Genevie Mercado

Ms. Wright
p.4 English 9th
March 4th, 2023
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is a form of therapy that works to help your body become its best form,

using different exercises and stretching. I chose to explore this career because after taking the

California career zone interest profiler quiz, it showed me options such as Piolet, Retail manager,

etc. However, as I continued to scroll through the options I came upon physical therapist. I

quickly took an interest and started thinking about if that’s something that could become an

option for my future. I realized that this career could perfectly fit with my life, because I already

have some experience. As athletes we constantly deal with injury and often that leads to going to

physical therapy. Recently I have had shin splints that lead to me going to physical therapy for a

while. I feel physical therapy could be a good fit for me just because I don’t mind the busyness

of the schedule, I also value helping others and don’t mind the amount of school needed.

However, financially it could potentially be a struggle but I'm not too worried just because I

know there are ways around it.

Physical therapy requires that you must graduate with a bachelor's degree in physical

therapy. After that you need to enroll in a physical therapy program. Then apply for your license.

You must also pass the California law examination (CLE) and the National Physical Therapy

exam (NPTE). This career is not an entry level position meaning that you need a certain level of

experience to even be considered for a job. According to the article “How to become a Physical

Therapist in California”, “you need at least 2,000 hours (about 2 and a half months) of

experience”. There are plenty of schools in California that can help achieve this goal. The author
of the article, “How to become a physical therapist in California” mentions that the best schools

for physical therapy are, California State University Sacramento, Uc San Francisco, San Diego

State University”. These schools have great programs that can help students thrive in the world

of physical therapy. However, all this means that the undertaking of becoming a physical

therapist can be a very long tedious process.

Becoming a physical therapist can have a certain impact on others in society. This is

because physical therapist can help others relieve pain, improve the body's movement, maintain

cardiopulmonary function and they are able to help limit disabilities that may have been caused

by any injury or disease. Nowadays physical therapists can have an even bigger impact on others

because as humans have evolved so have chronic illness and disability rates. As reported by,

“Mayo clinic and college of medicine and science”, “Secondly, there has been an increase in

chronic conditions such as diabetes and obesity so physical therapists are needed to help these

patients manage the effects of these conditions”. This means that physical therapists are in higher

demand. My experience at CVLCC can help secure me a job in this career because some of the

four pillars have prepared me for this job. The first one being dual language because with this

skill I am able to connect with people who speak Spanish or English and help them in ways

others aren’t able to. In a way this can help me earn more of a salary because the author of,

“Becoming a physical therapist” mentions that “More money can be earned if you know more

than one language you can potentially be paid more”. In the United States there are plenty of

different kinds of people this means that if you can speak another language, you will be able to

communicate with more people and get them the help they need without too much of a hassle.

The other pillar that connects with this career is community engagement because physical
therapists help others around their community, or they go outside their community to help even

more people.

Personally, my life might not look too different to what it does now. Only because I do

live a busy life where I have plenty going on. According to the article, “13 pros and cons of

becoming a Physical Therapist”, “As a physical therapist you are able to control and organize

your schedule how you want it”. This means that I may have a busy schedule, however it will be

organized so that I'm able to manage what I am doing. On the other hand, this career may affect

me financially. The author of “13 pros and cons of becoming a Physical Therapist” mentions,

“one of the cons of becoming a physical therapist is that cost/ tuition can get expensive and it's

likely you will need to take out student loans which can lead to debt”. This can truly harm

someone if they aren't able to secure a successful job as a physical therapist. However, if you are

able to secure a successful job in this career the salary can help take a load off of the debt you

may owe. With a salary of around 85k a year. Someone with this kind of job may have different

schedule everyday but, in the article, “A Day in the life of a physical therapist”, it states, “Since

many PTs begin seeing patients at 8:00 AM, the PT is often the first person to arrive at the

office, anywhere from 7:00 – 7:30 AM. Patients can come whatever time you decide to schedule

them and usually this takes place from 8-4 (with lunch in between). Then around 4-5 PT’s that

the time to note down any patient progress or review any notes they may have”. This explains

how physical therapist's schedules can either differ from day to day or be similar day to day. The

most difficult part of this job is that fact that physical therapists are on their feet for most hours

of the workday. On the other had the most desirable part for me is the fact that with this career I

will be able to help others feel more comfortable in their own bodies. This career won’t have too

much of an impact on my desired lifestyle as long as I'm able to be happy with what I do.
 Despite the potential financial struggle and workload of school, it's important to me to

help others feel like they aren't constantly in pain in their bodies.. The amount of school doesn’t

bring to much concern to me just because I've been doing school for a long time and am pretty

used to the things I do. On the other hand, burnout is something that's happened to me time and

time again and is difficult to recover from. From my insight this profession calls for a lot of

organization, which is something I'm proud to have. However, it also calls for a lot of motivation

as well, which can sometimes be hard to come by. To my understanding this career is something

that you must truly work hard for, and the process might be long and difficult but can have a nice

reward at the end. Given this information I don’t mind the work that has to come out of me to

accomplish this career and would love to consider it as something for the future.
Work cited:
“Becoming a Physical Therapist.” APTA, https://www.apta.org/your-career/careers-in-physical-
therapy/becoming-a-pt.
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. “Physical Therapist - Explore Health Care
Careers - Mayo Clinic College of Medicine & Science.” Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and
Science, https://college.mayo.edu/academics/explore-health-care-careers/careers-a-z/physical-
therapist/.
Powerdigital. “A Day in the Life of a Physical Therapist Loving Their Job.” MAS Medical
Staffing, 25 Jan. 2019, https://www.masmedicalstaffing.com/blog/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-
physical-therapist/.
Pro~Pt. “How to Become a Physical Therapist in California & Tips from a Pt.” PRO~PT, 14 Oct.
2022, https://pro-pt.net/physical-therapy/how-to-become-a-physical-therapist-in-california/.
Schlette, J. (2023). 13 pros and cons of being a physical therapist. 13 pros and cons of being a
physical therapist. Retrieved March 5, 2023, from https://www.nursingprocess.org/physical-
therapist-pros-and-cons.html
Sports, Jobs In. “How to Become a Sports Physical Therapist.” JobsInSports Blog, 1 Dec. 2022,
https://www.jobsinsports.com/blog/2021/07/21/a-guide-on-how-to-become-a-sports-physical-
therapist/.