Physio Information & Question Thread

[K888]

Once again cheers for the reply! Few questions to ask again too.. Haha

1. Did the average salary level for being a Physiotherapy play much of a role in deciding to do it? I know interest in the course is of paramount importance over the money - but at the end if the day the money still is significant. So I'm just wondering what you were thinking on this when you chose to do it?

Nope. Don't think I considered the salary for a physio once when contemplating what I'd do. Plus, physios don't exactly get paid bucketloads of money haha. Whilst I definitely value financial stability, pay was not something I looked at. I wanted to make sure I was going into physio for the right reasons - I worked my butt off to get in so I could use my skills to help people improve their lives, so I could learn about the human body, and so I could do something where I have the chance to have an impact on health.

2. I've been researching a bit about physios, and I've read that the more older physios tend to suffer aches here and there, which I'm assuming is due to constant practice of Physiotherapy? The stuff I've seen in this is a bit vague too so I don't know how much credibility this has, what do you think?

Hmm, yeah, physio is definitely an intensive job, and you use your body (particularly your hands) a lot! It's why from day one they have been teaching us about proper handling and safety, because you can't help people if you're not in good health yourself If you don't look after yourself whilst practicing, for sure you're gonna develop some problems further down the line - that's not to say every single physio who practices will have health issues, though.
It's like with any job, though - a person who has a 9-5 desk job will likely experience low back pain from sitting all day (and a myriad of other things). A paramedic might have dodgy knees or a dodgy back, from lifting patients. Maybe a chef will get bad wrists from using a knife all day. You've just gotta look after yourself, and you'll be fine. Can guarantee you that it's not the case that every physio has to retire by the age of 45 from wear and tear haha. It's certainly not the most physically intensive job out there, so don't stress.

[thelolcat]

Yeah I think I might want to do Physiotherapy, but then again the benchmark is quite high and to be completely honest I don't think I can hit that ATAR either. I do have an interest in this course but it's not hundred percent though, however I know I don't have much interest in areas like engineering, commerce, business or science (most) too. Other than that, both campuses for physio that I'm considering are two hours away (Monash/Latrobe) and the closest would be Melbourne but the process is tedious since I'd have to take the b. Science first before Specialising I think.

Anyway thanks for the reply and information about physio K888!

[K888]

Yeah I think I might want to do Physiotherapy, but then again the benchmark is quite high and to be completely honest I don't think I can hit that ATAR either. I do have an interest in this course but it's not hundred percent though, however I know I don't have much interest in areas like engineering, commerce, business or science (most) too. Other than that, both campuses for physio that I'm considering are two hours away (Monash/Latrobe) and the closest would be Melbourne but the process is tedious since I'd have to take the b. Science first before Specialising I think.

Anyway thanks for the reply and information about physio K888!

Not a problem!

Definitely don't stress about your ATAR - I didn't even think I'd get over a 90 before results were released, and ended up getting into the 97s! Plus, with SEAS and access schemes offered by unis, it gives you a better chance. Don't let the ATAR of a course put you off - there's always ways around it, plus why not give it a shot? You can always put other courses with lower entry requirements further down your preference list.

In terms of location - have you considered living on campus? This is what I'm doing, as I grew up over 2 hours from any university, and I'd really recommend it!

Honestly, it's completely normal to not really know what you want to do, and it's perfectly fine! In terms of UniMelb - maybe studying a more generalised degree first would help you decide a bit more clearly on what you want to do? Realistically, it's only an extra one or two years - not a lot in the grand scheme of things, and you might be thankful for the extra bit of life experience before picking a specialised course.

[thelolcat]

Yeah I'll have to wait until my ATAR comes out to see how things turn out, so yeah haha, thanks again! If you don't mind, could I PM you sometime when I need to ask a few more Q's? Ty!

[K888]

Yeah I'll have to wait until my ATAR comes out to see how things turn out, so yeah haha, thanks again! If you don't mind, could I PM you sometime when I need to ask a few more Q's? Ty!

Not a problem! Always happy to help.

Feel free to PM if you have any questions you don't feel comfortable asking here, but I'd also love it if you could post most of your questions here, as that way my responses will hopefully help out even more people!

[thelolcat]

Oh I see, no worries and with that being said - is it a good idea to transfer from b science at Melbourne into their physio program? I've heard that it can be difficult to transfer successfully since it requires top straight A kind marks in order to do so. Also you are allowed to change course preferences after the ATAR comes out and also after your initial submission with VTAC right?

[Sine]

Oh I see, no worries and with that being said - is it a good idea to transfer from b science at Melbourne into their physio program? I've heard that it can be difficult to transfer successfully since it requires top straight A kind marks in order to do so. Also you are allowed to change course preferences after the ATAR comes out and also after your initial submission with VTAC right?

yup you can change course prefs after ATARs come out

Yeah I think I might want to do Physiotherapy, but then again the benchmark is quite high and to be completely honest I don't think I can hit that ATAR either. I do have an interest in this course but it's not hundred percent though, however I know I don't have much interest in areas like engineering, commerce, business or science (most) too. Other than that, both campuses for physio that I'm considering are two hours away (Monash/Latrobe) and the closest would be Melbourne but the process is tedious since I'd have to take the b. Science first before Specialising I think.

Anyway thanks for the reply and information about physio K888!

I'm not doing physio so not the best person to be answering this but I've had friends and known others who haven't quite made it into physio/changed their mind so they ended up transferring after a year in science @ monash. Generally they ask for a 70WAM to be considered . Some of the people's WAMs who transferred were relatively high however others just creeped in with low 70's so it is definitely a posssibility if you don't make it on the first go.

[K888]

Oh I see, no worries and with that being said - is it a good idea to transfer from b science at Melbourne into their physio program? I've heard that it can be difficult to transfer successfully since it requires top straight A kind marks in order to do so.

Well, it's definitely gonna be competitive - there's only a limited number of spots in the course after all! Don't write yourself off though - have faith in your abilities, work hard, and you'll be fine.
There are several people in my course though, that didn't get into the Melbourne or La Trobe post-grad courses because of marks or whatever - not sure of the specifics So yeah, I'd just have it in the back of your mind that you need to be switched on during your undergrad degree if you choose to do physio post-grad, but definitely don't let that discourage you. 

Also you are allowed to change course preferences after the ATAR comes out and also after your initial submission with VTAC right?

Just a +1 to what Sine said - yeah, you can change your course preferences before and after ATARs are released, before and after offers are released, etc etc. If you scroll down on the page in this link, you'll see the change of preference dates. If you have more questions about the specifics of VTAC - I'd really recommend having a chat to your careers advisor at school

[thelolcat]

Cheers! Yeh I might be considering physio at Melb just because of location, but the thing that doesn't appeal to me is that I think it takes 6 years in total - 3 yrs for b science and 3 yrs for physio; as opposed to spending 4 years at LT or Monash in spite of the inconvenient location...

Btw, just out of sheer curiosity, what is the ethnic demographic like for physio at Monash? Secondly, I checked the physio ATAR guarantee at Monash and it turns out to be like 86?? Just wanted to double check as its lower than I had imagined. Thanks!

[K888]

Cheers! Yeh I might be considering physio at Melb just because of location, but the thing that doesn't appeal to me is that I think it takes 6 years in total - 3 yrs for b science and 3 yrs for physio; as opposed to spending 4 years at LT or Monash in spite of the inconvenient location...

Btw, just out of sheer curiosity, what is the ethnic demographic like for physio at Monash? Secondly, I checked the physio ATAR guarantee at Monash and it turns out to be like 86?? Just wanted to double check as its lower than I had imagined. Thanks!

RE: demographic - honestly, couldn't tell you 100% haha but it's a mix of Aussies and Internationals. Definitely majority Aussies, but also a reasonable proportion of Internationals.

And 86 is for the Monash Guarantee - which is different to the clearly-in ATAR. The Monash Guarantee is for people who have experienced financial disadvantage, live in a low socio-economic area, are an Indigenous Australian, or attend an under-represented school.
It's sort of like Monash's own SEAS thing, and it's a uni-wide thing In a nutshell, the clearly-in ATAR for the people who qualify for the Monash Guarantee is lower, because they recognise that these factors can disadvantage you compared to the people who haven't experienced those circumstances.

[MuffinMan]

Hello! Not sure if it's too late to ask, but just a quick question. (two actually)
I know that physio and sports are interlinked, but do you have to be good at sports to do physiotherapy?
Also with the heavy workload, are there actually people 'failing' the course? Or is it just intense but generally manageable?
Thank you in advance!

[K888]

Hello! Not sure if it's too late to ask, but just a quick question. (two actually)

Hi there! Not too late at all - always happy to answer questions

I know that physio and sports are interlinked, but do you have to be good at sports to do physiotherapy?

Haha, absolutely not. Like, the only time you're involved in sports as a physio is if you choose to work in that area once you graduate, and even then, you're not the one participating in it! It's also a bit of a misconception that physios purely work in sport - realistically, it's such a tiny amount of what you can do as a physio, and not a huge percentage of physios work in sport - most work in hospitals, rehab, private practice, etc!
Like sure, a lot of people in my cohort are sporty people, but I think that's more to do with the fact that they've had injuries through playing sport, and their experiences with physios have inspired them to follow that career path.
But yeah, literally no sport involved with the course. We don't have to slam dunk a basketball to pass our exams haha.

Also with the heavy workload, are there actually people 'failing' the course? Or is it just intense but generally manageable?
Thank you in advance!

Can only speak for my cohort and not for other unis, but I think the latter is more accurate. I know that some people will fail each semester, but it's only a handful of people - it's a tough workload, but if you're dedicated, and you want to be there, it's manageable I was speaking to my unit coordinator about this last semester, actually - he said it's a tough course, but the average mark for the semester tends to always be around 70, which is like, really good - so I guess that says something about the academic abilities of the cohort, and also the dedication of people to do well. You have to work hard, but it's definitely not a course set up to make you fail.

Hope this helped! Let me know if you want any clarification.

[MuffinMan]

That cleared things up a lot.
Thanks for your time! This has been extremely helpful

[ilikenoodlez]

helloo, i'm planning on doing physio at uni next year but the main turn off for me is the 65k avg salary and the fact that it peaks at around 80k even after 10+ years of working. i heard that there's heaps of opportunity to earn more, but how reliable is this information, as in how realistic is it to be able to earn more than this? i'm not 100% set on physio yet, but it's what i found most appealing of the courses i've searched, but honestly im not sure if i'd be happy to earn this much considering how competitive it is to get into physio

[Sine]

helloo, i'm planning on doing physio at uni next year but the main turn off for me is the 65k avg salary and the fact that it peaks at around 80k even after 10+ years of working. i heard that there's heaps of opportunity to earn more, but how reliable is this information, as in how realistic is it to be able to earn more than this? i'm not 100% set on physio yet, but it's what i found most appealing of the courses i've searched, but honestly im not sure if i'd be happy to earn this much considering how competitive it is to get into physio

I don't know much about the salaries but I guess a 60-80k average means that if you are actually a really good physio you might be able to earn closer to 100-120k which isn't too bad (I've seen these numbers thrown around elsewhere).

I think it's important that you have a think about exactly why you want to do physiotherapy because I'm sure there are plenty of students doing/wanting to do physio regardless of how much they earn (within reason of course). With this reflection you might be able to work out a career  balancing the earning/competitiveness that you are worried about; although my personal opinion that this aspect of choosing a course isn't important.