pay according to the percentile they are located in. Likewise, salary is heavily reliant on the type of industry a physical therapist works in, location of the work setting, and experience ("Physical Therapist: What It Takes"). For example, home health care service positions average an annual salary of $93,200 as opposed to therapy clinics that average around $81,220 per year (“Pay”). …show more content…

As a visual representation, a pie chart of the work setting distribution is provided with the data obtained from “Physical Therapist: What It Takes to be a DPT.” Regarding the “Other” portion of the chart, an extensive range of settings are included within this piece such as, schools, sports facilities, and traveling positions (“Role”). The different work settings of a PT may also be dependent on their specialty, but more than one specialty can work alongside each other in the same work environment. Accordingly, there are five distinct specialties: orthopedic, geriatric, neurological, cardiopulmonary, and pediatric; along with two other emerging practices, vestibular rehabilitation and women’s health (“Five