Nursing vs Respiratory Therapy vs Occupational Therapy

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Hello,

I wanted to get your opinion on possible careers. I have between crossed between nursing, occupational therapy, and respiratory therapy for some time. The desicion is so hard!

Here are the scenarios:

Nursing

I will be able to enter into a program in Fall of 2010 and exit Fall 2011, my plan is to continue my education to become a nurse anesthetist after 3 years of ICU experience. That is about 9 years of work and school until I reach my ultimate goal. Cost: $25,000 (with tuition) and no relocation.

Occupational Therapist

I will be able to enter that program in Fall of 2010 and the program is 2 1/2 years, I am worried how the job market, which is abudant at the moment, will be in 3 1/2 years. I also hear that many OT's hate their job, but those people seem to have a hard time explaining what they do which indicates they aren't as invested in the career as they should be. I think it is a great career field but I don't want to end up without a job! After OT school and about 3-4 years of experience I will probably attend school to become a Physician Assistant. That would be a total of 10 years before I reach my ultimate goal. Cost $35,000 (housing and tuition) and no relocation.

Respiratory Therapy

I think this would be a great career and a stepping stone for other career fields. I will begin the program in January 2010 and end the program in January 2011. My fear is the job market for new graduates. Many say it's saturated and I'm not sure if in a year the market will be in a better or worse position. After 1-2 years experience I will be applying to PA school. That will be 6 years before I reach my ultimate goal. Cost: $30,000 (housing and tuition) and will be relocating to Nebraska.

So what do you guys think?

I already have a bachelor's degree and loans out of the wazhoo! I need to get into a career field that is profitable quickly so that I am able to take down some of my loans and continue into a satisfying career field. I am flexible as to where I live but Nebraska and Michigan are the places I am leaning toward.

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I feel your pain. I was very interested in the respiratory therapy program myself. Here in Florida there are not many respiratory therapy programs and in my area many positions open. I could have gotten into the program in August 2009, instead of waiting for January 2010 for nursing (hopefully). Problem for me was the local campus was no longer offering the program and I would have had to drive approx 3 hours. That made up my mind. I may still consider it though after nursing...an RN/Respiratory therapist should be desirable.

Back to your dilemma, sorry. I would go the RN route...cheaper and quicker to get you to your ultimate goal.

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I guess I don't understand why you would consider pursuing all of those other degrees when it looks like you ultimately want to be a PA or CRNA.

PA school is 2 years post bacheloriate degree, and since you already have that, why not just apply to PA school? In other words, why would you do a 2.5 year OT program just to end up doing a 2 year PA school later on? Especially since you can go straight to PA school.

Now, if you really want to be a CRNA, then do an accelerated BSN program (1 to 1.5 years) and then move onto CRNA school later on.

So basically, what I'm asking is...why are you considering RT or OT when you can go straight to PA instead????

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Thank you, with the prerequisites for PA I would not be able to begin a program until Fall 2011 at the earliest, and with my current position and Michigans economy that is not an option, me being able to get into another career field quicker, enables me to pay down some of my student loans and gain hands-on health care experience.

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Okay, then go the RN route! You know, in general, NPs have more autonomy, more job opportunities, and more prescribing rights than PAs anyway...so even if you end up deciding that CRNA is not what you want to do, once you have your BSN you can go back to school to become an NP. Most NPs do their schooling while working full time as an RN anyway. I'm assuming that since you already have a bachelor's that you are looking into an accelerated BSN program and not an ADN, right??? That would most likely be the quickest and cheapest way to get from pont a to point b. Good luck!

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The RN route sounds appealing, but I cringe at the though of being an RN and I have no idea why. For that reason alone, I feel like that may not be the right choice for me even though I find anesthesia very interesting and not only because of the money a CRNA makes but the field seems to be very challenging. Does anyone have any insight into the market for Respiratory Therapisy? How about Occupational Therapist? I know there are thousands of jobs for OT's now and in OT I would probably focus on sensory intergration, brain injury, spinal injury and other neurological disorders. But I don't want to be almost thirty before I step into my first professional career. I would like to work as COTA while I am waiting this year to enter into OT, but you have to be certified by law. With RT it love the autonomy and it seems like it will be a great career field, but not if there are no jobs! I'm going to shadow both professions to see which one I like better, but I would still like to know what you all think about the future labor market for OT and RT?

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Anyone, any advice you could give would be helpful.

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I am in the same boat. I am debating between Respiratory therapy or RN. So I won't be any help to you, but maybe someone else can answer my question. Are both the programs the same level of intensity? Is one easier to consider if I work full time and take care of my family???

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I am a nursing student, and my husband will be going into RT school when I'm done. For me, I liked the ability to add on with education and credentials, and greater earning power when those are completed. For my hubby, he has seen the amount of work I'm doing to be an RN, and says that he totally is not interested!! : ) I think that the money is better as an RN. If I were you, I would do an accelerated BSN, get your time in ICU, then apply to CRNA school. That way, you can work and earn money as you go.

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