So you think you want to be a Physio? Do you really know what a Physio does every day? By reading this article I want to help you to either reinforce your future career pathway, or stop you from making a really big mistake. If you’re not scared of the truth, read on!

I often reflect on my 13 or so years I have been a Physio, asking myself if I have made the right choice. I love being a Physio, because I have made Physio work for me in my Private Practice. Managing people is my forte and I currently manage a team of 18 clinical and support staff.

But back to you and your situation. I am going to talk about 3 different issues that we face daily as Physios. If you feel you can overcome these issues, Physio could be a long and fruitful career pathway for you. If not, turn and run the other way and at least be thankful someone was honest enough to tell you the truth.

Many graduates whom I meet coming through the ranks struggle with these 3 reasons below. The Physio profession needs genuine people coming into Physio for the right reasons.

I am going to give you 3 reasons you shouldn’t choose Physio as a career.

Don’t choose Physio as a career if:

1.   You don’t like listening to people’s problems

This is virtually what we do all day, every day in private practice. I have personally helped more than 8000 people, and that’s a lot of problems – about 20 different people coming with different problems every day. People in severe pain tend to have quite a few problems. I have learned to understand my patients intimately, and the way they articulate their problems leads me to the solution and helping them get back to living a normal life free of pain and moving well. I have become skilled in the art of helping readjust their focus from their problems to achieving their goals, and not focussing on their pain.

If you don’t believe you are an empathetic person, Physio is definitely not for you.

2.   You want to earn loads of money (without working really, really hard)

I earn a comfortable salary, but to get to this stage I have owned my own business for 13 years, and have worked 60+ hour weeks for the best part of my adult life. When I go to sleep at night I find myself waking up and writing down things I have forgotten to do during the day at work, or brainwaves which, if I don’t record these great ideas, will be forgotten by morning.

Physios are naturally caring people, but we undervalue what we have to offer to the public. The result is a reluctance to charge what we are worth, especially as we gain more skills and experience.

Unless you are willing to subject yourself to significant perturbation and growth, do not expect to get very far in your Physio career in terms of leadership positions, unless you are willing for the person whose position you covet to move on and you intend to outlast them.

3.   You want endless promotions

Physio is a very bottom heavy profession, with very little room to progress into leadership positions. When you graduate you are a Physio and unless you follow the specialisation pathway after 15 or 20 years you are still a Physio, even though you know much more.

Physio is very different from tiered professions like medicine, law, accounting and engineering, which offer quite defined career pathways. However Physio does lend itself to people who are lateral thinkers and value personal development over formal titles are hierarchical power.

You will not climb to the top of the Physio profession quickly, if there is such a thing as the top of the profession. Be prepared to put in the hard yards and gain knowledge, experience and credibility with your patients.

If I haven’t put you off with the hard truth, Physio very well could be the profession for you.

For my I feel endless energy and passion for my Physio career, because I understand what I want and I make it work for me.

My advice to you if you are a student trying to work out if Physio is for you is to make sure you spend some time in your potential future workplace before you make that big decision to study Physio.

Nick Schuster is a Physio and Allied Health clinic owner, author and speaker based in Redcliffe, 30 minutes north of Brisbane. His first book “why am I in pain?” is a resource to help chronic pain sufferers to better understand their journey. He is currently writing his second book which is titled “how to become the ultimate private practice Physio”. If you want to connect with Nick on LinkedIn please visit his profile.