I' am trying to decide whether Physical therapist or Physical therapist assistant, Help!!?

Question

I cant decide, Pt has so much more schooling but what if I dont like being a Pta? is there any PTA's out there???

Answer 1

Well, that's a hard question to answer.  You are right...what if you don't like being a PTA?  So the next question is, what if you become a PTA and you decide you really want to become a PT?...now you've wasted at least two years since PTA classes do not transfer to the PT degree.  

The best suggestion I have is to spend time observing in a PT clinic and observe what PTs and PTAs do.  Most likely, you will need to spend time observing in a clinic prior to being accepted to PT school,  so you might as well collect a few hours now.  Also go to www.bls.gov to get an idea of the difference in work place statistics for both PTs and PTAs.  Finally, the APTA website at www.apta.org has some good information for prospective students.  

Answer 2

I think your answer is quite simple. How long do you want to go to school? Obviously, a PTA goes to college a much shorter time then PTs who now have to get Master's degrees, and then you've got the colleges moving to Doctorate degrees now. You say what if you don't like being a PTA? Then you've wasted 2 or 3 years as opposed to wasting 6 years earning your PT degree. Chances are, if you don't like being a PTA, you won't like being a PT and you've wasted more years in college then. I'm a PT and the PTAs I work with love what they do and have no desire to become a PT when they see how much more headaches I get to deal with then they do! Seriously though, becoming a PTA is just about one of the highest paying jobs that you can get with a 2 year degree. I don't think you will be disappointed. But as someone else said, go volunteer a week with a PTA, then another week with a PT. See which one you like the best. Good luck to you, its a great field to go into.