Mid-life Career Changes Requiring Lots of Education

There are a lot of details here, but I'll try to keep it simple unless more detail is required. I'm 30 with a wife and 2 kiddos. I currently make about $75K/yr, but I am miserable in my line of work. I'm seriously considering becoming a Physical Therapist which would require a large amount of education (I'm originally a History Major). I worry about my family's standard of living if I suddenly return to school, also my ability to function as the father/husband I strive to be. I have about 2 years until my current contract is up, so I think I might be able to get most of the PT prerequisites done during that time if I go to school on a part-time basis. Anyone undertaken anything like this (massive course/career change, returning to school for a significant amount of time, etc), or have any practical advice? Thanks in advance.

http://medical-careers-review.toptenreviews.com/physical-therapists-review.html

The average starting salary of physical therapists is $57,220, and their salary peaks at $105,900 annually.

The starting pay is quite a step down. Decide if you (and your family) handle it. I have a friend who is in a management position that he hates. He went through school to be an EMT, but ended up staying in management for the $$$

Hey look your describing me just with a Mechanical Engineering Degree instead of History, and replace physical therapy with ??? ??

My son's SO is a physical therapist specializing in geriatric care. She loves the work and her clients, but government mandated paperwork is really bad. She is independent, working through two agencies and has as much work as she wants. Makes very good money and feels like she makes a difference to her people. Not a bad gig.

What draws you to physical therapy? Can you volunteer in an office somewhere to see if it's up your alley? How much debt will you accrue? Will you have to move?

I have worked full-time (40-45 hrs/wk) and gone to school part time (averaging 8 hours/semester) over the last three years. It has been doable because I write my own schedule at work, and my schedule can be very flexible. Community colleges may offer evening courses, but my program has courses in the morning, with few online course opportunities. I haven't had a regular weekend day off in over 3 years.

That being said, if you want it enough, you will make it work. Just keep your expenses low and prepare to downgrade your standard of living in the meantime. Everything I have is paid off, and I only took as many credits each semester as I could pay for out of pocket. I can't imagine the looming fear of a nearby graduation without a job offer and having to pay student loans.

Mitchell wrote: What draws you to physical therapy? Can you volunteer in an office somewhere to see if it's up your alley? How much debt will you accrue? Will you have to move? That being said, if you want it enough, you will make it work. Just keep your expenses low and prepare to downgrade your standard of living in the meantime. Everything I have is paid off, and I only took as many credits each semester as I could pay for out of pocket. I can't imagine the looming fear of a nearby graduation without a job offer and having to pay student loans.

I am currently an Active Duty Army Officer. I was a combat medic platoon leader and really enjoy the treatment side of the house, not the admin side where I now serve. Plus, there are some good PT programs where I currently live. So, I've had some decent exposure to clinics. Debt is a question of whether I will decide to continue to serve through the Army, or if I go the civilian route. GI Bill would likely cover my pre-requisites to get into PT school, but not much of PT school itself. The Army has an excellent program for PT, but I'm not sure I want to continue to deal with the bureaucracy and politics of the Army officer corps (or the Army in general) for 4.5 years after completing PT school. Having the military background -- moving doesn't really phase us anymore.

If you did sign on for the army PT school, how long would you have until hitting the big retirement milestones? Not being in your shoes day-to-day, I really don't know how bad putting up with the beauracracy is. Would you still have to put up with the officer BS as a physical therapist?

DustoffDave wrote:

Mitchell wrote: What draws you to physical therapy? Can you volunteer in an office somewhere to see if it's up your alley? How much debt will you accrue? Will you have to move? That being said, if you want it enough, you will make it work. Just keep your expenses low and prepare to downgrade your standard of living in the meantime. Everything I have is paid off, and I only took as many credits each semester as I could pay for out of pocket. I can't imagine the looming fear of a nearby graduation without a job offer and having to pay student loans.

I am currently an Active Duty Army Officer. I was a combat medic platoon leader and really enjoy the treatment side of the house, not the admin side where I now serve. Plus, there are some good PT programs where I currently live. So, I've had some decent exposure to clinics. Debt is a question of whether I will decide to continue to serve through the Army, or if I go the civilian route. GI Bill would likely cover my pre-requisites to get into PT school, but not much of PT school itself. The Army has an excellent program for PT, but I'm not sure I want to continue to deal with the bureaucracy and politics of the Army officer corps (or the Army in general) for 4.5 years after completing PT school. Having the military background -- moving doesn't really phase us anymore.

As a note from someone about your age who has always worked for companies under the umbrella of a big billion dollar multi-national (State Farm, Brunswick, L3, Dover), the bureaucracy thing is still incredibly prevalent in the private industry as well.

And as someone who graduated with a relatively modest amount of school debt compared to some (~$37k)...........it may well be worth it to stick it out, let the Army pay for it, then bail when your next contract is up.

a good physical therapist is priceless

I dunno what they are paid tho but prolly not enough, thas all I got

Mitchell wrote: If you did sign on for the army PT school, how long would you have until hitting the big retirement milestones? Not being in your shoes day-to-day, I really don't know how bad putting up with the beauracracy is. Would you still have to put up with the officer BS as a physical therapist?

Once my current service obligation is up (which is about how long it'll take to get ready for PT school) I will have 7 years of active time. Army PT school is about 2.5 years, then I will owe 4.5 years for the school -- the time in school doesn't count toward retirement (I don't think), so I'll be at almost 12 years by the time I could get out. Admittedly, you're probably right about not having to put up with quite as much BS, plus I wouldn't have to worry about malpractice, student loan repayment, or the hassles of running my own practice. So, as much as I really hate to admit it, it almost seems like I'm talking myself into staying in. Hmm, not exactly what I thought the outcome would be...

The only thing I will have to offer here is that when I went to graduate school, there were essentially two types of students in my masters program: those fresh out of college and those who'd been in the workforce for years or decades. This was a computer specialty, and everyone had an IT background.

Without fail, the "workforce" students struggled with the transition back to "student". Because of their commitments at home and at the office (some were part-time), they had trouble putting in the necessary hours. Studying didn't come naturally to them. Finals and other big big tests were completely foreign concepts and they'd forgotten how to prepare and take them.

If you're going to do this, realize that you're going to be at a disadvantage until you switch gears into being a student again. It can be a tough switch and your "real world" experience may actually be a hindrance. (You can make it an advantage by treating your studies like you would a full-time job where you really want to impress the boss).

peter wrote: The only thing I will have to offer here is that when I went to graduate school, there were essentially two types of students in my masters program: those fresh out of college and those who'd been in the workforce for years or decades. This was a computer specialty, and everyone had an IT background. Without fail, the "workforce" students struggled with the transition back to "student". Because of their commitments at home and at the office (some were part-time), they had trouble putting in the necessary hours. Studying didn't come naturally to them. Finals and other big big tests were completely foreign concepts and they'd forgotten how to prepare and take them. If you're going to do this, realize that you're going to be at a disadvantage until you switch gears into being a student again. It can be a tough switch and your "real world" experience may actually be a hindrance. (You can make it an advantage by treating your studies like you would a full-time job where you really want to impress the boss).

This is good advice, thank you. One thing I've always told myself is that I will never stop learning. I knew when I graduated with my BA that it wouldn't stop there, but I also decided that I wouldn't go back until I was ready to be in that environment again. Luckily, I've kept myself sharp by constantly striving to learn new skills that require some study (I am teaching myself to play the guitar, for instance) and my line of work requires me to study new regulations constantly. The big issue I could see happening is that I love being a dad and spending time with my two boys is probably my favorite thing. It's just going to have to be late nights, I guess.

Might want to check out that thing about time in school not counting towards retirement. If you are still active duty on the active roles as a student then it counts. Just as degree completion program counts. But does add commitment as you said. Military is famous for promoting out of a job. And not to be a downer but bureaucracy and politics exists everywhere. Just maybe different than the military. If I figured it out right, you went in at 25 which would mean retirement eligible at 45. Is that too old to start a new career that you have experience in? Plus you would also have what I call my guaranteed house payment. Of course, I might be a bit biased so take it for what it is. I'm retired army (aviation) and work as an army civilian. Retired at the ripe old age of 38 to start a new career. Turned down a promotion to retire. Worked a couple places before I lucked into this gov't gig and I love this job most of the time.

wlkelley3 wrote: Might want to check out that thing about time in school not counting towards retirement. If you are still active duty on the active roles as a student then it counts. Just as degree completion program counts.

I checked it and you're right, so by the time I was done with my payback, I'd be sitting just shy of 15 years -- might as well finish it out at that point.

Looks like the Mrs. and I have some serious discussions to have about whether we want this to be a career, or just say screw it and make it happen through the civilian sector...

I'm at 15 in the CG- it's a long damn time, but when that check starts rolling in (forever or as long as the US govt lasts) when you're in your early 40's you will forget about your pain. I can say I'm normally a pilot but doing staff work now and it is a slog to get through each day. Back out to the "real" pilot world in 1-2 years keeps me waking up every day. PT in the Army might be the best place to be both professionally and for your family. Remember- O4's make pretty damn good money.

Just to toss out another option for consideration...

Do PT school on the side while you are still on active duty. Get a job as a full-time paramedic or firefighter after leaving active duty and work as a PT on your off days. Many fire departments work schedules with approximately 20 off days per month due to working 24 hour shifts. You would have benefits like insurance and a retirement plan from the FD and the side job doing PT would be the extra $ to make life more comfortable.

I have met 3 physical therapists that are working like this. From talking to them, it seems like there are only 1 or 2 licensed physical therapists at each office (need the license to sign off on paperwork for evaluations of clients) and most of the staff are kept at part-time positions and need to have another job. A lot of the staff I dealt with when doing PT were either students, semi-pro athletes, personal trainers, moms with young children, or fire/rescue personnel. I only saw the licensed physical therapist for the initial evaluation to determine the PT plan and the evaluation after completing the PT plan to determine if more PT was needed or if it was successful and I was released.

How long until the kids are 18? You might feel better once you are no longer required to support them.

DustoffDave wrote: Once my current service obligation is up (which is about how long it'll take to get ready for PT school) I will have 7 years of active time. Army PT school is about 2.5 years, then I will owe 4.5 years for the school -- the time in school doesn't count toward retirement (I don't think), so I'll be at almost 12 years by the time I could get out. Admittedly, you're probably right about not having to put up with quite as much BS, plus I wouldn't have to worry about malpractice, student loan repayment, or the hassles of running my own practice. So, as much as I really hate to admit it, it almost seems like I'm talking myself into staying in. Hmm, not exactly what I thought the outcome would be...

As mentioned, I'm pretty sure if you stay active your school time counts. Which is good news, because in my opinion having the Army PAY you for PT school is completely the way to go here. You'll be stacking mad loot as a major, and then you'll only have 4.5 years of stacking said mad loot, trained in your new career, to deal with. Lots of people work jobs they hate for less light at the end of the tunnel!

Teh E36 M3 wrote: I'm at 15 in the CG- it's a long damn time, but when that check starts rolling in (forever or as long as the US govt lasts) when you're in your early 40's you will forget about your pain. I can say I'm normally a pilot but doing staff work now and it is a slog to get through each day. Back out to the "real" pilot world in 1-2 years keeps me waking up every day. PT in the Army might be the best place to be both professionally and for your family. Remember- O4's make pretty damn good money.

Do you Coastal Aviators use the term "queep" too?

So you could get a PT degree "for free", retire at half pay 5 years later and then go civilian with your military job. Heck your GI BILL might even still be intact at that point allowing for further continuing education funding.

I know the officer crap is annoying ( my primary reason for leaving after 4 years) but this is one hell of an opportunity.

I follow a lot if the hybrid work that is being published these days and there is some really cool stuff with Gray Cook, Craig Liebenson and all he other Janda inspired folks. Some really exciting stuff is happening on your side of the fence. FYI my side of the fence just cost me an obscene amount of $$$.

Best of luck! Sound like you have some fabulous options to maximize.

Thanks everyone. The more we talk this out, the better it seems to be. I get my first look for MAJ next summer, so I may even be an O-4 while in school. The kids are still young (4 and 8 mos., with another one (likely the last) in the plan for a year from now) and that is the only thing that gives me serious pause. I missed the 4-year old's entire first year while in Iraq, and I missed the 8-month old's birth while in South Carolina for some training last summer. I'm not too excited about missing more stuff as they grow up -- I want to help coach their football and baseball teams, that kind of stuff. But, the life a medical professional in the Army is certainly different from the life of the Platoon Leader, XO, Brigade Med Planner life I've lead up to this point.

I work in a mid-sized hospital, and many of my patients get physical therapy consults. Most of the Physical/Occupational Therapists I work with have doctoral degrees, and I don't think they make much more than the average RN I work with that has an associate or baccalaureate degree. At least 60% of their time is spent doing electronic charting.

That's all I got.

I have not read each comment so forgive me if someone has already said this. I have been a computer engineer for the 23 years and have hated pretty much every min of it. That being said I made 2 kids with my wife, we recently paid well over $100,000 cash for our daughter to go to college. I do not know how others plan and save for their childrens education, but had I not had the hated job I have had for so long I would have not been able to pay for that. Whatever you do prepare for your childrens education/future, you made them, now your happiness comes second. Good Luck

^^ I agree with this. We have been putting monthly deposits into individual accounts for them since they were born and we were making $15K less every year. They (and my wife) are certainly, and always will be my #1 priority. While I subscribe to the idea that my family's well-being will always come before my own personal satisfaction (which is mainly derived from their happiness anyway), I don't believe I have to be miserable in my profession to do it -- until I've exhausted all other options. This is a chance to both increase my income and move into something that will be more personally fulfilling, even if it means we are a little bit less comfortable for a time (if I go the civilian route, that is) the ROI seems worth it to me. And if I stay in the Army to do it (with some of its inherent BS) -- there will only be increasing pay and loss of time spent together for awhile. I guess, at least, I know what to expect from the Army...

You can be miserable anywhere... if you can get the Army to pay you to go to school, I'd take it, and try as much as possible to make work the thing you do to do the thing that you love. That is, define yourself as father, husband, race car driver, etc, before "Army Guy". I'm going to try listening to my own advice sometime!!