Is there a demand for males in physical therapist assistant field?

OT, OTA, PTA, Respiratory Therapist?!?

• Ok..here it goes... There are many careers in the medical field I'm very interested in. However once I feel like I've made up my mind about choosing one I get discouraged by reading forums about it and people making negative comments about it. The careers that I would really love to do (I feel like) would be Occupational Therapist, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Physical Therapy Assistant, or Respiratory Therapist. I know I know, you're probably going to say, go for Occupational Therapist-they make more money! The only problem is I'll be in school for 3-4 more years:/ And I've already racked up about $6,000 in student loans just doing general studies!! Also, I'm sick of being a broke college student, I don't know how well I'd handle it 3-4 more yrs:|. Would it be worth it??? I've heard Occupational Therapy Assistants make 40k-50k a year, which is fine with me really. But heard they really aren't in demand like the bls.gov says they will be. The program is a lot easier to get into than the PTA program though, what is OTA job outlook like? I'd really love to do PTA, but I'm not certain if I can get into the program so I guess I'm kind of using OTA as a back up.. Has anyone gotten into a PTA program? If so, was it difficult?? And last but not least!! Respiratory therapist! My grandmother died on breathing tubes, I helped care for her for years while she had to live on oxygen through tubes/machines.. It had a huge effect on me and I would really love to help someone be able to be more comfortable through being able to breathe easier. Can you get a decent paying job as a respiratory therapist with an associate degree??? I've heard you can't really advance much, but I'm not really looking to become my own boss. I just want a job helping people, while still being able to be financially stable and able to get a good job right out of college (which I know can be worrisome in this economy!) Any info/advice on this careers would be helpful! Thanks:)

• Answer:

  It really depends on you. If you can not handle sputum, RRT is not for you but a great field. Lots of jobs. Probably the most money of the three in salary. COTA--there are jobs-probably the lost paying of the three PTA--there are jobs All three are tough curriculum's for a 2 year degree. All are in demand. You can not go wrong with any of them. You need to feel which is better for your personality Best wishes