COTA OR NURISNG

[wwdahn]

Hi I will be a senior in high school next year and I want a job that will help people. Nursing and occupational therapy assistant is what I have come up with I have researched both careers and shadow but I cannot a good feel of the careers ( I do not want to spend a ton of money in school and have no job when I graduate ) I'm looking for the pros and cons of both careers

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

In my part of the world, there's a brisk demand for COTAs... not so much for new grad nurses.

[elkpark]

FWIW, the OTs and COTAs I have known over the years have been much happier and more satisfied with their jobs than most of the nurses I have known.

[wwdahn]

thank you for answering my question

[wwdahn]

is there a demand for OTs AND COTAs i cannot afford to spend money school then have no job when done ans thankyou for answering my question

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

There is never a guarantee in any field. Sorry, you wanted an honest answer. But in my neck of the woods, it goes in spells for COTAs

[wwdahn]

thank you for your honesty

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

There is never a guarantee in any field. Sorry, you wanted an honest answer. But in my neck of the woods, it goes in spells for COTAs

Agree with this. In my area COTA's and PTA's are fairly low paying positions with a definite surplus of qualified candidates to jobs ratios.

Now OT and PT is a different story, especially PT. These are in very high demand and are well paying. Of course the educational requirements are much higher than for a COTA or PTA position. The one college in my area that offers a PT program doesn't even do the masters level any more. They go straight from Bachelors to PhD. I am more familiar with PT than OT simply because that is what my son did. It took him 6 years of school and lots of student loan debt but he makes more money than I do by far.