The Truths Behind Being a PT: Salary

Find out how much someone can expect to make as a new grad physical therapist

Manuela Lopez Lopez PT, DPT

4/1/20253 min read

fan of 100 U.S. dollar banknotes
fan of 100 U.S. dollar banknotes

This blog post is going to be a bit of a trip into the present (unlike other posts in the series that have gone into my past). As someone who has only lived and practiced in the state of Florida, I can only speak from my knowledge, but I do know for a fact that what I say in this blog may not necessarily apply to those looking to practice PT in other states.

I do remember briefly hearing from others while in school that the debt to salary ratio was somewhere around a 2:1, if you were lucky. If you made the decision to attend a public institution where you were looking at nearly $70k in tuition alone (not including any costs of living or additional expenses that come with attending graduate school), then you could be considered one of those with the lucky ratio. That is, of course, unless you were one of the handful of folks that was able to work out a deal with either their parents or family members to avoid having to borrow that amount of money (and more) from the government. Once those additional costs are added, many students are looking at close to $100k in student loans and some even more.

When applying to jobs after finishing school, I explored many options until I eventually realized that I was not cut out for any setting other than an outpatient orthopedic clinic. While this may likely be the most “common” or “popular” setting amongst PTs, it is also notoriously known to be the one with the least amount of compensation. It is why when it came to receiving offers for jobs, I was having such a difficult time deciding what was appropriate for me to ask for.

I began researching all over the internet what a typical salary looked like in the state of Florida. It was gut wrenching to see that some websites spoke around $62-65k being the starting range. I could not believe that after so many years of schooling and what felt like sweat, blood, and tears (there were times when I meant this literally and not metaphorically) I would be making as little as that. After some deeper digging, I found out that the average salary for a PT in the state of Florida was around $72k.

Learning this began to give me some direction, but I still felt like something was not adding up to me. After being in school for 7 years making little-to-no money, $72k sounded like way more than I could handle. This was, of course, not including any sign on bonuses that were being offered by the different companies.

When I finally accepted a job as an outpatient orthopedic physical therapist, it was as if the company had done the same exact google search that I had because they offered me exactly that. Technically I was offered slightly less and a much smaller sign-on bonus, but because I had another offer elsewhere I was able to negotiate an increase in my offer. One thing they will not promote during the big “SIGN-ON BONUS” part of the job posting, is that this amount of money will not be given to you on the spot. No matter the amount offered, many times, companies will split it into equal payments throughout the span of one to two years. This is a way for them to guarantee that you will stay with the company for a certain amount of time. With the large turnover rate (especially in the outpatient orthopedic setting), this is a strategy that secures them a therapist for at least one year. Just beware, if you are ever offered a sign on bonus that is paid out in full at the beginning of your employment, check the fine print of your contract as you may be bound to this company for a certain period of time (usually one year) and would be required to pay back the full amount if you were to leave before this time period is met.

With all of this being said, it is important to inform yourself ahead of time of what to expect for each setting. At the end of the day, after all tax deductions and benefits, you must calculate that you will be making a lot less than you may be calculating. Add the $1k+ per month of loan payments on a standard 10 year repayment plan and it is a recipe for absolute disaster.