The rewards come from the accomplishments in people lives. I worked with a gentleman that thought it was over, but we worked with him until he could walk on stairs again. He broke down crying, because he never thought he would be able to do that again. Making a difference for people like that is the cool part.

I was exposed to this career field at a young age; when I was 2 years old, I was run over by a riding lawnmower. 42 operations and many hours of physical therapy later, I know now that Mayo Clinic truly saved my life. That is one of the reasons that I'm a therapist -- I am trying to give something back that I received. The experience kindled my fire for physical therapy. I learned early that this field provides experiences that I enjoy, like the technical yet caring atmosphere with very close patient interaction. I need to closely listen to the patient and learn what's happening, and I have no problem taking a half hour just to figure that out. Typically I arrive around 7:30 a.m. every day. After reviewing my patient list and background information, I start to see patients at about 8-8:30 and begin the treatment programs. I like the flexibility of my position; sometimes I work until 4:30 p.m. and sometimes until 6:00. The expectation is you at least get 40 hours in per week, but your schedule can be flexed.

I love developing personal relationships; I could not have a job without people interaction. I think that a lot of people become therapists because they love people; quite frankly, you have your hands on people half of your day. In some situations people start in the ICU and aren't even able to talk or respond to you, so you start to work with them at square one. You follow them for 2 to 3 weeks and you see them go from unresponsiveness to walking out of the hospital on their own. Through the team effort of working with them day in and day out, success is made ... I see the fruits of that labor.

To find a career path that interests you, do some research, look for opportunities to observe, career days or any other experience that will provide you career information, and really visualize different career fields.