After spending years in school getting your degree as a licensed health professional, many graduates are hesitant about spending his or her career back in school. However, a school-based therapy job could be the ideal assignment that you’re looking for. You’ll be given the opportunity to work in a career that is constantly growing. You’ll also help a new generation overcome various mental and physical obstacles. You’ll help provide a learning environment for children who otherwise might get overlooked within the system. There are numerous benefits of a school-based therapy job, so let’s take a look below!
What is a School-Based Therapy Job?
Before we can get into the benefits of a school-based therapy job, it’s probably a good idea to define what exactly the career entails. School-based therapy jobs are, of course, located in a school. The majority of school-based specialties are physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech and language, therapists. These careers are lucrative and offer plenty of benefits so you can enjoy this rewarding career.
Benefits of a School-Based Therapy Job
Availability
One of the biggest benefits of a school-based therapy job is the number of job openings there are. We have numerous openings for school-based therapy jobs that are just waiting to be filled. Just take a look at our occupational therapist job openings and you’ll see numerous jobs in adolescent and pediatric occupational therapy opening up across the U.S. Physical Therapy, considered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to be one of the fastest growing industries in the world. It is expected to grow an astounding 24% by the year 2024.
As school enrollment increases, the demand for these types of school-based therapists should increase as well. We’re quickly realizing that having these types of specialized therapists within the classroom can greatly increase the quality of the learning environment.
Impact the Next Generation
Set aside the availability and the salary (which are both pretty great) and just look at the impact you’ll have on the younger generation. One of the biggest benefits of a school-based therapy job is the ability provide a better learning environment for students. As the American Occupational Therapy Association notes, a school-based therapist focuses on improving “the student’s ability to fully access and be successful in the learning environment.” They’ll be able to provide the comfort they need to do the best in school.
You generally don’t choose a career as a school-based therapist unless you planned on planned on helping others. While it’s always good that your career is rewarding financially, it’s more important to have a career that is intrinsically rewarding. You’re helping to mold the next generation as they go through the schooling process. There’s nothing more satisfying than that!
Holidays and Vacation
When it comes to the benefits of a school-based therapy job, don’t forget about the vacation time that you’ll get to enjoy. You’ll essentially be following the same schedule as students. You can expect to have most major holidays off, as well as most of the summer! What’s better than relaxing in the sun while still making money from a great career? Not much!
Collaboration and Creativity Opportunities
Other healthcare professionals might be drawn to this career because of the collaboration aspect of the job. You have the benefit of working side by side with nurses, teachers, psychologists, and other therapists to design models of services delivery and school initiatives that best meet the specific needs of the students. This constant change presents an ongoing opportunity to use the full range of your knowledge and skill-set. This allows you to explore and engage in new areas of practice and methodology to help you and your students succeed and overcome challenges. This can even open up other career opportunities including administration and individual research as well.
As always, if you’re looking for the best school-based therapy jobs, feel free to explore our “jobs” page. If you’d like to chime in with any other benefits of a school-based therapy job, feel free to comment below
