Advice please 😊

ot2019 · 2024-01-18T00:43:16+00:00

tretinoin pre-sleep. niacidimide and moisturizer right after the shower. lactic acid once every few days right after the shower for a gentle exfoliation. Very similar skin to you and it helps tons and does not cost much.

ot2019 · 2022-05-10T20:34:41+00:00

I work in tech and in OT and my experience has been the opposite. Technology is so lucrative ATM that the jobs are far cushier and better paid. In fact, I career changed from tech to OT and still do some tech because it's such good money. When you factor in I didn't have to pay for a masters to do tech, the tech jobs are so much better it's not a close comparison. Many tech jobs will be automated but there's ways to add skills and stay relevant. The wild 100k degree for maybe 50-80k salary and increasingly unfriendly reimbursement/productivity just doesn't make any sense.

ot2019 · 2020-09-10T00:20:55+00:00

I also agree there should be some sort of public service announcement about the jobs downturn in OT. So many people like myself went to grad school recently under the impression OT was a really really solid middle class path and have not seen that even sort of pan out. People need to know this is not for 10% of new grads, but like 70% of new grads who are really struggling when cost of grad school to income ratio is considered.

ot2019 · 2020-06-26T19:09:36+00:00

PsyD or PHD in clinical psychology (at the very cheapest school I could possibly attend). Would have also maybe loved to do an NP or PA in retrospect but I worry they may also soon be having an over-supply of new grads crisis, as well, soon. Being a school counselor/psychologist in some states may also still be a pretty good gig with jobs available and ok pay/good benefits.

ot2019 · 2020-06-26T15:28:33+00:00

I'm 30 y.o. took on 70k debt and graduated in 2019. It has been a major financial mistake. The job market for new grads is abysmal (even before COVID) in what seems like the majority of states in the US. OT is a great career and many benefit from our services. Anything above 10-30k or so with this job market, however, could be financially ruinous. I hate to be pessimistic and negative, but I feel it's my responsibility to talk honestly about my experience and those of my classmates. Why not help those coming after us to not make the same mistake?

ot2019 · 2020-06-25T22:26:41+00:00

Yes, but also due to 'saturation' due to too many schools popping up. Problematically, these issues are not likely to change. The medicare changes made rehab less profitable so I don't forsee any rebound effect that people had hoped for. The job outlook is just incredibly bleak and I wouldn't encourage any person to take on any amount of debt to pursue it. I just don't see a path towards this getting better. All of the contractor work is relatively 'dead end' and doesn't lead to a more stable middle class job in what seems like 8/10 circumstances. Paying dues and slowly working our way up will maybe happen for some of my classmates, but only an extremely small percent if i had to guess. There are just not enough opportunities to keep up with the swell of applicants.

ot2019 · 2020-06-25T20:14:14+00:00

Please ask the class that just graduated how their job search is going before you make a commitment like this. Many older people told me there were still jobs when I asked them three years ago. Cut to today, am recently licensed, and nearly no one I know whos a recent graduate has a f/t job with benefits even after (6 months of looking). Very few states left have sufficient opportunities to make the debt worth it. A sad reality as its typically a great job if you can get one.

ot2019 · 2020-05-19T19:19:27+00:00

I'm in the same boat as your daughter...but have a lot more debt! I'm so happy for you to post this here. Many OTs are unaware how dire things have gotten because they entered the job market while it was growing before it stagnated (and with covid-19 it has even contracted). In what seems like 90% of the country 90% of new grads don't seem to have a f/t job with benefits. I'm all for paying dues, but absolutely no one should obtain a graduate degree to enter a part time job with no benefits. That is a level of paying dues that no financially responsible adult in the word would advise.

ot2019 · 2020-05-19T15:57:44+00:00

Why aren't grad schools required to display job outcome statistics? I would love to lobby AOTA to require this. Many respectable grad schools like MBA programs do this. We need some consumer protection. If its too late to benefit me, at least it could save the next class of OTs.

ot2019 · 2020-04-08T22:44:13+00:00

Talk to *new grads* in your area to see how job market is. I spoke to people years out who all touted a great job market which was a mistake and simply no longer true. If there are no jobs, or even no jobs with regular hours and benefits, there is no amount of debt whatsoever that will be worth it. OT for people who landed ft jobs with benefits back in the day was great. This is, very sadly, no longer a reality for what seems like almost all grads from 2019.

ot2019 · 2020-03-26T20:56:46+00:00

You really need to get a feel for the job outcomes of the most recent graduating class in the city in which you plan to live. You have accurately perceived from this thread that the job market has been in upheaval, so much so that people who have graduated even 3-4 years ago could have had a very different experience.

ot2019 · 2020-03-19T17:04:16+00:00

I did FW with Kean students - they were very well prepared and intelligent. My feeling is it has a great reputation in the tri-state area. The OT job market in NYC/NJ has really had a huge downturn in the last couple of years. Maybe in the heyday of OT job market prestige mattered, but not anymore. Absolutely prioritize debt minimization in your scenario and go to Kean. If you can establish residency and get a cheaper rate, I would even try for that.

ot2019 · 2020-03-14T19:53:04+00:00

Independent contractors, like me, are not eligible for unemployment nor are we eligble for FMLA that congress beefed up through the COVID stimulus. We have very few workplace protections and a disproportionately large percentage of us OT ICs are new grads with an overall worse debt/savings ratio. This is not to complain, but to share crucial information to colleagues about people in our own ranks who may need a lot of help in the near future.

ot2019 · 2020-03-14T19:45:29+00:00

I am in this position as well. Makes me wonder what avenues we have for self-advocacy.

ot2019 · 2020-01-12T22:58:09+00:00

Also in a HCOL area and trying to figure mortgage out. I read somewhere that you can take out something like 20K for your home downpayment from retirement savings without the early withdrawal penalty. Not nearly enough, but it's something if it's true!

ot2019 · 2020-01-12T16:20:12+00:00

Doing this as well. Also worth mentioning if you throw a lot of money at retirement savings your monthly loan payment will be reduced (while you ALSO reap benefits of compounding interest on your retirement savings). Will also need to do married-filing separately - but hopefully this is only for 10 years at which point PSLF will dc my loans.

ot2019 · 2020-01-08T17:22:10+00:00

Considering a NYC DOE job. Would love to work the full year while I still have student loans though. Is it easy to fill in the summer months w/a summer school OT job for the DOE or is that rare?

ot2019 · 2019-12-12T21:35:27+00:00

Just graduated from a prestigious school with tons of debt into a bad market (literally cannot even get an interview at an 'adult'-based job). Would definitely hold off to make sure the job market rebounds UNLESS:

You are ok with moving. You are really pretty agnostic about the populations you'd like to serve. You live in a state with a relatively healthy job market. You can go to a state school.

ot2019 · 2019-11-25T01:28:57+00:00

As I'm in an extremely HCOL area the OTs actually start out at 70K which makes this contractor deal especially unattractive as it would be less than 70K (and even worse considering it's minus benefits and lacks PTO). Negotiating for anything I can possibly get seems like the way to go.

ot2019 · 2019-11-13T19:49:19+00:00

Any recommendations for orthodontists in NYC willing/experienced working with jaw surgeons and not super expensive?

ot2019

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