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Tori Crites
Jasmine Williams
Comp 1 TR 10:40
November 17, 2016
Career Analysis
The future is not easy to plan ahead for, but you should try. As I consider my future I see myself
as a pediatric occupational therapist. When most people hear that career, they think of a physical
therapist. Although both are very similar, they are also very different in many ways. Both
careers provide rehab programs for their patients. Physical therapists primarily help athletes
recover from injuries while occupational therapists help patients obtain the ability to do every
day activities. Some of the duties an occupational therapist will have include evaluating patients,
creating a patient specific treatment plan, and assessing the patient's improvement (Career
Comparison). Both careers require a master's degree and earn around $80,000 to $85,000
annually (U.S. Bureau).
To obtain my goal to become a pediatric occupational therapist I have created a plan to
help me along the way. Within the next two years I will complete my basics at UALR. While I
am completing my basics, I plan to work at a daycare part-time to give me more experience with
children and to help me save up to afford the masters school that will be required in the future.
After I complete my basics at UALR I will transfer to the University of Central Arkansas to
receive my bachelors in health science in occupational therapy. I must transfer to UCA because
UALR does not offer the bachelors or masters degree that I will need to pursue my career. As I
am going to UCA and earning my bachelors degree, I will begin working as an occupational
therapy assistant at Baptist Health to get familiar with the field to see if that is really want to do.

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While I am working as an occupational therapy assistant I will be earning around $40,000

annually. As an OT assistant, I will gain more knowledge than I can receive in college and more
hands-on experience in the field. This will give me an edge and help me get into the masters
program. In 2020 I will graduate from UCA with my bachelors and will then apply to the
master's program at UCA to practice as an occupational therapist. As I am going through the
masters program I will continue working as an occupational therapist assistant so that I can
create connections to get a job as an OT at that hospital. Working as an OT assistant will
continue to strengthen my knowledge beyond what the college courses are teaching me. In 2022
I will graduate and receive my masters degree in health science in occupational therapy. At this
point, I will be a better hire choice than my classmates since I will have had experience as an OT
assistant. I will get the job as an occupational therapist at Baptist Health Hospital and work there
for three years. As I am working there I will begin making around $80,000 annually. After
those three years, I will move to Missouri to attend Washington University to receive my
doctorate. As I am earning my doctorate I will find a small clinic in the area to work at parttime. In 2027 I will have earned my doctorate and will be heading back to central Arkansas. I
will then receive a job at Children's Hospital in Little Rock to specialize in the pediatric field.
After earning my doctorate my salary will increase to around $87,000 annually (U.S. Bureau).
As I work there for the next four years of my life I will have gained much knowledge in the
pediatric field and continued to create a name for myself in the medical world. After working at
Children's Hospital for four years I will find a new job as an OT at Easter Seals. Here, I will
begin helping many needing children and bring joy to their lives. Helping others is why one of
the reasons I chose this career. I will work at Easter Seals for around 5 years before opening my
own practice in central Arkansas. Throughout my career I will have created a name for myself in

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the medical world and will have made many great connections to start a practice. Although I will
be taking a pay cut it will be worth it because I will create close connections with my patients
and will be able to stay in contact with them in the future.
Throughout this career there are some opportunities for advancement. I did not know this
originally, until I talked to Angela Shillcutt. When asked how she planned to further her career
she responded saying I would love to get my masters degree and am also trying to get CHT
(certified hand therapist) certified. Another opportunity for advancement is to get your
doctorate, which I plan to do many years after being in this career field. Although there is
chance for promotion, most female occupational therapists are dissatisfied with the opportunity
for advancement (Meade). Along with the advancements there is also some personal satisfaction
in this job. You get to watch people grow and get stronger. One of Angelas best experiences
was with premature baby. My favorite experience as a pediatric therapist was helping a baby
girl who was born addicted to meth. She was born premature so her lungs had not developed and
she had severe brain bleeds. She had never taken anything by mouth and lived her first few
months in a NICU. She came to the facility I work in and was slowly weaned off of O2. The
speech pathologist and I slowly introduced her to formula by bottle and then on to baby food. It
was very rewarding. This career is an amazing way to watch people transform and grow. One
of the most challenging experiences Angela had was when she worked at a nursing home and
saw many elderly people give up and choose to be left alone. She said that It was hard to see
them give up and what it did to their families. Although you get to watch some people grow,
you also get to see people fail and give up. For some people that may be hard to watch others
give up, but I believe that I will be able to handle it. The only thing I worry about is that I may
get too emotionally attached to my patients. That is one of the reasons I chose this career. I

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wanted to work in the medical field, but not necessarily as a nurse. As a nurse, some of your
patients may die and I do not believe that I would be able to handle that.
Generally, a patient will see a physician after and receive a diagnosis then will be directed
to see an occupational therapist. Part of an occupational therapists job is to create a treatment
due to the patients physical and emotional limitations. Most treatment plans must teach patients
how to do everyday tasks due to an injury or even amputation. These activities may include
gardening, weaving, hand industries, music, various types of recreation and education, creative
handicrafts such as clay modeling and leather tooling, and manual arts (Funk). The outlook of
this job is very promising in Arkansas as well as the salary. Arkansas is one of the higher paying
states for occupational therapists, at $82,600-$98,930. Nevada is the highest average paying
state at $98,930. Central Arkansas, where I plan to work, averages around $81,850 while South
Arkansas averages around $86,280. The highest paying area in the U.S. is Longview Texas
averaging around $121,730 annually (U.S. Bureau). Male and female occupational therapists say
they are moderately satisfied with the scale of pay (Meade).
Helping others and making them feel special is a something that I find very important in a
career. I love that in this career I get the opportunity to change a persons life for better and help
them go farther in life. Being an occupational therapist is a job that fulfills all the things that I
want in a career. I believe that this is a great career choice for me to pursue. I believe I will be
very successful as an occupational therapist in Central Arkansas.

Works Cited
Meade, Ian, Ted Brown, and Judith Trevan-Hawke. Female and Male Occupational Therapists: A
Comparison of Their Job Satisfaction Level. N.p., 25 Feb. 2005. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.
<http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1440-1630.2005.00480.x/full>.
Occupational Therapy. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2016): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls
New World Encyclopedia. Web. 15 Nov.2016
"Occupational Therapist vs. Physical Therapist | Career Comparison." All Allied Health Schools. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. <http://www.allalliedhealthschools.com/physical-therapy/occupationaltherapist-vs-physical-therapist/>.
"Occupational Therapists." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 17 Dec.
2015. Web. 13 Nov. 2016. <http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/occupational-therapists.htm>.