Physical Therapists: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Physical Therapists assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and improve or correct disabling conditions resulting from disease or injury.

• Plan, prepare, or carry out individually designed programs of physical treatment to maintain, improve, or restore physical functioning, alleviate pain, or prevent physical dysfunction in patients.
• Perform and document an initial exam, evaluating data to identify problems and determine a diagnosis prior to intervention.
• Evaluate effects of treatment at various stages and adjust treatments to achieve maximum benefit.
• Identify and document goals, anticipated progress, and plans for reevaluation.

Featured Schools

[clear]

Physical Therapists with little to no experience tend to make between $60390 and $72680 while the more experienced ones can earn over $102530 per year.

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Physical Therapist is to move to a higher paying state like NV. Right now, the highest paying states for Physical Therapists are NV, AK, NJ, NM and CA.

However, a higher pay at NV doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at NV might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Physical Therapist is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.

We asked other Physical Therapists what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a Master’s Degree followed by a PhD.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Physical Therapist.

[clear]

79% of Physical Therapists said they were satisfied with their job and 90% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.

Dr. Ashley Estanislao, DPT

My name is Dr. Ashley Estanislao and as a physical therapist, am an expert in exercise and movement. I received my Doctorate in Physical Therapy and Bachelors of Science in Exercise Physiology. What does your typical day at work look like? It really depends on what setting you are in. I have worked in both … Read More

Cindy Bowen

Life of Oneness

The clientele I work with as a physical therapist and healer are individuals recovering from physical and/or emotional pain. Their conditions or symptoms are usually the result of an initial, physical world event that has also come to manifest emotionally. Sometimes the underlying stress is a psychological or spiritual one. So my typical day consists … Read More

Meredith Castin, PT, DPT

I’ve worked as a physical therapist for 5 years in a clinical setting. The typical work day of a physical therapist will vary depending on the setting. In general, though, you will have a schedule of patients that you evaluate and treat. You will also have some time dedicated to documenting your care and ensuring … Read More

Marin L. Campbell, PT, DPT

Thrive Physical Therapy & Myofascial Release

A typical day for me includes 5-6 clients that I see for 1 hour each and then 1-2 hours of administrative time (documentation, website maintenance, blog posts, social media, etc.). I see patients with more chronic than acute problems–less post-surgical and sprained ankles and more long-term low back or neck pain, difficulty walking, pain with … Read More

Alyssa Kuhn

Keep the Adventure Alive

I am a mobile physical therapist which means I travel to people’s homes and treat them there. I see patients in my local community here in Sandy, Utah. My typical day usually includes seeing 3-4 patients, most of which are dealing with knee osteoarthritis. I drive to their homes and we complete the sessions usually … Read More

Swati Prakash

Private practice in a physiotherapy clinic

I am a physical therapist based in sunny Singapore. I presently work in a private practice in a physiotherapy clinic. My work load is with musculoskeletal patients and my style of working is mainly with manual therapy and exercises. In a typical day, I will be seeing patients for all sorts of issues ranging from … Read More

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with, communicating with, and teaching people. They like helping or providing service to others..

They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.