Physical Therapist Side Hustle Ideas

Physical Therapist Side Hustle Ideas

With the added stress of prices increasing nationwide, many are turning to other avenues of income that they can get in their prospective careers. 

Physical therapists are no different and the PT hustle is indeed real.

With the skills that PT professionals have, it’s no surprise that many have turned to using their expertise in a variety of ways to provide for themselves.

Furthermore, pursuing a physical therapist side hustle can also help you in your career as it offers a diverse portfolio of work and clientele, as well as assist in making you a more marketable and approachable practitioner. 

Here are just a few of the ways that physical therapists have been utilizing and sharing their skills.

1. Freelance Writing

There are countless companies and organizations that are looking for copywriters and freelance writers to write for their medical journals and blogs. However, the writer needs to be a medical professional themselves.

That’s where you come in.

Many jobs specify what type of medical professional, and there are many organizations seeking physical therapists to write on their behalf about the struggles and tribulations that PTs experience in their line of work. 

It is also a very big asset for these companies to have reputable sources speaking on their behalf on these educational subjects, and so PTs are wanted in many different places. Indeed, freelance writing has proven to be a stable physical therapist side hustle for many PT pros.

Pros

• Profitable: the more experience in writing you have, the more you get paid; it’s simple. Oftentimes, freelance writers may make more than a physical therapist would. This boils down to a number of factors, but in a lot of instances, companies are very willing to pay big for reputable and experienced writers. 
• Flexibility: As a freelance writer, you are able to choose what jobs you pick up, thus allowing you to have full control over your schedule, and prioritize whatever is important to you.
• Remote: Writing doesn’t require you to come to a physical location; almost always, freelance writers are able to work from wherever they want, as long as you are completing your writing assignments on schedule.
• Credibility: This could prove to be very helpful in establishing you as a credible physical therapist; if you’re published, it could definitely make you stand out as a reputable PT.

Cons

• Competition: As you can imagine, such a great gig can be very hard to land, especially if you lack experience. However, as an expert in PT, the competition shouldn’t be as big as other general writing inquiries. 
• Low Profit: Remember that high pay I mentioned earlier? Well, that will take a little bit of experience. Those first few gigs you get may not pay as high as you’d like in the beginning, but once a few of them are under your belt, the compensation will get higher.
• Lack of Control: You may not enjoy writing things others tell you to, quite frankly. Completing assignments that are not your own ideas may not be your thing, but as an expert you should have some sort of input and creative freedom on the context of the writing.
  
  

2. Blogging

Writing for other businesses and being told the prompts may bore you or end up making you feel stifled - that’s where blogging can offer a solution. 

Blogging for yourself as an expert in the field of physical therapy may be a good avenue for someone who is seeking a slow-building physical therapist side hustle on the side of their full time job, since it most likely may take some time for it to take off. But, as a creative outlet and potential full-time career, it has some great benefits.

Pros

• Ability to Grow Fast: With social media and video content propelling some medical professionals to their full-time blogging and media jobs, blogging gives you the opportunity to build your name and PT brand fast – if you know what you’re doing.
• High Profit: Unlike freelancing, there is no limit to how much you can earn with your own blog. If you gain many readers, listeners, whatever it may be – your blog can earn you seven figures. Along with ads, sponsorships, and possible ebooks and courses you make, blogging can be extremely lucrative.
• Creative Freedom: As the owner and writer of your platform, blogging offers you the most creative freedom. The ideas, concepts, deals and everything in between is all dependent on you, and what you want to produce and write.

Cons

• No Initial Income: Unless you have a platform of some sort already, your blog won’t make any money right away. Depending on you and your social media proficiency, it may take a very long time, if ever, to produce income. Luckily, there are so many resources available to help you market and advertise your blog.
• Time Consuming: If you want to make blogging your main source of income, it may take a lot of work on your part to ensure it grows and that you have a consistent audience. Social media, marketing, site building, research – all of this goes into blogging, and more.
• Patience: Blogging takes patience. There may be times when you have a large amount of traffic on your site, and other times where it may feel like you’ve hit a dead-end. Regardless, if you put in the time and effort, patience is the last step in the game.
  
  

3. Consulting

A great way for physical therapists to earn income on the side, or as their main job is to consult others on PT. 

If you specialize in a particular part of physical therapy, or simply have decades of experience in the field, you can certainly consult for various companies who are seeking a physical therapy expert. Consulting has been a tried and true PT side hustle for a long time.

Pros

• High Compensation: Since you’re an expert serving a very specialized role in a company, these positions are typically compensated pretty well.
• Potential Full-Time: If it’s a right fit, companies will often hire you on as a full-time employee, once they see your expertise is what they were seeking and that you are an asset to the company.

Cons

• Job Hunt: Finding the right fit and company who is seeking you may be tough, especially if you live in a scarce area. Regardless, any positions can be remote, but the job hunt can still feel like it’s taking too long.
• Job Security: Depending on what the company is looking for, the position may not be full time and may also just be a contract for a few months; this may prove to be an issue for some who are seeking full-time, long-term employment.
  
  

Find Success in Your Physical Therapy Side Hustle

As a PT professional, there are a few options in terms of physical therapist side hustles, many of which may offer some people more flexibility and work/home life balance. Regardless of your situation, these are definitely options to look into if you desire a change of scenery, and wish to continue using your skill set in a different environment. 

PtEverywhere (think “Physical Therapist Everywhere” AND “Patient Everywhere”) was founded with an athlete’s mindset and a lofty objective: to create a new paradigm for physical therapists and patients, one with a modern approach to using technology to create a new level of interactive communication between physical therapists and their patients, while also accelerating therapist and patient successes, both inside and outside of the clinic.