Which Is a Better Career?

Question by Blank: Which is a better career?
Physical Therapy Assistant or Personal Trainer? I’d like to keep my schooling 4 years or less

Best answer:

Answer by Mary
You can really do both. You do not need a degree for a personal training. You just take a course at your gym. PTA is a 2 year degree. The best source of information is www.apta.org

Good luck

I am a PT

Answer by jannsody
PTA school will most likely be much more intense than training to become a certified personal trainer. A PTA student will need to be strong in the sciences (e.g., biology, chemistry, “general” anatomy & physiology, and applied kinesiology/the study of human movement). PTA students may apply to get licensed by taking an exam from the “federation of state boards of physical therapy”. Before applying for licensure, the student must successfully complete a associate (two-year) degree program accredited by the “capte” and have received a passing score for the clinical fieldwork placements.

If you’re interested in getting certified as a personal trainer, in addition to some college, it’s usually advised to take courses from well-respected professional organizations such as the “American college of sports medicine” or “American council on exercise”.

For general career info: http://www.bls.gov/ooh and can search “fitness trainers and instructors”, “physical therapist assistants” or such.

Before taking pre-req courses for PTA, it’s best to job shadow/observe in the various departments that administer PT, including a *physical rehabilitation hospital* for patients with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), spinal cord injury/paralysis, stroke (“brain attack”) which is a type of brain injury, other neurological disorders, hip/shoulder/knee replacement, amputated limbs or such – *pediatric hospital* – *nursing home/long-term care facility* or such.

With regard to schooling, please do *avoid* those private For-profit schools such as devry, ITT tech, strayer, U of P, capella, brown Mackie, argosy, grand canyon, ashworth, pima medical, Sanford brown, excelsior, penn foster, ecpi, keiser, Everest, walden, icdc, westwood, regis, full sail, concorde career and others. Their course credits usually do ** NOT ** transfer to other schools, even if the for-profit school is regionally accredited as opposed to only nationally accredited.

Please instead consider the more affordable community college and/or the state-public university as long as the program is accredited within the industry. Just an fyi that “American public university” is a for-profit school.

For U.S. colleges: http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ

To search for accredited programs in PTA: http://www.apta.org/ProspectiveStudents/ and can click the proper link.

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