My name is Fjoralba Hoxha and I am currently a student at  New York City College of Technology (City Tech) majoring in Legal Assistant studies. After a lot of research in the library and the College Catalog , I figured out that this major won’t give me the best career in my future. What I want to major in is Physical Therapy, known as PT, because of the good salary, job security, and being able to be a movement expert. In this essay I will state some background information about this major and the career it provides also I will state supporting evidence on why this is the best career for me.

To gain more of an understanding of my decision to be in a Physical Therapy major I think it will be better if i start with some facts about this career. Physical therapists are specialists in treating disorders of the human body primarily by physical means. “Whether the condition results from injury, disease or other causes, they focus primarily on those individuals who have disturbed function related to the musculoskeletal, neurological, cardiopulmonary and integumentary (skin) systems.” (College Catalog, 187)  The field requires good communication and problem-solving skills, and the ability to perform  physical activity. To be a Physical therapist you should enjoy working with people and outside a traditional office environment, which I personally would love because I enjoy being surrounded by lots of people. Based on the KU Medical Center The University of Kansas website “The degree required to become a practicing physical therapist in the U.S today is the Doctor of Physical Therapy(DPT) All states and territories in the United States also require a license to practice physical therapy. Each State requires the National Board Examination (NPTE) but each state may additional criteria for obtaining licensure.” (web)

The first reason why I want to get a degree in Physical therapy is because of the good salary. According to Bureau of labor statistics “A physical therapist earns an average of $38.39 per hour which  leads to $79.860 per year” (web). One of the great things about this career is that for the most part, the frequency of finding a job is really high, but this also depends on the field in this industry that you want to work in. This kind of salary will provide a great financial stability especially because money has become more essential to everyday life.

As a second reason why I want to get a degree in Physical Therapy is because of Job Security. For Americans looking for a career in a struggling job market and down economy, a career in physical therapy could be the perfect answer. “The demand for physical therapists is expected to spike upward by an astonishing 30% between 2008 and 2018 which is a much quicker rate than average. Currently, there are approximately 185,500 licensed physical therapists in the United States, and that number is expected to jump to 241,700 over the next 10 years. Forbes ranked physical therapists as having 1 of “The Ten Happiest Jobs,” according to articles published in 2013 and 2011.” (Forbes) Physical therapists also have high job satisfaction according to the 2007 results of the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center survey, as reported in The Washington Post. More than three-quarters of physical therapists polled reported to be “very satisfied” with their occupations. Physical therapists were second only to clergy and the only health care professionals in the top 5.

My last and more enjoyable reason to why I want to be a Physical Therapist is to be a movement expert. What is more interesting than knowing how can every part of the body get healed  and how it got hurt in the first place. Physical therapists are highly educated experts in the movement and function of the human body. The goal of a physical therapist is to give the patient’s ability to move, reduce pain, and prevent disability. Physical therapy is an essential element of patient care. Depending on the particular needs of a patient, physical therapists may mobilize a joint or massage a muscle to promote proper movement and function just basing on exercises etc. “Physical therapists may use other techniques such as electrotherapy, ultrasound (high-frequency waves that produce heat), hot packs, and ice in addition to other treatments when appropriate” (web).

To make this essay and my research more interesting I had to interview any professor/doctor with the information that I needed for this major and career. Luckily for me a friend of mine suggested I email professor/doctor Joseph Hale from Queens College which was very kind to answer some of my questions even though he did not know me at all. One of the first questions that I asked him was “Professor Hale, are you happy with your career?” He replied saying that it took him a lot of work and effort to get to where he is now, but he states “It was all worth it!”. He also tells me what is required for this major and for a future job which were lots of exams such as National Board Examination which every states needs it. What got me thinking was when he wrote to me “I hope you have the same passion about this career in the future as you do now because trust me this career needs a lot of patients and lots of reading.” Am I ready for this major? Am I wasting my time? What if I never get a job? I’m sure I’m not the only one with these type of questions in the head but this is why this research and especially this interview with a very kind professor helped me a lot. Just like doctor Hale said “Patience is everything for any field in life!”

Not knowing what is going to happen in the future terrifies me. Even though online research, college catalogs, interviews helped me a lot, sometimes I think that there are more facts that i should know about before taking a major step in life such as choosing your career. College is a whole new world for me and so far is going great, but I just hope that by the end of my 4th year when I’m kissing my diploma and smiling to my friends and family, I will be proud of myself and also make my family proud as well.

Work Cited

Hale,Joseph.Personal Interview. December 03 2014.

Hale,Joseph. Personal Interview. “Patience is everything for any field in life!” 03 December 2014.

Hale, Joseph. Personal Interview. “I hope you have the same passion about this career in the future as you do now because trust me this career needs a lot of patients and lots of reading.” 03 December 2014

New York City College of Technology 2012-2013 Academic Catalog.Web. 27Nov. 2014.

United States,  Department of labor: Bureau of labor statistics “Physical Therapy“. Bureau of labor statistics. Dept of labor. 8 January , 2014. 01 December, 2014.

United States, Department of Labor: Bureau of labor statistics “Physical therapists may use other techniques such as electrotherapy, ultrasound (high-frequency waves that produce heat), hot packs, and ice in addition to other treatments when appropriate” Novemeber 2014

United States, Forbes Website. “The demand for physical therapists is expected to spike upward by an astonishing 30% between 2008 and 2018 which is a much quicker rate than average. Currently, there are approximately 185,500 licensed physical therapists in the United States, and that number is expected to jump to 241,700 over the next 10 years. Forbes ranked physical therapists as having 1 of “The Ten Happiest Jobs,” 2013- 2011. December 03 2014