Show me the money...

What are typical occupational therapist salaries? Do some companies pay a lot more for this position than others? What does a top earner make in this field?

What skills should you learn to increase your salary?

Host said: What are typical occupational therapist salaries? Do some companies pay a lot more for this position than others? What does a top earner make in this field?

What skills should you learn to increase your salary?

Hand Therapy big bucks

OT salaries in So Cal (LA metro area) are as low as $30k (usually non-profits) and as high as $85k (usually snfs)--btw these are new grad figures.

Usually depends on the site.

private hospitals and pediatric clinics tend to payt he least
(just above non-profits, but non-profits never pay well for any position)

snf and registry positions seem to pay the best (but this also depends on how well u can negotiate)

Hand therapy does not necessarily pay big bucks...but in general, most physical disability related advanced certification will get u more money.

I have known people who have made 82,0000 to 100,000 their first year out of school working per diem...HOme care can get you to six digits easily

Host said: What are typical occupational therapist salaries? Do some companies pay a lot more for this position than others? What does a top earner make in this field?

What skills should you learn to increase your salary?

for otr or cota sharpening your skills and trying various settings
selling yourself and going where there is most need
I have experience in both snf and pediatrics (school and home setting)

Per diem can definately make you tons of dough, however to make six figures you have to be willing to put in the hours (60-70+ per week) If youre cool with that, than go for it. However, i should mention going per diem right out the gate wouldn't be the best choice for a new grad. Solid mentorship is golden these days.

Soon to be OTR in Phoenix, AZ:

I don't think you need to put in that many hours to make 6 figures.

I graduated last year and I make that much working a regular 40 hour work week. I'm 1099-Independent contractor, but I can write-off practically everything. Making money is not hard, it's finding a place that you're happy, appreciated, and not placed in ethically questionable situations that is the difficult part. I agree, solid mentorship IS 'golden'. But sadly, most of the positions with good training don't offer the kind of $$$ that a recent grad needs. Therein lies the trade-off. Right now, the money is good but I can't say that I'm developing my clinical skills. Unfortunately, everyday I'm faced with Program Directors and owners that try to get me to commit fraud, risk my license, and pretty much go against every rule we were taught about professional ethics in school. Mo money--mo problems.

Q: for pasedena

Are you really put into ethical decisions everyday? How do you cope with that? What would you recommend to someone like me who is about to embark on the world of OT?
I'm totally for the trade off with less $$ as long as I get the skills. Hopefully I can get the best of both worlds! : )
What would you recommend to make sure I find solid mentorship and just not thrown to the wolves on the first day. I appreciate any feedback.

Thanks

Soon to be OTR,

Lemme be a little less dramatic. There are definitely places where you can get paid a decent wage and still get good mentorship and not be placed in ethically questionable situations.

However, in many, and I mean MANY locations (particularly the better paid settings like: SNF, Home health, etc) many times the companies that are contracted to handle rehab are required to meet a minimun quota of billable hours. Oftentimes, the solution to meet said quota is to fudge the amount of time spent with Pts. Unfortunatley this is often the only way b/c Medicare does not pay for non-therapeutic time spent (i.e., documentation).

To find solid mentorship, I would pay great attention to detail during the interview process. Also, if you're given an offer at a facility, ask to shadow for a couple of days when the recruiter/area manager/etc isn't on-site before you make a decision. That way you can ask the therapists what they really think as well as observe. If they say no and try to put you to a quick decision, then they really don't give a rat's u know what about quality of Pt care or about protecting u or ur license.

Also Interviewing at a former fieldwork (yours, or a classmate's) site that you know has a good reputation is always a good way to go.

As far as what I'm doing to deal with my situation, I end up fighting with the owners and/or program directors all the time. But I pretty much do what I want b/c I speak the language of the participants at the center and they know that it's hard to find OTs who speak that language. Bottom line--PROTECT YOURSELF! Nobody is gonna do that for you. If you lose your license, it's a huge waste of time, $$$, and emotion. Trust me, it does happen. Look at the OTPractice magazine every month. There's a list of OTs who have suspended or terminated licenses. Don't be one of them. I guarantee, it's b/c they were caught documenting they were doing something that they really weren't.