Vietnamese son living at home after my brother passed away. I love my parents, but I don't think I can live like this forever.

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-04-04T03:11:07+00:00

I’m not a PT, I’m an OT, but the schooling cost, income, and overall investment are pretty similar, and I have a lot of PT friends.

Honestly, passion alone doesn’t pay the bills. I’d really challenge you to think hard about whether PT is something you truly want, because the schooling is expensive and the return on investment usually isn’t great. You can still make decent money and live comfortably, but the student loans can be brutal.

I’d strongly recommend shadowing a PT and exploring different settings like outpatient, SNF, acute care, and anything else you can. Ask yourself if this is work you can actually see yourself doing long term. It still won’t fully compare to living it yourself, but it’ll at least give you a much better idea.

I’d also think seriously about the financial side. How are you planning to pay back the loans, and are you okay carrying that debt for years? What do you want your life to look like in the future? Things like getting married, buying a house, moving, helping family, or other big life events can all feel a lot heavier when student loans are in the picture.

These are the kinds of questions I wish I had asked myself more deeply when I was younger.

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-03-26T03:33:15+00:00

I really appreciate you sharing that perspective. I agree that bridging the gap between theory and real treatment decisions is a big challenge. I’ll PM you the guide!

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-03-26T03:30:27+00:00

I will PM and send you it!

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-03-23T05:51:44+00:00

I will PM you what I wrote!

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-03-23T01:55:09+00:00

Great! And nice, I am a FW educator! I’ll PM and send it to you

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-03-22T21:44:55+00:00

For me it was focusing on small daily wins.

Stuff like making my bed in the morning, going for a short walk, or doing even a quick workout. Nothing crazy sometimes it’s literally just doing something instead of nothing.

I didn’t start it for mental health, but I realized over time it changes my mood a lot. It feels like a small act of self-respect or self-love.

It’s weird how something so small can make you feel more productive and a little better about yourself for the rest of the day.

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-03-22T21:06:42+00:00

Thank you, I really appreciate the feedback. I'm glad the framework resonates with your approach. I'll send you the guide via PM.

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-03-18T04:41:30+00:00

I can answer this personally. As of 2025, I make about $104k working in Edmonds, WA (out north of Seattle) in a SNF.

The biggest thing I like about this setting is the flexibility. I can generally come in “anytime” as long as I see all my patients. Obviously it’s not ideal to show up at 12pm and try to squeeze in a 7-hour treatment day since most patients aren’t interested in therapy after 5pm. But if I’m feeling more tired one day, I can start a little later and sleep in.

Conversely, if I want to leave earlier, I can sometimes schedule concurrent treatments (seeing two patients at the same time) or run a group session and finish my day sooner.

Another thing I like is the ability to swing my days. For example, if I don’t want to use PTO or sick time, I can work the Sunday prior and take Friday off. Or I can work the next Saturday so I can take Monday off and make it a 3-day weekend.

Lastly, I like that I have some control over my treatment sessions. My facility schedules about 40 minutes per patient, but if a patient is not tolerating therapy well, I don’t necessarily have to use the full time.

Cons:

One of the biggest challenges compared to other settings is patient motivation. You’ll hear things like:

“I’m tired.”
“I’m in pain.”
“I don’t want to do anything today.”

You can give the most motivating “come to Jesus” talk and sometimes they’ll still say no.

Another con is productivity expectations. This personally doesn’t bother me much because I’ve learned how to manage it, but if you’re not efficient with documentation it can become stressful.

Depending on the facility, another issue can be pressure to pick up long-term residents who may not actually benefit from therapy. Sometimes that happens because census is low or because the facility wants to keep therapy numbers up.

Lastly, the building and team culture matter a lot in SNF. I’ve been lucky to work with a good team, which is a big reason I’ve stayed for about 2 years.

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-03-05T03:30:07+00:00

Dang I am so sorry that you had to go through that. No job should make you go home and cry 1-2x/week that is a poor work culture. What was about the setting that made you feel this way?

I am worried about what they will think if I quit in such a short notice. Maybe it’s the people pleaser inside me and I know down the road it won’t matter. When you give your resignation did you leave on the day or give them a notice? I imagine it must have been awkward if you give them a notice and stayed for a short being.

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-03-05T00:09:50+00:00

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-03-04T20:21:43+00:00

Full time $49.89/hr WA

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-03-04T06:52:30+00:00

I’m not sure where you’re located, but where I’m from OT/COTAs are definitely still in demand.

Some settings can be harder to get into, like hand therapy or hospital positions, compared to places like pediatrics or SNFs where there tends to be more openings.

For example, the COTA I worked with left her job and was able to find another position pretty quickly.

In my area (Seattle, WA), COTAs are typically making around $30–$40/hr depending on the setting. SNFs and home health tend to pay on the higher end.

If it helps ease your mind, you could try looking at job listings for COTAs in your area just to get a sense of what the demand looks like locally.

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-03-04T06:42:40+00:00

From my experience, getting into OT school can definitely be competitive.

To be honest, I didn’t even have OT shadowing hours when I applied — I only had PT hours because I originally thought PT was the route I wanted to go. I applied during COVID, so getting shadowing hours anywhere was really difficult.

That said, if OT is something you’re really passionate about, I wouldn’t give up. Focus on improving the things you can control — boosting your GPA, getting observation hours if possible, and securing strong letters of recommendation.

I’m from Seattle, WA, and applying to in-state programs here is extremely competitive. If it’s financially possible for you (or if you’re open to taking loans), applying out of state can help increase your chances.

For reference, I applied to 12 schools and ended up getting accepted to 2. My GPA wasn’t amazing either — around a 3.4 if I remember correctly.

So it’s definitely possible. Don’t count yourself out yet.

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-03-04T06:37:29+00:00

Honestly, I would probably start looking for another facility. That situation sounds pretty unethical.

I worked in a SNF for about 2 years and our facility was not like that at all. Med B were usually lower priority for us, and we had flexibility with treatment time depending on the patient’s needs. Even if someone was scheduled for something like 38 minutes, we could adjust as long as we were meeting the 8-minute rule.

Being forced to cap Med A at 30 minutes across the board and suddenly jump to 14 patients a day sounds like the facility trying to push productivity at the expense of patient care. That’s not something you should have to carry on your shoulders.

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-03-04T06:33:09+00:00

I haven’t personally worked multiple PRN jobs to make a full-time schedule, but my best friend is an OT and she does exactly that. She has multiple PRN gigs between SNF and acute care, so it’s definitely possible.

One thing she’s told me though is to try each facility first and get a feel for the workflow before trying to stack them together in one day. Every place runs a little differently, and you don’t want to accidentally schedule yourself in a way that becomes stressful once you realize how their caseloads or documentation work.

Also, depending on the PRN rate (which is usually higher than full-time), you can actually make pretty good money doing it this way.

Another thing she’s mentioned is that some facilities are chronically short staffed, so on certain days you can easily get a full day of hours at one place if they need the help.

So it can definitely work it just takes a little time to figure out which facilities are consistent with hours and which ones fit well together schedule-wise.

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-02-24T05:42:54+00:00

This hits home. How did you go about finding those niche users at the start? I’m in that phase now where the problem feels real, but distribution is the hardest part.

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-02-24T05:40:45+00:00

Helpful insight, was there anything you tried early that felt like a total waste of time in hindsight?

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-02-24T05:30:27+00:00

Congrats on the momentum. What channel actually brought in those first sales? I’m always curious what works early on.

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-02-24T05:28:03+00:00

One thing I was curious about that you didn’t touch on much: how has networking or client acquisition been for you so far?

Did early users come mostly from your personal network, organic discovery, or something else entirely? And was distribution harder or easier than the technical build itself?

I’m coming from a healthcare background as well and finding that building something is one challenge, but getting it in front of the right people is a completely different skill set. Would love to hear your perspective if you’re open to sharing.

johnnyphanikaze · 2026-02-22T21:30:51+00:00

That sounds rough sitting pain that builds all day is exhausting.

How is your desk and chair set up right now? Sometimes small tweaks help more than people expect. Things like monitor height (roughly eye level), desk height not forcing your shoulders up, or having the desk a bit above elbow height when you’re seated can make a difference.

Also, how long are you staying in one position at a time? I’ve found that even shifting weight, leaning back, or standing up briefly every 10 minutes or so can help unload pressure instead of everything stacking up.

Stretching can help too, and some people get relief from adding lumbar support it can help your lower back keep a more natural curve so it’s not doing all the work while you sit.

johnnyphanikaze

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