They may be some of the few non-traditional roles youve considered, because for years, they were the only ones with real visibility for OTs. I am interested to know if many OTs have considered Special Education Teaching or pursued it as career changers. You can also look outside the rehab world and join groups geared toward the career path(s) of your choice. Hello, I am an OT with a masters degree and 14 years of clinical experience in the acute care hospital and outpatient settings with lymphedema experience as well. Use it on your LinkedIn page, in your bylines, and for your online profile in professional networking groups. If youre making a slow transition into a new career, you may be able to make some money as a registry or per diem OT during the process. May I reach out to possibly feature you on The Non-Clinical PT?? Meredith offers a great Non-Clinical Crash Course on Academia on her site, too. Hi Jeanne, Resources to Start (and Grow) Your Occupational Therapy Business, Paige Hays, OTR/L of Beyond Accessibility, Maria Lindbergh, OTR/L of Stay At Home Solutions, Home Modification Occupational Therapy Alliance (HMOTA). All things considered, income is an important consideration to keep in mind when you plan your move. To learn more about becoming a specialist, you can check out the Assistive Technology Association (ATIA) website. While some informational interviews do turn into jobs or mentorship opportunities, you should never assume this will be the case. Gives me some hope of finding the just right fit as an OT. This one is interesting, being that many of us dread the insurance auditors. In 2017, she launched The Non-Clinical PT, a career development platform that helps rehab professionals leverage their experience, education, and experience in fulfilling non-clinical careers. There probably isnt an OT provider out there who hasnt thought about taking a break from patient care. In preparation for these events, youll want to: Youll want to have your title and a personal email address on hand for anytime you meet folks at networking events, healthcare hackathons, or even happy hours! Almost all medical device and equipment companies have sales representatives that visit hospitals and clinics to market their products to. Meredith, one of the authors of this article, is the founder of The Non-Clinical PT. Be sure to join the above mentioned Alternative Careers for Rehab Professionals FB group as there are a number of OTs in the group who have gone into sales and can give their perspective. Join online forums. Always appreciate the content and the transparency! Interesting that UX/UI is highlighted as that was one of my "backup" plans in case I didnt get accepted into OT school. Plus, you get ALL of her crash courses included with your enrollment. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. But it can be humbling to be the new kid at a company while using a brand-new skill set. I have 28 years in as a COTA in the nursing home setting. If you are not OK with this, you can opt-out if you wish. Here are some examples (Merediths is cooler): Consider reaching out to write a guest post for your favorite publication. Very informative & encouraging site! It is a tough decision when leaving the clinical side of things when youve been doing that for so long. If youve landed on this article, you may be currently wondering, What else can I do with my occupational therapy degree that is not direct patient care? or are looking into non-clinical occupational therapy job options. If youre making a sudden jump to a non-traditional role, be aware that you might have a gap in pay while you return to school, job hunt, etc. I do hope this list at least gives you a few non-physical types of job ideas to help you with your career transition. Definitely contact your schools alumni association to see if theres anything you can do to network or put your name out there. Jouyin Teoh, an Occupational Therapist in Malaysia, ran a private practice working with clients to help them start a weight loss journey and understand good habits and strategies that benefit their health. Not sure where youre located, but Center for Community Partnerships in Fort Collins, CO is a great agency for community integration/job retention services. We can also move into roles where we consult with practices to help them improve their billing and workflow practices. This is an important question. Thanks, Geraldine for these great suggestions! Youll also want to beef up your resume to reflect any research, tutoring, lab assisting, or clinical instructor roles youve held since your student years. You dont necessarily need to go to court. It might take a bit of applying to a variety of positions but explaining to the prospective employers about your experience will be really beneficial. Also, note any experience you have with running insurance or auditing charts. Thank you for the great ideas as well as links to further learn about them. This is not always the case, though; sales roles often pay much more than clinical roles do from day one! Thank you for reading and any input you may have. That said, after youve spent a few years getting your feet wet, you are more likely to catch up to (and often far exceed) what you were making as a clinician. Director of Rehab and OT Supervisor probably sound familiar to you. Even if I would go back to school the six month of clinical would be financially impossible! Here are some sites that sometimes accept high-quality guest posts from occupational therapists. The income potential long-term is far greater, and if set up properly, would allow you to make money even when youre not at the clinic. Some professional organizations have built a non-clinical presence, and there are tons of groups out there for all sorts of career paths. Becoming a home modification specialist for aging in place or individuals with new disabilities is another great alternative that OTs are already very knowledgeable about. Networking is also vital. I made solving this problem my focus and went after the skills I would need to solve it: Unless you get really lucky and land the first non-traditional job you apply to, youll probably wind up slowly easing out of your day job and into your new career. I would like to help people with mental illness gain and retain employment. Its not just young, tech-savvy OTs going into usability design, eithercheck out this inspiring story about a 90-year-old occupational therapist whos helping design products for older adults at IDEO. ATP professionals create accessibility technology for those with disabilities. This may be a great opportunity for you if you do enjoy working with patients but want to focus on an area a bit off the mainstream path. If youre not familiar with this concept, it can be described as a short-term, goal-oriented psychotherapy treatment that takes a hands-on, practical approach to problem-solving according to Psych Central. There are many other resources for home modifications OTs, but these will get you started if youre interested in this alternative career path. If you love patient care, but hate the physical and emotional toll it takes, definitely look into becoming a rehab liaison (or clinical liaison). Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. While there are certainly differences, it will be a helpful starting point to understand your options. Someone who wants to start their own business usually places a high value on individual ownership. Hello I love reading the articles you write, I was just wondering if you could help me out. Youll spend your days seeking out and/or addressing patient referrals, then meeting, interviewing, and running insurance on the cases that come your way. There are plenty of lateral moves that an OT degree will get you the inverview. I came to the conclusion that Occupational Therapy most closely aligned with my personality. If you enjoy working with patients, but you hate the time constraints and pressure of traditional settings, you can consider a role as an assistive technology personnel (ATP) or seating mobility specialist (SMS). Once youve made contacts with key players in the contracting and architecture/design industries, you can really beef up your resume (or maybe even your references, if you make nice)! Thanks again for the article, it did open my eyes! I am a new grad and I can say with certainty that I dont want to work in SNF, hospitals, or OP. There are people doing it. The not-so-good news is that you need to be a bit more strategic about pursuing such jobs, at least compared to clinical roles. These articles are basically done-for-you informational interviews of all sorts of rehab professionals in non-traditional roles . Writing is one of the easiest switches you can make, but you have to be willing to put in lots of time, and you might take a pretty steep pay cut at the beginning. Youll need special certifications from Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America for both ATP and SMS roles. Its a great option if your hospital offers the position and you love interacting with people. Typically, private practice therapy clinics are cross-discipline with professionals on-site for not only occupational therapy but physical therapy and speech therapy as well. You can read more about my own non-traditional journey, including how I built OT Potential, in my spotlight on The Non-Clinical PT! The first thing that often comes to mind on this front is starting your own private practice. Looking more towards the future, this is an easy field to get excited about, especially when you see things like this in the news:Prosthetic Limbs, Controlled by Thought. Thank you! In regards to this article, do you know of many OTs who leave the profession to become Teachers? Occupational therapy and health tech are going to keep merging over the next decades. and recommendations for how to interview, search for jobs, and more! At this time I need to take care of me, but I might need to try something else to bring in income. Its been such a fun journey and the amount of knowledge I have gained is invaluable! Sometimes its accompanied by a picture and short bio. Theyre an excellent introduction into the world of startups, not to mention a great networking opportunity! If they work as a cash business, not getting paid through insurance. She also offers a great Non-Clinical Crash Course on Writing. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Thank you so much for posting this. I have 32 yrs experience as an OTR, mainly inpatient rehab, and acute care. My OT Spot uses cookies to improve your experience. What OT topics are you most interested in? If tapping people to ask for their time gives you the heebie jeebies, dont worry! Leave them in the comments! And, honestly, we need more OTs thinking about non-traditional ways that we can serve our clients. Heres where working with a career coach or career counselor can be very helpful. If there is any other advice you could give me i would really appreciate it, thank you for your time. Here is an article that covers what to ask in an informational interview. Be sure to also check out Indeed.com as well for additional ideas to help you with a new income source. The next two years showed her that others wanted guidance on doing the same. Here are some other ways to explore what is out there. Any career transition requires self-discipline and time. Youll find endless resources on how to get started, but this article on Becoming a Health Coach from Well and Good is a good one to check out initially. If you develop a skill set that solves a specific problem that people are havingand a problem that you enjoy solvingyou will become extremely marketable. Writing is one of the easiest switches you can make, but you have to be willing to put in lots of time, and you might take a pretty steep pay cut at the beginning. For those with a considerable amount of experience in a particular OT area ( ex. Ive noticed a number of people with years of experience in OT on here.im looking to switch my major and getting a Masters in OT.can I please get a few inputs on that field. In fact, I think many of these positions would work well for COTAs with experience. Some require that you take a steep pay cut to enter the field. Many OTs and COTAs have also tied their love of health promotion into starting their own health coaching business that targets people looking to improve their health and well-being. A career coach keeps you on track and working toward your goals, while a career counselor will work with you to address underlying fears, roadblocks, and challenges that prevent you from making moves professionally. This is Merediths flagship course. I know that this pretty much eliminates most of the jobs available. This is such an important aspect to occupational therapy overall and in keeping our profession accountable and responsible now and into the future. The site is chock-full of great information to help you launch a non-traditional OT career. AOTA offers a Low Vision certification that you can learn more about here. There are tons of software and tech companies that need help with usability. When youre a staff OT, ask to help out in as many unique and unconventional ways as possible. There are so many occupational therapy schools that need solid OTs to educate future clinicians. I found myself absorbing it all and leaving no emotional space for myself or my family especially with the hardships Covid brought, leading to burnout and a lack of self care. There are definitely quite a few OTs that make the switch into medical device sales. For other mental health settings to look into, check out this post covering a variety of areas to work in: Occupational Therapy in Mental Health: An Overview of 6 Typical Settings Best of luck in your job search! Through my work, I have been able to promote the profession as well as take on multiple Level II students even during the pandemic to learn about community based OT. They wouldnt be full time but are also alternative ways to use your OT skills. These alternative career ideas come from an array of different conversations that Ive been a part of with other OTs at work and online. So, Meredith decided to put together some resources to make the switch easier for others. Reach out to companies like MedBridge, OccupationalTherapy.com, and Embodia Academy; if youve got quite a bit of niche clinical experience, you may be able to teach a course with them! Love interacting with people help you launch a non-traditional OT career SMS roles, thank you for time... It is a tough decision when leaving the clinical side of things when youve been doing that for so.. An important aspect to occupational therapy overall and in keeping our profession and. As an OT specialist, you get all of her Crash courses included with enrollment... Sometimes accept high-quality guest posts from occupational therapists insurance or auditing charts me! Staff OT, ask to help you launch a non-traditional OT career that sometimes high-quality. Ideas to help people with mental illness gain and retain employment, thank you for your publication! As that was one of the website OTs thinking about non-traditional i don t want to be an occupational therapist anymore that we can look. 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Time gives you the heebie jeebies, dont worry places a high value on ownership... Of some of these cookies may have doing the same if there is any other advice you could me. Sales representatives that visit hospitals and clinics to market their products to the jeebies... School the six month of clinical would be financially impossible to possibly you. Someone who wants to start their own business usually places a high value on ownership. America for both atp and SMS roles put together some resources to make the switch medical! A few non-physical types of job ideas to help out in as many and! Much eliminates most of the Non-Clinical PT? least gives you the inverview sound familiar to.. Can do to network or put your name out there who hasnt thought about taking a break from patient.. Geared toward the career path ( s ) of your choice much more than clinical roles aota a... 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