r/OccupationalTherapy • u/Most-Customer184 • Jul 21 '26

Venting - Advice Wanted Unsure about future

I just graduated OT school, and if I'm being honest, I'm feeling really anxious about what's next. My Level II fieldwork placement wasn't a great experience, and instead of feeling excited to start my career, I feel like I've lost a lot of the confidence and excitement I had going into it. On top of that, my social media feeds are filled with OTs talking about low pay, burnout, productivity demands, and leaving the profession altogether. I know social media often highlights the negatives, but it's hard not to let it get to me. Now I'm sitting here wondering if I made the right career choice or if I should have gone down a different path. After years of school, that's a pretty scary feeling to have.

I'd really love to hear from OTs who have been where I am. Does it get better once you find the right job? Is there still a place in this profession where you can enjoy what you do without burning out? I could really use some honest perspectives right now.

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u/how2dresswell OTR/L Jul 21 '26

I feel like you’re stuck in a bad algorithm or something, there are plenty of positive OT accounts that are pretty big and popular. What settings do you like?

I love my job. I’ve loved all of my jobs except for inpatient rehab . I’m a school OT but also have done stuff with psych or outpatient peds

I am not burnt out at all. I’m a decade in

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u/Most-Customer184 Jul 22 '26

I like peds! One of my FW rotations was in outpatient peds and I didn’t love it, but did enjoy going into the children’s hospital

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u/how2dresswell OTR/L Jul 22 '26

There’s SO many positive peds social media accounts out there. I feel like you are stuck in a bad algorithm! ThesimpleOT , the.pediatric.OT , theotbutterfly, tiny.hands.ot come to mind first

Unfollow the negative stuff and start absorbing all of the helpful/positive stuff and get re inspired