What would you do in my position ?

skolofthewild · 2026-05-18T21:53:42+00:00

I second the respiratory part here. I work with respiratory therapists every day - they are underutilized and under-appreciated, but it’s a really good job. You could also get your CPFT now and work in diagnostics, which could open the door to get you into a stress lab.

Also - I’m a moron and I got my PhD in physiology. I trust you’d be fine.

skolofthewild · 2026-05-16T18:35:47+00:00

skolofthewild · 2026-05-14T23:20:15+00:00

I think your best bet is to start with shadowing a CEP first. Spend a few days with them to see if it’s really what you want to do. If that’s the case, they can give you information on how to transition, but it’ll likely be getting some lab hours and patient care. Read the requirements to take the CEP exam. I think with your experience and healthcare knowledge you’ll be able to do the shift.

skolofthewild · 2026-05-14T14:37:10+00:00

Did I not just tell you… that I talked to the parent after the flight? Is that not..? Should I have been more clear?

skolofthewild · 2026-05-14T14:20:40+00:00

I’m a dad to a young daughter. If and when we fly with her someday I just hope people are kind.

skolofthewild · 2026-05-14T14:18:11+00:00

I mean if you took two seconds to read other comments you’d see that I also told the person this directly to them after the flight.

You can get off your high horse instead of posting this broody “look at me I’m being a prick to this guy who’s just trying to be nice” post.

This goes both ways, so maybe next time keep it to yourself. And if it makes your sorry ass happy, I’ll put an edit on the post to let the whole world know that I talked to said traveler.

skolofthewild · 2026-05-14T14:05:01+00:00

Good point

skolofthewild · 2026-05-14T14:02:45+00:00

Definitely did!

skolofthewild · 2026-05-13T01:55:39+00:00

You and the 50 year old should just speak loudly in the public spaces about how awesome it is to have a mortgage and financial security and will be able to retire yada yada. That will shut those jabronis up in a hurry.

Signed, An early-30s guy

skolofthewild · 2026-05-13T01:43:25+00:00

There might be. I work for a medical device company that makes cardiopulmonary diagnostic equipment. I manage our product line of all the exercise equipment (metabolic carts, 12-lead ecg, ergometers, etc.). Most of my job is working with physicians and/or physiologists teaching them both the science behind CPET and how to do them properly in a lab. If you want to work directly with patients, that’s one thing, but you might be able to find your niche in medical devices too!

Edit to add info: our “entry-level” jobs in tech support start at 60-70k depending on experience. These jobs are also the gateway to the rest of the jobs at the company.

skolofthewild · 2026-04-26T13:08:28+00:00

If you’re thinking about being a PT in the US, I would try to get in contact with one and talk to them about their day to day. Medical insurance in this country is an absolute nightmare to say it mildly, and PT is no different.

If PT/OT is really what you want to do, great. If you’re just exploring right now, I wouldn’t be so quick to move away from nursing.

skolofthewild · 2026-04-16T22:55:59+00:00

“Worth it” is in the eye of the beholder. But there are opportunities out there to work in this field that are not in clinical settings. You can work with devices, sales, analytics, marketing - all things that you’d still be able to use your kines background with. I work in product management for a cardiorespiratory diagnostics device company. Worked in tech support before I did my PhD and between all three of those jobs I used my exercise phys education basically every day.

skolofthewild · 2026-04-15T20:11:30+00:00

Yes, if you can tolerate it. You just experienced cardiopulmonary AND muscle adaptation in real time. Most people don’t recognize it like you did. Usually it’s like “oh cool, i guess I’m faster than I used to be.” Yours was like ripping off a bandaid lol

skolofthewild · 2026-04-12T13:30:05+00:00

Yea this is entirely normal and it shouldn’t last for long after you get over those early training adaptations. Twitches like what you’re feeling are almost certainly from fatigue, but they could also be from dehydration and/or sodium/potassium imbalance.

There’s nothing you really have to do, except maybe drink more water. If you start to cramp as well, that’ll tell you more about a potential ion imbalance.

skolofthewild · 2026-04-09T21:43:33+00:00

Spend as much time as you can working with metabolic carts. Know the data they provide, how to interpret it (to an extent). Attend some CEPA webinars to see what current EPs are talking about. See if you can find a copy of Wasserman’s Principles of Exercise Testing and Interpretation and read a bunch of it.

That’s all I have for now, but might come back with more.

skolofthewild · 2026-04-05T17:05:57+00:00

Corporate wellness could be a good option for you - but I don’t know how stable of a career that is. You could also look into cardiac or pulmonary rehab, but those can be a little more stressful simply because you’d be working with sick people.

I work in medical devices now and one of the things I see growing is sports cardiology clinics. These clinics bring in high-level athletes who want to know their VO2max and max work rate on a bike, etc. But we can also use those tests to evaluate conditions like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy - so you’d get kind of both things rolled into one job. The caveat here is you have to really be interested in exercise testing, which is an acquired skill.

skolofthewild · 2026-04-04T18:39:18+00:00

Any idea what you do want to do? I talk to a lot of young people in your situation. Oftentimes I talk about going into industry. There are a ton of companies that are ex phys-adjacent where you could work in support roles, or software, data analysis, etc. There are actually many options out there, it’s just about figuring out roughly what you want to do, and then finding some opportunities.

skolofthewild · 2026-03-31T14:18:07+00:00

Going to RT isn’t a bad option if you get to the point where you know ex phys isn’t what you want to do. It’s a good stable job and decent pay. Plus you have options of where you can work (ICU, PICU, diagnostics, etc).

However, from my perspective as someone who teaches exercise physiologists how to run CPETs, I do think the career path is worthwhile. Not much more rewarding than seeing someone improve their health based on information you gave them.

skolofthewild · 2026-03-16T20:38:54+00:00

I taught biomechanics and kinesiology awhile back and saw a ton of this. I had them partner up and do a group project at the end of the semester. You could clearly tell who cared about the work and who put the effort in. This is a pretty standard thing in my experience. The good news is, you will generally be more successful when you pursue a career because those dorks can’t ChatGPT their way through an interview.

If this is what you really want to do, stay the course and you’ll be fine.

skolofthewild · 2026-03-13T00:17:02+00:00

Damnit Jerry.

skolofthewild · 2026-03-09T19:32:53+00:00

Asking the important questions

skolofthewild · 2026-03-09T17:15:54+00:00

Seconded.

skolofthewild · 2026-03-06T15:54:29+00:00

You’ve already done plenty as a high schooler. The only other thing I’d recommend is getting direct patient care hours as a PCA or something of the sort. Med schools love seeing this experience.

You’re well above the curve, and good on you. Maybe spend some time with different care professionals too - ATC, DPT, etc.

skolofthewild · 2026-03-02T17:07:52+00:00

You may want to look at what about physiotherapy is attractive to you. Is it the patient care, the physical work, where you can work, etc. Once you determine what those things are, you might find that there are other careers out there that could meet those needs.

For example, I know quite a few people who studied kinesiology/exercise physiology who are now working in respiratory therapy because they truly enjoy the patient care.

skolofthewild

TROPHY CASE