When I think about my future career, factors that are important to me include what the workspace will be like, who will I be working with, how will my mental health be affected, and will my career be able to support me financially. My mother has struggled with all of these factors while working in her career and she ended up moving to another job because of it. I’ve seen her struggle because of her prior job and struggle now with her current one. I want to make sure I can find a career with jobs that won’t put me what she has gone through. Three careers I am considering are a secondary school teacher because I understand this career the most, postsecondary history teacher because it has my main interest, and occupational therapist because I …show more content…
This career would require a Master’s degree and knowledge about service orientation, psychology, and therapy and counseling. Depending on where I would be hired I would most likely be working in an office-type are with patients one-on-one. This career has the highest entry-level salary at $51,670 and average annual salary at $78,420 of all three careers. It also helps that job openings around the United States is as high as 10,528. I’ve been able to ask about the career with my own therapist and she’s given similar information about responsibilities like advising on health risks in the workplace or on health-related transition to retirement and planning different activities for patients depending on their needs and handicaps. The concerns I have with this being my career are how my own mental health will be affected. (“Occupational Therapists”). Having a therapist can really help people with whatever they have going on, but being on the other end of it seems daunting and a little worrying. Becoming an occupational therapist isn’t completely off the table for me, but it’s the career that I’m not as well-versed
and intrigued by the mind-body connection as well as the importance of human activity and occupation in maintaining mental and physical well-being. At the same time, my desire to work directly with people and be able to make a positive and lasting change to their lives by empowering them and helping discover their strengths and confidence in themselves to achieve their goals, led me to a realization that a career in occupational therapy would be a perfect fit for me. To me occupational therapy is a dynamic, rewarding, challenging, and inspiring field where I can fully realize my skills and knowledge. Having always been a firm believer in the patient-centric approach, I am passionate about providing excellent service to patients by improving their performance, preventing illness and disability and promoting adaptation to life
Being an Occupational Therapy Assistant Occupational Therapy Assistants are professionals who make a difference in the lives of people who have difficulty performing work and daily activities to do an illness, injury and disability. It’s a growing career that is in great in demand. The salary depends on several factors but for the most part it’s rewarding. The requirements to become an Occupational Therapy Assistant is for one to receive their associate’s degree from an accredited school and pass the National Board Exam. Many people think that Occupational Therapy Assistants are people who specialize in occupations.
I took this a step further by researching the field and the career, before deciding that I think that it may be a good match for me, but, instead of being a Psychologist I would rather be a Psychiatrist. A Psychiatrist is similar to a Psychologist, but a Psychiatrist is able to prescribe medication to people and they also have the potential to make a higher salary than a Psychologist. Some benefits of becoming a Psychiatrist as opposed to being a Psychologist, is that I will get to really help people that need it, and I will be able to work more hands on with those who need
I currently work in the mental health field as the Director of Admissions. I have worked in this field for ten years. Most of that time was spent in what is known as “direct care” and for five years I was in a management role. The work is very difficult with a very high turnover and burnout rate. One of the main issues within the industry is the loss staff, which is usually due to job dissatisfaction.
I have always had the intense desire to care and look after people from a very young age. I firmly believe that everyone deserves the best quality of life possible and this is what had drawn me to occupational therapy as a career path in the first place. It is so easy to take for granted all the everyday tasks we can do and we seldom consider the effect of not being able to complete them. As an occupational therapist I would be able to make a positive impact on someone’s life and make it possible for them to enjoy their life. I want the opportunity to provide support to people, help them gain independence and watch them grow more confident in their own ability.
Butler: The main benefit of the physical therapy field is the work environment. In this field an individual has flexible hours, casual dress code, and a positive atmosphere that will make an individual want to come to work. The career field of physical therapy is a profession of hard work through schooling and years of dedication but is rewarding when an individual’s patients make full recoveries. Me: Is it hard to advance in a career in physical therapy?
All my life I knew that when I grew up I wanted to choose a profession that involved helping change lives. When I was in high school I heard about occupational therapy. I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do. To become an occupational therapist, you must have many traits. You must be able to communicate well.
Becoming an occupational therapist is my passion and my long-term career goal. Since a young age I have been incredibly inspired and motivated to befriend and help disabled individuals. Having grown up with a disabled mother who benefited from the services of occupational therapy I had the opportunity to see first hand how the experience gave can give individuals like her fulfilling and productive lives. With both parents working as healthcare professionals, including my mother who is now an occupational therapist herself, I see every day how rewarding the field is. Through my life I have had unique personal, professional and educational experiences that have shaped me into a strong candidate for an advanced education in occupational therapy.
I learned that Occupational Therapy is not a career path I wanted to pursue because the responsibilities and are involved with Occupational Therapy does not seem like something that I would enjoy doing everyday. The variety of customers that came in was interesting and sometimes was very enjoyable, but for the most part I thought the job was very quiet and tamed for me. I found out I might enjoy a career that is mostly predictive, but something new happens every once in a while to keep things interesting. This contributed to the advancement of my career goals by helping me realize the type of work environment I feel would fit me the best and the job shadow also helped me figure out that even though Occupational Therapy can be rewarding and you are helping a wide variety of people, this career path does not suit me. There are other jobs out there that give me the opportunity to help people in other ways, as well as suiting my needs environmentally as well.
Choosing a career seems to be a leading problem for most people entering college. University of La Verne, in california, says, “50-70% of students change their majors at least once, most will change majors at least 3 times before they graduate” (University of La Verne). Personally, I am someone who struggles with what I want to study in college; it is hard to choose something to do for the rest of my life when I feel so young. Helping people has always been a big interest of mine, and with both careers of occupational therapy and special education, I think that can be achieved. People with disabilities do not learn things the same way everyday people do, it is important for them to get the help they need in order to maintain a stable, healthy
I thought I knew what career path I wanted for my future, with that in mind, I sought a degree in Fitness and Human Performance to continue with a career in Occupational Therapy. In this career choice, the way I got to help patients was through therapy. While taking classes, I realized Occupational Therapy is not what I truly was passionate about. I decided to take my mother’s advice and choose what I truly love to do, which is to help people all around and I believe the nursing program would be the best fit. I am currently completing my certified nurse program to proceed with a job as a patient care technician.
The career that I am considering as a future possibility is the clinical social worker. Clinical social work is a specialty practice area of social work which focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental illness, emotional, and other behavioral disturbances. These practices can happen individually, in a group and/or in family therapy, which is common treatment styles. Social workers that provide these services are required to be licensed or certified at the clinical level in their state of practice. To become a licensed clinical social worker student who did not earn a bachelors of social work, must complete a traditional masters of a social work program that typically takes two to four years depending on whether a student attends full-time or part-time.
When I was growing up, multiple people questioned me about my future career, and others even pressured me into certain careers. All the influences I have had over time have formed my idea of the perfect occupation, that fits my personality and interests. The careers I have based my future life plans are a pharmacist or a certified registered nurse anesthetist. Both of these careers require a great deal of school and hard work. My decision of these careers was influenced by both of them being within the medical field, and also both focus on helping people.
Some High Schools aren’t providing enough career based classes for students, and students are graduating un prepared for their future careers. Students aren’t getting the enough help with graduating, and most students are only completing a small number of courses that have them college ready or career ready. Only a small amount of high school students are completing classes that prepare them for college and future careers. In the article, “Only 8 Percent of Students Complete College- and Career-Ready Curriculum” by Catherine Getwertz states, “Only 7 percent complete a curriculum sequence that prepares them for both career and college.” A small portion of students, which isn’t even half aren’t graduating well prepared due to not enough career curriculums.
When I graduate high school, I plan on having future goals that I plan on achieving. My first goal is to go to college and get a degree. I plan on attending Purdue NorthWest majoring in engineering and minoring in business. This is my number one future goal that I need to accomplish because to be able to have a nice life, I need to go to college to support my future family. My next future goal would be get a starting job to be able to support my future family.