What profession is better, athletic trainer or physical therapist?
In terms of pay, work hours, and just overall excitability. I don’t want to be bored while I work.
As far as job availability, physical therapist have far more opportunities. In athletic training, there are more trainers out there than there are jobs and many ATCs wind up either going back to PT school or they wind up working in sales.
ATCs often work long hours, on weekends and evenings. Yet, ATC is a very exciting career, and if you love sports, this is your main focus.
However, physical therapists can also specialize in the sports setting. National average salary for PTs is approaching $70,000 (depending on who you ask, APTA, Today in PT or Advance for PTs).
I’m not as sure about salary for ATCs, but it is considerabely lower for ATCs.
The education for being a PT, however, is quite demanding and has a very competitive entrance. You have to be very strong in the sciences and have to have excellent problem solving skills. In most programs, the PT degree is four years of undergraduate work and 3 years of graduate work.
Many people take Athletic training as their undergraduate degree and PT as their graduate degree and work in both the traditional PT setting, but may also moonlight at a high school or college as an ATC.
Good luck.
If you are considering PT, I would recommend you go to www.apta.org
physical therapist by far in terms of pay its about double the money around 50-55k a year on average and a personl trainer is around 30-45k a year if your GOOD and have steady clientell it is also more in demand but its quite different than personall training (job wise) the curriculum is pretty parrellel except it is 2 year degree (associates) to be a physical therapist and a certification to be a personall trainer so its more of it and more detailed but about the same things (largley anatomy)
References :
As far as job availability, physical therapist have far more opportunities. In athletic training, there are more trainers out there than there are jobs and many ATCs wind up either going back to PT school or they wind up working in sales.
ATCs often work long hours, on weekends and evenings. Yet, ATC is a very exciting career, and if you love sports, this is your main focus.
However, physical therapists can also specialize in the sports setting. National average salary for PTs is approaching $70,000 (depending on who you ask, APTA, Today in PT or Advance for PTs).
I’m not as sure about salary for ATCs, but it is considerabely lower for ATCs.
The education for being a PT, however, is quite demanding and has a very competitive entrance. You have to be very strong in the sciences and have to have excellent problem solving skills. In most programs, the PT degree is four years of undergraduate work and 3 years of graduate work.
Many people take Athletic training as their undergraduate degree and PT as their graduate degree and work in both the traditional PT setting, but may also moonlight at a high school or college as an ATC.
Good luck.
If you are considering PT, I would recommend you go to http://www.apta.org
References :
I am a PT