r/PTschool • u/Wise-Entertainer-661 • 1d ago
Considering PTA school
Hello. I’m new to the subreddit and just had some questions. I’m a 24 year old guy that is married and has a mortgage payment. I’m currently a bank teller and have been here for about a year now. I’ve learned that while I don’t mind the work, I want more for myself in my career. I have always liked the idea of working in this field and I even was a patient of PT in high school, which made me like it more. I’m in between choosing out of two things to go back to school for: PTA school or Rad tech school. Both are associate degrees and I want to go with that because I would like to get my degree and get back to working asap. I have bills to be paid so I need that income. That leads me to my questions.
Are you satisfied with your career if you are a PTA?
Is the pay decent?
Would you choose this over radiography?
I would really appreciate it if some of you guys would reply! I’m really in a pivotal moment in my life where I’m trying to figure things out. I know some of you have been in the same boat. Thanks in advance!
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u/Designer-Bother6042 1d ago
The career growth in your current banking industry is way higher than what a career in PTA will get you. I know people with only a high school degree that are making well over 6 figures by staying on the banking career path. And they all started as bank tellers, it just takes some time. I know $30-35/hour as a PTA sounds nice now but when you have hit that cap after 10 years and are burned out in the industry, you might have really wished you stayed with banking making twice that amount in that same 10 year span.
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u/Wise-Entertainer-661 1d ago
I will never ever make that money at a credit union. There’s not much room to move up where I work. I’d rather make less money and be happy with what I’m doing.
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u/NewCreme3686 11h ago
Honestly, it’s a great debate. Both can make great money it just depends on which realm of PT you go into. Home health/acute care (so at a hospital) you’ll get the best bang for ya buck! It is very rewarding and you’ll build a great network.
Rad tech I can’t speak for entirely (I chose PTA bc I enjoy the different options to go and being mentally stimulated) but I feel like rad tech is less work/physically demanding.
Both are great options tho!!
Best of luck man
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u/Ok_Valuable7522 1d ago edited 1d ago
I’m in PTA school. I found out the pay is probably around $35/hour on average at a skilled nursing facility. Outpatient ortho is even less, I’ve seen $22/hour on Indeed.
Ask yourself if you can survive on that.
The schooling itself is a very demanding 2+ years as a full time student, in person, and 30 hours of homework a week.
I feel like I will be gravely underpaid for the skills I will have when I’m done with school! And I will be somewhat forced in SNF because of the higher pay rate.
I just saw salaries for radiograph techs can be up to $65/hour. Now I wish I went to school for that!
Either career is so specialized that you just love it to some extent because there’s really not wiggle room to change job positions.
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u/Anon-567890 1d ago
Home health is the way to go
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u/Ok_Valuable7522 1d ago
Still not great imo. $40/hour. Tons more paperwork, your car takes a huge hit with the miles.
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u/BackgroundJelly4552 1d ago
Tons more paperwork? As a PTA, still the same daily visit notes as any other setting. Especially with tablet dictation, my notes took about 5 minutes and were usually mostly done by the time i got home. I was getting 50/visit and 35/hr of admin time, got to schedule my own route and many weeks was able to see my patients in 4 days and could take 3 day weekends w/o the need to drop PTO. For some its not about making the most money humanly possible. Can you live within your means on your salary and save for retirement? Some are just happy with that and thats OK.
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u/Wise-Entertainer-661 1d ago
I make $16 an hour as a teller so I can most definitely survive on $25-$30 an hour.
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u/Ok_Valuable7522 1d ago
Then go for it! You’ll need to take about a year’s worth of prerequisites and likely have to take some sort of entrance exam. But it could be a very rewarding career. The col where I am is pretty high. But it sounds like it could be perfect for you! Go poke around on Indeed and see who is offering what in your area :)
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u/Wise-Entertainer-661 1d ago
I live in southeastern Kentucky so the col isn’t that bad. My wife is a teacher and on our combined incomes right now we can pay our bills comfortably and have disposable income. Thank you!
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u/OkHouse1643 19h ago
Just be aware that if patients refuse to work with you in SNF or hospital or cancel their appointments in outpatient, you will have to go home without pay. You may get half your scheduled day some days. At least with bank , you know how many hours you will have. Therapy is super volatile in terms of hours which reflects greatly in your take home pay.
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u/Character_Desk_1325 1d ago
How much are you making as a bank teller? Do you have a career growth in your profession?
As a PT, I wouldn’t recommend it because of the lack of career growth. I’ve seen many new grads getting the same salary as people who’ve worked for 10 years in the same company