Career Planning
Faith Smith - Cosmetology 1
Career Goals
My dream career is to be a physical therapist, with specialty in sports medicine and rehabilitation. I am a big football fan, and I always see players get hurt on the field with injuries that can ruin their season, in some cases their whole career. I have always had a heart for helping others, and this seems like a perfect way to fulfill what I want to do. I plan on using cosmetology as a stepping stone to get to this goal.
My Academies
To get to this goal, I have to put emphasis on my math and science classes, as they pertain to physical therapy the most. I also have to utilize my advisory house this year and next year. I am in the STEM/Health Science advisory group, and being around other students who want to pursue a medical profession will be very helpful to reach my goal.
To become a physical therapist, a graduate degree is required. While there are thousands of doctoral programs, masters programs tend to be more available to more people. After earning a degree, you must take a licensing test to receive your physical therapy license. After earning this, you are eligible to work in general hospitals, therapy clinics, etc.
The cost of obtaining your degree depends on where you get your education. For example, the estimated cost of the 31-month Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at UT Southwestern—including tuition, fees, and books—is $40,200 for Texas residents and $61,200 for non-residents. But, there are hundreds of other institutions that offer the same resources.
Personally, I will try my hardest to not take out loans by getting as many scholarships as possible. But, sometimes they are inevitable. The average college student take out about $21,000 in student loans, which I am going to try to avoid. Hopefully with a background in cosmetology, I can make enough money to pay for school without any debt.
Several banks, car companies, phone services, and big-name franchises offer tuition reimbursement for part-time and full-time employee. For example, Apple offers reimbursement up to $5,000 for their employees. Disney has a tuition assistance program that provides employees up to $700 per credit unit, 100% reimbursement for their books, and up to $100 per course for the cost of materials.
My Experiences
My mom runs an in-home daycare and one of her clients is a physical therapist, so connecting with him would be helpful. Also, looking for volunteer or part-time job opportunities in chiropractic offices or athletic centers. Another experience that would help me is helping out in local schools with sports teams. Being on the sideline at games, being there in case a player gets hurt.
Hands-on career-related experiences are helpful to anyone interested in any career because it lets them practice what they want to do before they are responsible for anyone or anything. It also lets them experience what the environment of their chosen career path is like. In terms of physical therapy, hands-on experiences will let me have customer interactions and truly understand what being a physical therapist is like.
I would most likely want to experience volunteer or internship opportunities somewhere I can see myself working. Somewhere like chiropractic offices or athletic centers in colleges is where I can see myself working, so volunteering there would be very enjoyable.
My Professional Skills
I believe I already possess a good amount of professional skills such as responsibility, punctuality, respect, and a strong work ethic. These skills are crucial to any career path, especially careers that include lots of people and customer service.
Some of the most important skills for a physical therapist are understanding, patience, kindness, respect, and ability to work with others and cooperate to solve a problem.
From the root system, I think experiences is the place I need to grow the most. I only recently figured out that I wanted to become a physical therapist, so my experiences in the field are limited. I hope to connect with a clinic or something like that to gain more experience before college.
The classroom is a great place to practice professional skills, because your teacher is basically your boss. You should be on-time, respectful, and ready to go no matter the circumstances. In the classroom, don't be late to class, respect your teachers and pay attention, be responsible and make sure you have everything you need to be successful.
My Passion
The thing I am most excited about in physical therapy is helping people who are in pain. I have always had a passion for helping people, and physical therapy seems like the best career path for me to take to live the kind of life I want. My lifestyle as a physical therapist will most likely be very simple, I can schedule my own patients and my week as a whole, it is a low-stress job with lots of flexibility.
Having a good competitive edge is always helpful in a career. The edge gives you an advantage in the field that your co-workers may not have. For physical therapy, practicing on family or friends is a good thing to help me reach my goal, or even having very good references is a nice advantage to have.
Every job has its downfalls, and things that are not always the most motivating. When my goal seems distant or too difficult to reach, I will re-motivate myself by saying how far I have already made it, why stop here? Life will always have speedbumps, but the only way to get past them is to power over them.
When I complete my program, I plan to:
- Earn a living by working for professional athletes by working in a large city
- Pursue experiences in different types of physical therapy environments (Cryo-labs, elderly homes, prosthetic offices, etc)
- Use those experiences on my resume to find a better job