When I went to graduate school for my occupational therapy degree I had every intention of working hands-on with patients for the rest of my career. Once I graduated and passed my boards I worked in a variety of settings: acute care, outpatient, home health, etc. I always felt like something was missing. Sure, it was fulfilling when patients made progress, but the negative aspects of clinical care that I experienced outweighed the positives. I started to wonder what else I could do with my degree and what a switch to a non-clinical career would look like.
Productivity standards, inability to find full time work initially, and lack of growth were just a few of the reasons that fueled me to make a change. I started researching. At the time the only non-clinical opportunity I knew of for OTs was education. That was not something I was interested in. Low and behold I stumbled on an entire community of therapists out there that felt the same way I did. Here I’ll outline why I felt like I needed to leave clinical care and exactly what I did to make it happen.
Reasons I Made The Switch
Growth Potential
As a treating clinician, at least in the facilities I have worked in, the growth potential is quite limited. Unless you are interested in being a therapy supervisor or manager there is often a ceiling that clinicians hit rather quickly in their careers. Some larger hospitals might offer specialization titles (rehab technology specialist, clinical educator, etc.). These roles might come with a small pay raise but often are taken on voluntarily.
There are certifications therapists can acquire that make them experts in treating various impairments. Again, some sites may offer increased pay for obtaining these but others don’t. In my opinion it was not worth my time to obtain those without a guarantee of a title change and pay increase. Which leads me to….
Limited Pay
Getting my masters/OT degree cost me tens of thousands of dollars. That was after spending tens of thousands of dollars getting my bachelors degree. At the height of my clinical career I was making approximately $75k per year. That was with a full-time home health job and a PRN acute care position I worked on the weekends. With the amount that it costs to acquire my degree (and the loans that came with it) I didn’t feel like what I was with two jobs justified the cost.
Pair that with the poor growth potential and limited to no merit increases. I was losing money by staying in the same position with the way inflation has trended the last few years. My family and I have specific financial goals and I knew I wanted a position where I could grow financially to support them.
**Note that I live in the midwest and that salary ranges for OTs in other parts of the country are likely to be higher.
Evolve Skillset
I am the kind of person that needs to constantly be challenged within my career. I don’t enjoy doing the same thing day in and day out and enjoy having autonomy with how I do my job. I had gotten to a point within my clinical career where no matter what I did I didn’t feel like I was making a difference or being challenged. That’s when I knew it was time to make a switch.
I sat down and made a list of what I wanted out of a non-clinical role. Autonomy, growth potential, and still working within the rehab world were high on the list. I also wanted something that would challenge me in a different way that clinical care did. Next it was time to find possible roles that I qualified for that met my criteria.
How I Made The Switch To A Non-Clinical Career
Networking
First I turned to social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook. I updated my LinkedIn profile first and put that I was open to work. This lets recruiters know that you are interested and that they can contact you about roles they are looking to fill. I also searched Facebook for therapy groups that were focused on non-clinical careers. Luckily I found the Non-Clinical PT’s Non-Clinical Networking & Jobs group linked here. This was SO helpful for exploring different roles and connecting with people who already had non-clinical positions.
The Non-Clinical PT
During my research I found Meredith Castin’s Non-Clinical PT website. She posts spotlights weekly featuring therapists who are working in all sorts of different non-clinical positions. These were extremely helpful when I was looking for different types of roles I could potentially apply to. You can read the spotlight she featured me in here once I got my current position.
I also took her Non-Clinical 101 course. This helped me with everything from perfecting my resume to working on my interview skills. She continues to add to this course regularly and has plenty of graduates (including myself!) that went on to get non-clinical careers.
Final Thoughts
When I started to no longer be fulfilled within my clinical role I had no idea that there were therapists working in other types of non-clinical positions. It took a lot of research on my end but I am so happy I found this non-clinical world. There are so many roles we are qualified for with our skillsets!
If you are a therapist feeling the same way I did, I hope some of these resources can help you the way they helped me. As always, if you have any questions I am happy to help where I can.