Career and Academic Planning

My First Career Choice

My first career choice is a physical therapist. I chose this career because all my life I’ve been an active person I’ve played sports since I was four years old and still workout on my free time today. I had an injury my sophomore year of high school and I couldn’t even walk let alone play basketball. This wasn’t the first time I had this injury and I thought that this injury would always reoccur if I played sports. My doctor told me I needed to see a physical therapist. I’ve never been to a physical therapist, so I had no idea what to think. Surprisingly, he healed my injury and I was able to play basketball again. If you didn’t know, a physical therapist is someone who helps people heal their injuries or illness. A physical therapist he rehabilitates their patients and gets them back on their feet. To become a physical therapist, you have to go to school and receive your doctorate degree.

The University of Delaware, University of Pittsburg, and the University of Southern California are the top three colleges in the United States to offer a physical therapy program. The best way to have experience in physical therapy is internships. Internships give you the opportunity to shadow and observe the work environment of a physical therapist. A physical therapist usually works in private offices or clinics. Theirs always being active with the patient.

The median pay in 2017 for physical therapists is $86,850 per year. $41.76 per hour. There are currently 230,000+ physical therapy jobs in the United States. In the next ten years, this number is expected to grow 28% more. UCO offers Kinesiology as a major. Kinesiology is the study of the movement of the body. I’m currently a kinesiology major. This means that I have many career choices still. I chose physical therapist because of how active they are and how much they help other people recover from injuries to get them back o their feet.

My Next Career Choice

My next career choice is a chiropractor. I chose this career because I was always fascinated by their work. It’s the most fun job anyone can do. Chiropractors “treat patients with health problems of the neuromusculoskeletal system, which includes nerves, bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. They use spinal adjustments and manipulation, as well as other clinical interventions, to manage patients’ health concerns, such as back and neck pain” (https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/chiropractors.htm).

Chiropractors believe that helping spinal joints will increase the patient’s overall health. As time goes on, chiropractors are working more and more with other healthcare workers such as physicians and physical therapists. Most chiropractors work in an office and are even self-employed. Chiropractors also need their doctorate degree as well. They get paid about $69,000 per year which is equivalent to $33.00 per hour. In 2016, there as about 47,400 chiropractors in the United States and this number is expected to grow by 12% in the next ten years. As the baby boom generation gets older, the more work chiropractors are going to receive many patients love to go to chiropractors because they use nonsurgical treatments and don’t use medicine.

The best major to take for this career is also kinesiology. Being a physical therapist or chiropractor is one of the most common career choices from kinesiology majors. This fits my interest because it also helps people get back on their feet and I get to listen to the sound a bone cracking. That sounds very weird, but it’s true. I haven’t really chosen which career I wanted to pursue but these are my top two. Both pay very well, and they also help people get back on their feet and be the best that they can be.  

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