Employability Model and Career Paper Assignment

For my two careers I chose an Occupational Therapist and a Physical Therapist. It was hard

to find differenced in these two careers in the beginning because they do seem similar at first.

But once you start doing research on these two careers you start to notice some of the

differences. One of the main differences that stuck out to me was that in order to become an

Occupational Therapist, you need to get your masters which normally takes about 2 years. In

order to become a Physical Therapist, you need to get your doctorate degree which is more

demanding and normally takes 3 years to obtain. The job outlooks for these careers were both

above average, with Occupational Therapy at 24% and Physical Therapy at 28%. I also really

liked that how with both jobs you can work in many different atmospheres. You can work in

hospitals, private practice, early intervention, long term care facilities, schools, can travel to

patients’ homes and with physical therapy you can work in sports settings too. With both being

good, stable jobs, the one that caught my eye more was being a Physical Therapist. While

Occupational Therapists focus more on the patient’s fine motor skills and helping them

accomplish or adapt to being able to complete everyday tasks such as brushing their teeth,

picking up a fork or even driving. I like that Physical Therapists focus on the whole body and can

work with a range of severity of injuries. They can work with injured athletes trying to recover

all the way to stroke victims who are trying to learn how to walk again.

I have been to physical therapy multiple times for a lot of different injuries throughout

my life, so I always thought about becoming a Physical Therapist. When I got injured at first, I

went to one physical therapist and I did not like it at all, I dreaded going there every week and

eventually I asked my mom if we could find another physical therapist. She said that I could,
and we found another one that my doctor recommended. Coming to the new place was so

much different and I started to look forward to going to physical therapy and seeing my physical

therapist. I started to make more progress and it speed up my recovery. From being on the

patient side, I was able to tell how much of a different that the physical therapist can make for

you and your recovery process. After this I thought how good it would feel to be able to make

this difference in someone else’s life, so I started thinking about being a physical therapist. I

volunteered and shadowed two different physical therapists and I enjoyed being able to see

how the office runs from the professional side of it. Since I will be 18 this summer, I am hoping

to have a job as a physical therapist aide. These shadowing and work experiences will help me

when I apply to graduate school. I am really interested in neuro physical therapy and working

with stroke victims and pediatrics.

Career Path Exploration Grid

Career 1: Career 2:
Physical Therapist Occupational Therapist
Questions
What skills and  Technology skills are
knowledge are needed on how to use
expected? multiple computer software
systems such as: action
games that include
biometrics video game
software, electronic mail
such as Microsoft outlook,
spreadsheet software such
as Microsoft excel, medical
software and word
processing software
 Some knowledge that PTs
are expected to have is
knowledge of customer and
personal service, therapy
and counseling, medicine
and dentistry, psychology
and education and training
 Active listening, critical
thinking, reading
comprehension, service
orientation and social
perceptiveness skills are
also needed]
What training,  A doctoral degree is the
certification, and/or minimum standard in order
education are required? to become an PT
 On average it will take
about 3 years to earn your
DPT degree
 s
 Knowledge about fine motor skills and
knowing how to adapt everyday tasks
to the patients’ needs
 Technology skills are needed on how
to use multiple computer software
systems such as: graphics or photo
imaging software, medical software,
word processing software and
scanning software
 Some knowledge that OTs are
expected to have is knowledge of
therapy and counseling, psychology,
customer and personal services,
medicine and dentistry and strong
knowledge of the structure and
content of the English language
 Active listening, monitoring, service
orientation, critical thinking and
instructing skills are also needed
 A master’s degree is the minimum
standard in order to become an OT
 On average it will take about 2-3
 years to earn your master’s degree in
OT
 You will need to pass the NBCOT and
get lincencened I your state
What tasks and  Plan, prepare, or carry out
activities are individually designed
performed? programs of physical
treatment to maintain,
improve, or restore physical
functioning, alleviate pain,
or prevent physical
dysfunction in patients.
 Perform and document an
initial exam, evaluating data
to identify problems and
determine a diagnosis prior
to intervention.
 Record patient medical
histories
 Instruct patient and family
in treatment procedures to
be continued at home.
 Obtaining information from
all relevant sources
What are the working  Can work in many settings
conditions? such as a hospital, private
practice, early intervention,
long term care facilities,
schools, can travel to
patient’s homes, in fitness
and wellness facilities’, and
sports settings
What is the expected  The expected starting salary
starting salary and is about $70,000 per year
benefits? Does it vary and some of the benefits
by region? include
medical/dental/vision and
life insurance, disability
insurance, paid time off, and
a 401k retirement plan
 Yes, the starting salary and
the average salary of a PT
changes slightly based on
the region you live in
 Help patients improve their fine motor
skills
 Focuses on adapting, modifying or
changing the way a person does their
daily activities
 Select activities that will help
individuals learn work and life-
management skills within limits of their
mental or physical capabilities. This
helps people regain their
independence by helping them adapt
to small everyday tasks.
 Test and evaluate patients' physical
and mental abilities and to determine
realistic rehabilitation goals for
patients.
 Can work in many settings such as a
hospital, private practice, early
intervention, long term care facilities,
schools and can travel to patients’
homes
 The expected starting salary is about
$60,000 per year and some of the
benefits include medical/dental/vision
and life insurance, disability insurance,
paid time off, and a 401k retirement
plan
 Yes, the starting salary and the average
salary of an OT changes slightly based
on the region you live in
What is the  The employment outlook is
employment outlook? higher than most
occupations, the outlook by
2026 is supposed to grow by
28 percent
How does this career  I like to interact with other
align with your people, and I have good
transferable skills and active listening skills when
strengths? talking to others
 I work good with others
 I like to help people and see
them improve
 I have good critical thinking
and reading comprehension
skills
How does this career  I really enjoy how this job is
align with your goals flexible and it offers many
and values? different atmospheres that
you can work in
 I also enjoy how you work
side by side with the patient
and grow a bond and
relationship with them
 It is rewarding and you feel
a sense of accomplishment
when you see your patient
improve
 The employment outlook is higher
than most occupations, the outlook by
2026 is supposed to grow by 24
percent
 I have good service orientation skills
 I have good critical thinking and
reading comprehension skills
 I work good with others
 I like to help people and see them
improve
 I really enjoy how this job is flexible
and it offers many different
atmospheres that you can work in
 I also enjoy how you work side by side
with the patient and grow a bond and
relationship with them
 It is rewarding and you feel a sense of
accomplishment when you see your
patient regain their independence