u/CoachPsyduckk

Hello everyone! I have an issue I have been dealing with for about a month now. I have about 2 years left for school (undergrad) and I only have about 20 observation hours in an outpatient setting. I dont have a ton of time outside of school to get my observation hours in, but I think I might be able to manage depending on whay kind of job I get. I am moving from my hometown to San Jose CA as for a bit more background.

I have been trying to get a job as a PT aide for the past month and a half. Applying online with cover letters and all of that. I've gotten a few phone interviews with the I terrier being cut short when I tell them the hours I can work (I'll post my schedule at the bottom) so it is getting really frustrating knowing that even though I might be qualified, I don't get chosen because I am also a student with a shitty schedule.

So my question is, do I keep trying for PT aide jobs or try to get a job that aligns with my schedule more and just suck it up that I will have to spend more time outside of work/school observing? I reqlly wanted to try and lump the 2 together :/ you always seem to give me solid advice, so as always, any advice is greatly appreciated!

My availability to work is as follows:

Mon/Wed/Fri - Anytime after 3pm

Tues - 8 - 10 am and/or after 2pm

Thurs/Sat/Sun - Anytime

Hello everyone! I always appreciate the advice on here so thabks to everyone that participates! I tend to have a lot of conversations with myself and well... here's another one that maybe some of yall can weigh in on!

I started college wabting to become a nurse, lets just say that didnt go the way I planned. Hated school, yada yada... eventually I found a ballet class and fell in love. I ended up taking almost every single dance class thay my CC offered and got my degree in dance in 2019. Never wanted ro be a professional, but I did always think teaching sounded like a lot of fun. Then covid hit and it made a massive dent in my dream of becoming a dance teacher and pushed me toward my newfound dream of becoming a DPT.

Quick side story. So, throughout my whole time as a dancer I would always get so annoyed how badly dancers got treated in comparison to other athletes. I had a friend who hurt their ankle at my CC and they got turned away for ice because they were saving it for "the athletes". That really irked me. So i had the decision that I want to become a healthecare worker/PT specifically for dancers.

I told other PTs that I shadowed with about it and they basically just told me that I would be doing myself a disservice to limit myself to one population. I definitely can see where they were coming from when saying that. I also know that PTs can work with a wide variety of patients and really switch up whenever they want if they so desire (within reason). I guess I wont really know until I become a DPT myself, but if some of you could just shed some light and tell me if I am dumb for trying to limit myself? Lol. I love the dance community but I dont wanna go around telling people "I wanna work for a ballet conservatory!" for them to just be like "that's dumb".

I also love working with the older population so that is reason number 2 why I went down the PT path, if that counts for anything in this conversation 😁

Hello! I view a lot of the responses in this reddit thread, so I think I know the answer I might get from mostly everyone, lol. But i really wants some advice because MAYBE my situation is a bit different. Some info about me. I am 30 year old male, I do not have a real college fund so everything will be through FAFSA abd out of pocket.

I am starting school at a state college as a junior in kinesiology this coming August. For the past few years I dreamt about becoming a PT and what it would be like to treat people, work on the movements, having fun interactions, etc. I love exercise and I love what movement can do for the body. I have seen ton of bad press about what life is like as a PT and I won't lie when I say that it does turn me off a bit. I still keep pushing though because I know deep down that I have a passion for it.

Although, I recently went to the doctors and had a lovely physician's assistant. Very kind, caring, funny, the works. I loved how knowledgeable he was about things and how he was able to help me with my medical needs. So I got to thinking... if I were in his shoes, I think I could make somebody feel just as good about visiting the doctor as he did for me. I reqlly love patient interaction and on top of all of that, they have a better ROI and shorter schooling times it seems. He wasn't very hands on like PT so that is a big difference.

So, somewhat of a TL;DR. My dilemmas.

● I havent taken micro bio yet and I am a but nervous for that class. But I am also nervous for physics in the PT route.

● I do not like dealing with my own blood, and I know I wont be dealing with my own... but I am nervous that is gonna effect patient care on my end.

● I do not know if I will have time to be able to get the 1,000-2,000 hours required by most masters programs for PA.

● I am just really scared to change my career path this late in life... I also have had the idea of PT for so long at this point thay I'm afraid I might not be as motivated to go down the PA path.

Please, anything helps. I am open to whatever constructive advice anyone has. Thank you 🫶

Hello! I have been seeing a lot of posts lately about people wondering if they would get into PT school or not based or their stats, so I thought I would jump in.

Idk if this part matters but I just turned 30 at the end of last year. I started school fresh out of high school in 2013 and had 0 clue what I wanted to do. I got Cs, Ds, and Cs. I have since made up or just removed a lot of those classes. I got my associates degree in dance in 2019. Since 2022 my cumulative GPA has gone from a 2.6 to a 3.3 and is looking to be a 3.5/3.6 after this semester! (I have been getting all as for the last 3 semesters). I have all As in my core classes so far (A&P 1&2 and Chem only). I am transferring to SJSU this fall so I still have about 2 years to go.

I have been a personal trainer for about 4 years, mainly working with the parkinsons/cancer community. I have been a co leader in 2 Parkinson's benefit walks where I had a lot of responsibility (set up, sponsorship deals, advertising, leading the walk route, etc.) Lastly, I have been tutoring these last 2 semesters. My first semester as a tutor, I tutored Japanese 1 and my second semester as a tutor I am currently tutoring anatomy and physiology 21A.

I know my GPA is not amazing and might even be considered bad, but I plan on getting good grades as I move on to my state college. I am hoping they view my transcripts and realize the effort I put in.

I made this post because I am VERY bervous about getting in, which I am sure everyone has been/will be 😬 Please let me know what you think and I would LOVE any reccomendations you would have for me moving forward. Thank you! 😊

Edit: My top choices for school are 1.Fresno State University, 2.Northridge, and 3.Long Beach!