All around the world, people need physical therapy. There are physical therapy clinics all around the world to meet this need. Where do you fit in? Where do you want to do your work as a physical therapist? Finding the right location for a job is always a primary consideration, but with a career like physical therapy, it can be even more important because of factors like climate, the amount of activity the population takes part in, the number of people in the area, and basic demographics like financial feasibility. The point is – scope out your potential territory!
Facebook Searches
Intriguingly, one great place to start searching for your idea location is on Facebook. With a set of specific types of searches and some knowledge of how advertising works, you can very quickly get printouts and screenshot of graphs that show engagement with businesses, demographics in certain areas, basic financial information of certain cities and communities, and a ton more data that is just out there for free, as long as you know how to look for it. There are even tutorials to show you how to gather this data, so don’t be afraid to dip your toes in the water.
Cities with Active Sports
One great place to start looking for physical therapy work is around cities with active sports. These can be pro teams or college ones. If sports physical therapy is your interest, find football communities, hockey towns, basketball cities, and start your career strategy around finding what types of injuries are common. There are tens of thousands of folks playing sports trying to make it to the bigs, and they all need your help at some point, whether it’s for physical maintenance or education. Use those stomping grounds to kickstart your career.
When Out and About
When you are traveling as a tourist out of vacation, pay special attention to the opportunities that are there for physical therapy work. Look for the size of the town, if they have a particular interest in any sports, if they have a large retirement community, if there are large hospitals, and things like that. If you are just finishing up with your own physical therapy college education, you might see some interesting opportunities to set up shop in some brilliant tourist areas. Surfers, skateboarders, and swimmers are always going to need work done on them; enjoy the weather that comes with those activities!
A career in physical therapy can be extremely rewarding, but finding a practice or a clinic in the right locale can be a big part of the happiness factor. Put some time into your research, and look for where all the dots can possibly connect for you in the future.