A little career letter
Find Your Flow
find what moves you, one small step at a time
Vol. 2 · Friday, June 19
Start here · the headline job
Physical therapist assistant
You work right alongside a physical therapist, walking people through the exercises that get them moving again after surgery, an injury, or a stroke. It is hands-on, on your feet, and deeply social, you coach, cheer, and high-five all day. It fits you almost perfectly: active, people-loving, great with older patients, and zero needles. And the path in is short, an associate degree, not the long doctorate the lead therapist needs.
More than one kind of day
Pick the setting that fits you
This is not one job, it is a key that opens a bunch of doors. You could work in a bright outpatient clinic, in sports rehab with athletes, in home health visiting people where they live, or in a hospital. Same license, different vibe, so you can chase the setting that feels most like you and switch later if you want.
The part you would love
You get to work with older people
So much of this work is with older patients getting their strength and independence back, and you are wonderful with them. You would see the same people week after week, watch them go from barely standing to walking out on their own, and be the reason they kept showing up. That is the good stuff, real progress you can see.
Once you are licensed
Travel PTA: get paid to live in Hawaii
Here is the dream version. Once you have your license, you can take travel assignments, short 13-week jobs anywhere in the country, including Hawaii. They pay well and usually cover your housing on top. You already have a passport and you love to go places, so this is built for you: spend a season on the beach, then pick somewhere new.
The lifestyle
Active, flexible, and people love the work
You are on your feet and moving all day, not stuck at a screen. Schedules can flex, part-time and PRN (work-when-you-want) shifts are everywhere, and PTAs report high satisfaction because they spend their day helping people get better. Add travel assignments and your passport, and this turns into a life, not just a paycheck.
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How to get qualified (you are already partway there)
You have already been to the Arapahoe info session, so you know this one. From here there are two real, accredited paths to the same license, and the pick is yours.
Path 1 · Arapahoe CC (you toured it) ›Path 1, Arapahoe Community College, the Associate of Applied Science you already looked at. The prerequisite classes (an English, a biology) you can knock out right at Red Rocks Community College, the one by the house. The selective program application opens April 1, so the time before then is perfect for finishing those prereqs and a few shadow hours.
Path 2, Pima Medical Institute in Denver, the one you toured. It is an associate degree done in about 18 months, faster and more structured, with hands-on clinicals built in. It costs more, but your mom already said she would help cover it.
Both get you to the exact same license, so there is no wrong choice and nobody is deciding it for you. The only real next step is a small one, and it is yours: pick the path that feels right and take the first class or make the first call.
Starting a path is not signing your life away. Almost nobody keeps one career forever. The only thing that keeps you stuck is choosing nothing.
Made with love, just for you. Reply any time and we will chase down whatever sparks your interest. xo