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staying in Health Care and am especially interested in home healthcare - hypertyper

Posted: Jul 06, 2012

I am looking into what field of study to take up. I am thinking about staying in Health Care and am especially interested in home health care. I was wondering if anyone knows personally if there are demands for: Physical Therapist assistant - with Associated degree Occupational assistant- with Associates degree Has anyone heard of Speech/language pathologist assistant? I think this will require too much schooling but I have heard there is a big demand in health care and schools. I also was wonding how hard it might be to get my foot in the door with coding being that I am an MT. I have heard horror stories about people training and never getting experience. Thanks for any responses. I will find a new direction to go yet. Have been looking all around, just waiting for a sign!!!! : )

Why not go for something better, something - that pays well

[ In Reply To ..]
The jobs you are looking at, apparently specifically because they require little schooling, do not pay well at all, really not much better than MT. Jobs that pay well require a much higher level of skill. Why set your sights so low? If you settle for low-paying jobs, you will struggle for the rest of your life. Put in the effort now, endure the "struggle" in the form of schooling now, and improve your long-term prospects for financial security.

Really... - IMO anything in the health care

[ In Reply To ..]
field other than MD, nurse or upper level exec is going to be low paid and dead end. Even doctor and nurse are horrible burn-out jobs. Why else would they have to import most of them from foreign countries and recruit constantly to fill position? From what I read on this board, I would say a lot of MTs are way better and smarter than that.

I tend to agree with you from what I've seen - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Response with more questions than answers :) - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm wondering why you would choose
Physical Therapist "Assistant" instead of
Physical Therapist.

I'm wondering why you would consider
Speech/language pathologist "Assistant"
rather than speech/language pathologist.

It seems that the jobs would be for the therapist and the pathologist, not necessarily for the "assistant", but I'm just guessing. I don't know.

It seems like it would be better to become a medical coder rather than a medical coder "assistant" and have solid credentials--not just a CPC, but at least a CCS, and hopefully both CPC and CCS. You see people talking about often who have the CPC but they can't get a job, but people with a CCS do better. If you get both the CPC and the CCS, you have marketable credentials. If you decided to be a coding "assistant", however, it seems to me that your job would be forever limited.

This is all speculation on my part though, because I've never heard of physical therapist assistant or speech/language pathologist assistant or coding assistant.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Speech pathologist requires a master's - tmt

[ In Reply To ..]
speech pathologist's assistant requires an associate's

Master's = 6 years
Associate's = 2 years

To someone who's in a field that has maybe 1 to 2 years left, an associate's is more reasonable than a master's.

That depends on if there are any jobs - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
"To someone who's in a field that has maybe 1 to 2 years left, an associate's is more reasonable than a master's."

That's true, if there are any jobs for the associates or "assistant".

because of the amount of education required - not everyone has time

[ In Reply To ..]
Not everyone has time to get a 4 year degree. That requires "the basics": English, math, history, all of that, and then finally getting to the actual courses that will make you a physical therapist, etc. Some people gotta get out and work right now! Although some get the assistant job and then start taking the classes required for the 4 year degree.

reality of school - me

[ In Reply To ..]
I went back to school and hold a Master's degree in another field. Social services -- sadly, I can't make enough money working in that field as I still do in MT, so I've stayed with MT for now.

However, I also carry a very large student debt burden.

If you can go to a two-year program and make a nice salary, why opt for a four or six year program and make only $10k more?

Physical therapy assistants and occupational therapy assistants are well paid in my area. I've never heard of speech therapy assistant but I wouldn't see why it wouldn't work. Something to remember is, that as an assistant, you will always have to work under an actual therapist.

Avoid work-at-home and computer-based - tmt

[ In Reply To ..]
Any work-at-home or computer-based job is in the process of being offshored.

Stick to jobs that work face-to-face with the customer. Those are just about the only middle-class jobs even remotely stable.

Stability holds more value than dollar amount.

Have you looked into the cost? - (see message)

[ In Reply To ..]
I applaud you for considering one of these fields, and I actually do see jobs for OT ass't and PT ass't around these parts. I was considering becoming an OT ass't, but I looked into the cost of the program at our local college, and it was something like $15,000+. I might consider investing that amount in training for a good career if I had longer to work and recoup the investment, but I don't. I don't think my husband's income is low enough for me to qualify for financial aid, either.

By the way, I don't think Hypertyper mentioned thinking about being a coding assistant....just coding itself. I don't think I've ever heard of a coding assistant....is there such a thing?

No, there isn't such a thing as far as I know - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
You're right. I don't think she mentioned coding assistant.

By the way, there have been numerous articles recently about how people are getting themselves into debt they can never repay, using federal financial aid. The articles are talking about the schools getting rich getting paid those financial aid monies. The students, on the other hand, are coming out unable to get a job, but still have to pay back the loans. The schools can charge those horrific amounts because they know the student expects financial aid to take care of it for them, so they don't worry about having to pay it back later. That situation is getting abusive to the taxpayer and just plain scary. Be careful.

OTA - go for it

[ In Reply To ..]
My daughter went back to school (2 year program) for OTA and she makes $50k. She loves it. There's a demand for occupational therapists but because they can't find them, they are having to pay the OTA.

If you don't mind working with clients, I'd really recommend seeing if you're cut out for OTA.

My error. Deleting - About heavy lifting and split shifts

[ In Reply To ..]
This may be a great idea. Just consider the fact that you will be having to lift, push, and shove heavy equipment and patients. Many jobs have gone to split shifts too. That may not be a problem for you if you live close to the hospital where you will be working.

EDITED: Sorry about that. I doubt that you will do much lifting, etc., for occupational therapy. My error.

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