Travelling Physical Therapist
The Travelling Physical Therapist is a contract-based project. These therapists will not be in the same workplace for a longer time. To say, they work on their timeline in a chosen place. They can find jobs in different settings such as schools, clinics, home health, acute care, nursing facility places, or do outpatient. If you are in plan to try out this career, I would say give it a shot. This job gives you so many recovery options if you fall apart in your career. The work is more therapeutic to the person who is a traveling therapist. Keep reading to know more about the fun factors and perks of this job. Also, know about the Traveling Physical Therapist Salary,
How much do they earn?
The traveling Physical Therapist earns a lot more than you can imagine. The physical trainers and the physical therapists who have their permanent stable job get paid way too little. The traveling physical therapists earn around $ 88,000 per annum. Their income per year might even touch $ 100,000. Their weekly pay might be around $ 1500 – $ 2,000. At times the place you choose to work will have a different wage package. But the wage difference from one place to another will not be a loud drawback.
People assume the work of this therapist might be exhausting for that pay they get. Well, it is not that exhausting for a person of adventure and with a passion for travel. Traveling physical therapists have flexible jobs. The regular salary they get paid is taxable. If you already think the pay is pretty good, you would be amazed to know about the stipends. The therapists get their stipends apart from their regular wages. But the stipend is tax-free, unlike their regular pay. For you to get the benefits of stipend you will have to fit some of the requirements. So read below to know how a person is qualified to get the benefits of stipends.
Procedures to Follow While Looking for the Job
Once you have completed your graduation in Physical Therapist you will have to do a bunch of other things before getting into the work field.
- You will first need to get a Physical Therapist License. After receiving your license you can then choose the state you want to work in. As you begin working in the field for quite some time you will be having yet more licenses. The more licenses you have you can pick to work in different states.
- Find a recruiter to help you find jobs.
- Then fill out the resume and give it to your recruiter.
- The recruiters will be submitting your profile in a company, clinic, or in school where there is a need for a traveling physical therapist.
- If you have any options on which place or in what setting you want to work with, the recruiter will help you find it according to your preference.
- Then you will be having the interview process with the company.
Pros in Working as a Travelling Physical Therapist
- Money – You will make more money when compared to permanent physical therapists. I know most of us would have had student debt. Trust me, the money this job offers will vanish the student debt with no suffering or dragging for years.
- Own Contracts – You have the freedom to choose what kind of project you want to work on. You never are forced to work in a particular setting. You can pick the place you will be working. The contracts vary from 3 months, 6 months, and a year. You can choose the time duration. Once you have finished one of your contract assignments you can take a break of one or two weeks from choosing the next contract. Or you could always start the next contract soon as you finish the previous one.
- Network – Your circle of connection with people will expand in few years of your work. As you travel to different states you will get welcomed by so many people. You will always be in the flow of learning things from other people.
- Security – To define security for your life by choosing to work in this field is just generous. In other career options, at some point if you feel like you did not fit in the place of work and resign, then you will have a hard time finding a new job. As a traveling physical therapist, some might feel exhausted and tired of constantly traveling. If they ever want to settle down in a place or even in their hometown, lucky them they can always find a permanent position as a physical therapist in any location where the job is available.
- Community – You will get the honor to be in the Community of Travelling Health Professionals. You will get a chance to meet professionals in the field. They will be in contact with you in case of any help you need from them. This community will be helping out each other in their needs.
- Travel – In this 21st century working full-time basically means your life starts and ends within your workplace. The traveling therapists work in different places within a year. But this is a job that pays you to travel to your dream destinations. There are more adventures you could do while working as a traveling physical therapist.
- Stipend – Well, the stipend comes in a huge truck. But there are some regulations you will have to follow to get qualified for the stipend. You will receive the tax-free stipend along with the regular taxable wage. The stipend covers your travel expenses, meals, and your accommodation in the state you have selected to work in. So, you spend way too little for your living when the expenses are compared to the regular wage you will be receiving throughout the year.
How do get qualified for the stipend?
- To get the stipend you must hold a home back in your hometown. That must be in a place you are currently not living but still paying the rent.
- If you own a car then it must be registered under your name in your hometown.
- You must have registered for a vote back in your hometown.
- You shouldn’t have abandoned your hometown. You must have visited and been visiting once in a while.
The Cons in the Traveling Physical Therapist
The drawbacks are way more flow down. The perks are more, even blinds the fact this job also has few cons. Of course, the job blinds the drawbacks because it barely has some unbearable circumstances.
- FOMO – Fear of missing out (FOMO). You might start feeling FOMO after a few months or few years of working as a traveling physical therapist. You will constantly be moving to different places for every new contract. At some point, you might feel you don’t have a stable home. Some people enjoy trying new things every day, but it is not the same for everyone. You will miss family gatherings, hometown festivals, important events, and the birthday parties of your close ones. FOMO will affect you so hard though you must not allow that to affect your work.
- Contract – Check your contract twice or as many times as it is possible for you to do it. The company or the clinic you will be working in might have a low ethic in their work. The workplace you chose to work will be canceling your contract with no notice. If you read the contract, it will state they must give you the notice period that is mentioned in the contract. So they can’t cancel the contract instantly.
- Adjustments – A traveling physical therapist definitely must be able to adjust. You can never always hope for the planned event to happen. Your plans might change more often than you expected. So, you will be meeting a new set of people every few months. It could be hard putting up with some people still tough leaving those few people. Always be ready for constant change. You have the right to choose the place you are going to work and end the contract if you are uncomfortable. Having the rights to those is great.
But be sure you do not take advantage of those rights you get. You have to stay professional with the work. You must have an acceptable reason to end the contract. If you are terminating the contract for an unprofessional or any inappropriate reason you will have a black mark on your profile. Any future project you will be referred to will get you into a negotiation where you will have to explain so much.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is a traveling physical therapist job secured?
Yes, it is secured. People think the traveling therapist job is not secure because so many workers have stopped traveling therapist jobs in a few years. A person working in the field is allowed to terminate their contract and find permanent work in their own will. And not because there is no scope in the job.
- How do traveling physical therapists make more money than permanent therapists?
As the traveling therapist lives and works far from their hometown they get the benefits of a stipend. The stipend will pretty much cover their traveling, accommodation, and food expenses. The regular wage is also high as they work in a place where they are needed the most. Like, in a location where the companies or clinics will have a hard time finding permanent therapists or even any therapist for a minimal period.
- What does a traveling physical therapist do?
Well, the traveling physical therapist is quite the same as the physical therapist. They treat the patient to recover from their injury. They give a strategic plan to their patients to recover from pain.
