What to expect as a new grad moving into a travel physical therapy career

s a physical therapist new grad or one approaching graduation in the coming year you may find your friends and family starting to ask a lot of questions. Questions like:

• Where you are going to work?
• How much are you going to make?
• What do you want to focus on?
• How are you going to pay off your school loans?

If you are facing similar questions, I came across a great article from a physical therapist after his first year as a travel PT that you may find helpful. He had similar questions before he started down his career path, so if you are considering a career in travel physical therapy yourself it is definitely worth reading. You can find it here.

Here are some of the highlights:

Before you start you will need to:

• Be prepared to be met with skepticism from professors concerning the experience and environment they think are needed for new grads
• Keep an open mind to their warnings, but also to the possibilities of a travel career
• You will realize the benefits of a traveling physical therapy are great for new grads
• Be prepared with questions be afraid to ask them of the travel physical therapy companies, it is your career we’re talking about

After you start you will:

• Learn that a travel PT career allows for great control over your post education education (the stuff you learn that they don’t teach you in school)
• Realize that the risks everyone warned you about probably won’t happen
• Have the ability to control your environment much better than a single job lets you
• Be exposed to different management and clinical operation strategies making you a more well rounded therapist
• Find that a travel physical therapy job offers great compensation thanks to high starting salary, real hourly pay and tax-free housing and living allowances, which means you can pay down your student loans faster
• Get great benefits including health and dental insurance, as well as access to a company 401k plans
• Enjoy the chance to take 1-2 week breaks between assignments made even more possible by high pay

So give the article a read and remember there are tons of opportunities out there to begin your physical therapy career.