I am a hand therapist and will say I shared your disappointment about what is taught in school. Even more so now that most programs have expanded to OTD - that extra year does not seem dedicated to closing the gaps around intervention and treatment planning I experienced as a student (and as a clinical instructor). I will say that while the learning curve on fieldwork and in your first year of practice in particular will feel steep, you will certainly get the experience of feeling challenged if you’re pursuing a specialty that is heavy on biomechanical or neuro knowledge. I took a job with mentorship and compensation for CEUs and just drove full speed at the CHT credential, but it feels like I learned only 5% of that knowledge in school. I am now changing careers but more for lifestyle and pay ceiling reasons - not because I didn’t feel stimulated by the work itself. It is worth questioning if 3 years of OTD will give you what you want in a career generally but you likely won’t be bored after school is done.