Any occupational or speech and language therapists about?

[AuntVictoria]

I'm thinking of doing a two year masters to retrain as either an occcupational therapist or a speech and language therapist, and I wondered if there are any about - do you enjoy your job? Did you find it easy to find work? What are the hours like? I really want to retrain but I have two small children and I'm worried that I'll either retrain and not find a job, or the hours will be crazy.

I'm an Occupational therapist qualified 2016, as a mature student. I have predominantly worked in social care specialising in equipment and also as a driving assessor. It's a good job where you can work in many settings with all health conditions inc mental health . The pay is in line with the NHS.

The negatives are there is a big expectation for us to do everything as there seems to be a lack of clarity in what an OT does, this can make the expectation of employers unmanageable at times and leave you feeling overwhelmed but i suspect that may be usual for other roles too. I would advise doing a nhs rotation on qualifying as you will learn skills there that will stand you in good stead throughout yr career. I would also advise moving around jobs a bit as you will learn so much wherever you are .

I'm neither but work with dc who need both, and there are always vacancies they can;t fill.
Obviously, this might vary, depending on where you live, and on how flexible you can be about where you live or travel to.

SaLTs particularly can go into Private work once they get more experience, which can be a better earner than working for NHS or Education, although less secure of course.

Publically funded positions generally, have a good reputation for staff to be part time should they so wish, and I presume a lot of OT work is either NHS or Social Care and SaLT work NHS or Education.

I also studied as a single parent and worked as a single parent too. It was manageable , hairy at times but ok

I am also a OT working in adult social care. I qualified as a mature student almost 10 years ago. I LOVE my job. It is fab. There are so many varied opportunities for OTs and I like the freedom and flexibility of community work.

There are significant organisational challenges eg lots of paperwork and lengthy processes and a very high demand which can create stress and pressure. However every job has its challenges and the day to day work and the outcomes we can get when working with service users is motivation enough for me!