Background: I have a BA in Sociology; but I have had a complete change of heart in terms of career desires and life in general.
I have recently re-enrolled at my local CC in order to complete my Pre-reqs for DPT; however, I am looking at the curriculum for both programs (at various schools) and the curriculum for AT just looks so much more appealing to me. I am currently taking my Anat/physio pre reqs, which is need for both programs, so changing to AT would be no time lost.
I guess my question is, is there any significant advantage (short or long term) to any of the two degrees? I wish to work at a uni or HS; so I assume AT would be more proper in that sense.
However, I have heard that the job growth for DPT is rising a great bit; unsure about AT. Also, what is the salary like, real-world. Heard AT may not be as good, but if the work is fun, I don’t mind making Avg. pay compared to making good pay over work I don’t feel like doing.
Looking for input, any is appreciated.
Well, do you want to be an athletic trainer or do you want to be a physical therapist?
The vast majority of schools do not employ physical therapists, so if you want to work in schools, a DPT isn’t a great route to that. You can work with children; you might even work specifically with children with sports injuries, particularly if you partner up with a school system or place your practice strategically or something. But if you want to work in an educational institution your best bet is AT work - 37% of ATs work in an educational institution.
Physical therapists make over $84,000 a year on average, while athletic trainers make about $45,000 a year on average. Both careers are projected to grow much faster than average, although PTs are going to grow faster than ATs over the next 10 years.
I would imagine, anecdotally, that positions as a physical therapist are probably easier to find. PTs work in hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers and in their own private practices. Athletic training positions are probably a little more scarce and there’s probably more competition for them. (My sister is in an adjacent field - exercise science - and I know she’s struggled with finding full-time work post-college, although that’s for a variety of reasons).
I once chatted with a DPT student at my grad school medical center. My sister was interested in the DPT, so I asked her how she got there. She said that DPT programs are so competitive these days, and you need to have some clinical experience with a physical therapist to stand out. She said that it was relatively common for people in her program to have gotten a BA, then gone back to a technical school, gotten certified as a physical therapist’s assistant (PTA), then worked as a PTA for 1-2 years before applying for the DPT program. That’s not necessarily a bad route to consider; PTAs actually make more than athletic trainers on average (their average salary is over $55,000 a year).
All salary and growth statistics are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook.