Many high school and undergraduate students and other individuals wonder if a career in physical therapy is the right one for them. If you’re one of these individuals, it may be stressful to try and figure it all out; becoming a physical therapist is no small task, and deciding on a career can feel like a lot of pressure. So, where does one start with this whole process?

While you must ultimately make the decision for yourself, there are some very helpful questions you can ask yourself to gain valuable insight towards whether or not you have a demeanor that is suitable to being a physical therapist. The ten questions to ask yourself within this article will help you understand if a career in physical therapy can be a good fit for you.

The quick overview of the questions to ask yourself

The following questions are each given elaboration further on within this article, so be sure to keep on reading in order to get the specific details as to why these questions are important to ask yourself.

Question 1: Do you believe that physical movement is important to all components of health & wellness?
Question 2: Are you fascinated by the human body, how it moves and how it adapts to physical challenge?
Question 3: Do you have a natural interest in science & human health?Question 4: Do you believe that helping physically empower others is important and meaningful to you?
Question 5: Do you prefer to work one-on-one with individuals?
Question 6: Do you like to solve problems and use critical thinking skills?Question 7: Do you enjoy “hands-on” work and having a physical occupation?
Question 8: Would you like to have a job that keeps you on your feet, not stuck behind a desk?
Question 9: Are you afraid of seven years of post-secondary studies?Question 10: Is money is the most important thing in the world to you?

The APTA’s core values

Before expanding on the above questions, I believe it would be helpful to quickly talk about the core values of the APTA (American Physical Therapy Association), which is the professional membership-based professional organization representing more than 100,000 physical therapists within the United States.

The reason for doing so is since it serves as a quick way to help give you some reference as to whether or not you may align yourself with their core values, which are:

• Accountability
• Altruism
• Compassion/Caring
• Excellence
• Integrity
• Professional duty
• Social responsibility

So, take a quick second to see if those core values align with yours. If they do, then it’s certainly worth continuing to read the remainder of this article.

Question 1: Do you believe that physical movement is important to all components of health & wellness?

Physical movement and how it shapes our experience of the world around us is pretty amazing. As a result, physical movement does more than just affect the domain of our physical health; it has the ability to also affect our emotional health, intellectual health, social health and even spiritual health.

If you believe that physical movement (and its ability to impact all domains of our health) is a remarkable phenomenon, then you may be well-suited for a career as a physical therapist. Furthermore, if you feel like human beings were wired for movement and that movement of all kinds leads to a more enriching life experience, then it’s definitely worth proceeding to the next question.

Question 2: Are you fascinated by the human body, how it moves and how it adapts to physical challenge?

The human body can be regarded as the most complex physical structure known within the universe. How the brain receives information and feedback about the body’s movement while then responding through executing movement is wildly amazing. If you agree with these statements, or are at least intrigued by them, then you’re on the right track with considering this career.

Movement and the body’s ability to oftentimes effortlessly produce it is something that we can easily take for granted. We do it all the time and largely without even thinking about it. That’s one of the things that makes it so amazing – it is coordinated, often effortless and even subconscious.

If you’re someone who is not only fascinated by the ways and degrees to which the human body can move, but is also fascinated by how it can continually adapt to challenges in order to become stronger and more resilient than before, then becoming a physical therapist may just be up your alley.

Question 3: Do you have a natural interest in science & human health?

Being a physical therapist requires a lot of scientific knowledge pertaining to the disciplines of biology, physiology, bio-chemistry, psychology and other related sciences. In other words, science, scientific principles and knowledge of these principles is a pretty integral component to the career of a physical therapist.

You will need to study a lot of science-related topics en-route to becoming a physical therapist, and will need to continually employ all sorts of scientific knowledge during your practice as a licensed therapist. If you’re not big on studying up on science or using its principles on a daily basis, then a career in physical therapy may not be your jam.

There’s of course a certain degree of creativity that you get to employ and mix into your treatment methods when working with others, but your foundational processes and techniques you use when working with your patients will be those grounded within science and its principles.

Question 4: Do you believe that helping to physically empower others is important and meaningful to you?

Helping people adapt to and overcome physical limitations and dysfunctions for our career has to be something more to you than a simple “job requirement” existing within the job description. You will not last in this career if helping other people with their physical pain and dysfunction doesn’t have a deeper, more inherent meaning to you.

People (your patients) will be looking to you and depending on your skills and expertise for guidance and support when it comes to improving their life experience. This is arguably the biggest theme of your career as a physical therapist. You will be responsible on a daily basis for working with others to educate them (and their families or loved ones) on their condition(s), eliminate or reduce pain, improve physical dysfunction(s) and instill confidence within them throughout the process.

If this doesn’t sound appealing to you, I assure you with complete confidence that physical therapy is not a career for you.

Question 5: Do you prefer to work one-on-one with individuals?

Not everyone is fond of working one-on-one with individuals, in whichever capacity it may be. As a physical therapist, working one-on-one with others needs to be your “bread and butter” when it comes to what you crave doing on the regular.

This doesn’t mean that you have to have an extroverted personality (I myself am quite introverted by nature), but you must have a personality that can at least adapt to communicating and working with individuals through one-on-one interactions.

Working one-on-one with individuals requires good communication skills and solid emotional intelligence. Of course, it can be challenging at times to work individually with others, but this is part of the game that you play when you sign up for this line of work. If you absolutely dread the idea of routinely working with others in a one-on-one capacity, consider another career.

Question 6: Do you like to solve problems and use critical thinking skills?

That noodley, walnut looking thing sometimes referred to as your brain is going to get put to use on the regular if you’re looking to become a physical therapist. You never know what will be coming in through the clinic doors and even if you did, no two people are the same. Therefore, your brain is always going to need to stay on its toes, so to speak.

Physical therapy involves a hefty use of clinical decision making, evidence-based practice and even practice-based evidence. What this all means is that in order to effectively treat patients and achieve high levels of successful patient outcomes, you had better be prepared to make extensive use of critical thinking skills.

Identifying your patients’ sources of pain and dysfunction along with implementing effective and appropriate treatment regimens is the backbone of problem solving as a physical therapist. If this doesn’t sound like something you’d enjoy, or isn’t how you’d prefer to operate, then it’s likely safe to say that this is not the profession for you.

Question 7: Do you enjoy “hands-on” work and having a physical occupation?

As a physical therapist, you’ll be using your hands to treat the body, guide the body through movements and develop the skills to do so with precision and confidence. In physical therapy, your hands are everything when providing treatments of any sort towards your patients.

You therefore need to be ok with putting your hands on people throughout the evaluative and rehabilitative process. This includes young individuals, elderly individuals and everyone else in between. Yes, using your brain as a physical therapist is important, but it will always need to be followed up with using your hands.

It’s safe to say that if you’re not much of a “hands-on” person when it comes to working with other individuals, the profession of physical therapy isn’t going to work out for you.

Question 8: Would you like to have a job that keeps you on your feet, not stuck behind a desk?

Segueing from question number seven into number eight, you need to realize that being a physical therapist is going to be a job that keeps you moving around all day long.

The “physical” in “physical therapy” doesn’t just refer to what the patient is getting treated for. Depending on the area of physical therapy specialty that you wish to practice (orthopedics, neurological, pediatric, etc.), you had better realize that you will be physically active yourself as you work with your patients.

This means that if you’re looking for a job/career that allows you to be minimally active throughout the day (such as sitting behind a desk), you’d better start looking elsewhere.

But it doesn’t stop there. You’re likely to find yourself demonstrating physical exercises on a regular basis, which can use any and all parts of your body, depending on the individual and their injury or condition. You’re likely to be demonstrating exercises sitting down, standing up, laying on the floor or a multitude of other positions, again depending on the specialty of physical therapy you want to pursue.

Question 9: Are you afraid of seven years of post-secondary studies?

If you’re looking to become a licensed physical therapist within the United States, your education will culminate with a clinical doctorate in physical therapy (DPT). This is the requirement for being a licensed physical therapist within the US, and doing so will require four years of undergraduate studies and three years of doctoral studies in physical therapy.

This means you can’t be afraid of putting in some serious academic study time. Seven years is a decent chunk of your life, and along with the study time will also come the financial price. With the cost of post-secondary education within the US reaching astronomical costs, you had better be certain that you’re willing to commit to the time, effort and money it will cost you in order to successfully receive your license and enter clinical practice.

Now, if you’re wondering if PT school is hard, or which courses PT students take while in school, be sure to check out the following articles that I have written here on my website:

• Is Physical Therapy School Hard? What PT Students Must Know
• What Courses do DPT Students Take in PT School?

Question 10: Is money is the most important thing in the world to you?

If you love helping people, love science, love the human body, then you have all the markings of being a physical therapist. BUT, if you love all those things AND love making tons and tons of money, then you’re better off perhaps becoming a medical doctor, surgeon or other medical health professional.

According to this article by US News, the median annual income of physical therapists within the US is $87,930 and the top 25% highest paid PT’s earn $102,530.

This is not to say that physical therapists don’t make good money, but if you’re dead-set on making a couple hundred thousand dollars per year, or living a lavish life of luxury, it won’t be happening with a standard nine-to-five work schedule as a Physical Therapist. Of course, you can supplement your income by becoming a clinic owner, gaining more expertise, etc., so while anything is possible, if money is your number one priority, look elsewhere than Physical Therapy.

Concluding remarks

There’s a lot to consider when trying to determine if a certain career is the right one for you. While you ultimately have to make the decision for yourself, seeking out other individuals who can offer some key insight and questions to ask yourself is a great starting point. That is what I have attempted to do within this article.

My focus is not to convince you one way or another regarding your decision to become a physical therapist, but rather to help you gain some confidence (in one direction or another) as to whether or not you should pursue this career.

While my hope is that this post has served as an effective starting point, by no means do I expect it to be the definitive source for which you base your future career decisions on. Use it merely as a stepping stone towards gaining the critical insight that you feel you need to make your decision – the decision that is best for YOU!

Related articles

1. Is Physical Therapy School Hard? What PT Students Must Know
2. What Courses do DPT Students Take in PT School?
3. What Prerequisite Coursework is Required for PT School in the US?
4. What are the Hardest Courses for Students in PT School?