This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Krystal Pulaski, a 24-year-old physical therapy assistant who lives in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. It’s been edited for length and clarity.
I earned a BS in kinesiology in May 2023, and then I graduated with an Associate of Applied Science degree in January 2025.
After passing the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) in April 2025, I began applying for physical therapy assistant positions in Texas. I was applying to any job I felt like I’d be a good fit for. The offers started rolling in about three weeks later.
I received multiple job offers to work as a physical therapy assistant. Among those included was one from a skilled nursing facility that paid around $30 an hour, and one from an outpatient facility that paid around $26 an hour.
I accepted the job paying $30 an hour in San Marcos, Texas, and started my new job in May 2025.
As I was figuring out my career path, healthcare wasn’t always part of my plan
I was a soccer player, and I planned to join the military right after college. That changed after I went through physical therapy myself following a series of injuries. The initial injury that led me to work with a physical therapist happened while I was at a semi-pro soccer training in the summer of 2020. I was doing a drill that tore my meniscus in my knee.
Being on the patient side showed me how much impact a physical therapist can have. Physical therapy helped me regain strength, function, confidence, and independence. I realized I wanted a career where I could give others that same hope and support. That experience ultimately inspired me to become a PT assistant.
I applied for physical therapy jobs while preparing for my fourth major knee surgery
My doctors had told me that after the surgery, I wouldn’t be able to walk for six weeks. The timing made my job search feel uncertain because I saw all my classmates getting jobs immediately and felt behind. I asked myself, “What if all these jobs are gone by the time my knee is done healing?”
I tried to decide whether to wait and apply after I was done recovering and able to walk again, or take the risk and apply to see if a job was out there that would work with me during my recovery.
I decided I’d apply and see if the job would be willing to wait for me to walk again, or find a job that would work with me while I was recovering.
I chose to be open about my situation during interviews
Somewhere in the middle of my interviews, I brought up, “I’m going to be having major knee surgery this month.” My interview for one of the jobs was a week before the surgery was scheduled, my interview for the second job was the day before my surgery, and my interview for the third job was the Monday after my surgery.
I told the interviewers that I was willing to do what I could and would work with them while I wasn’t ambulatory, but that I’d need to be non-weight bearing for six weeks. There were a couple of hiring managers who said they needed someone who could start immediately, which I understood, but there were others who said, “If you want to start working a couple of weeks after your surgery, that’s fine — or we can wait until you’re able to walk again.”
I feel like being candid about my situation helped me get multiple offers because if you’re open and honest, people are more willing to work with you. That turned out to be true, since after sharing my personal situation, I received multiple offers from employers willing to accommodate my recovery or wait until I was fully healed.
The job I chose offered the best work-life balance
The hours are very flexible. I come in at 6:30 a.m., and once I’m finished with my patient caseload, I can leave. At the latest, sometimes I’m there until 4 p.m.
I also chose this job because the environment is vibrant and outgoing, and the complexity of the patients keeps me learning, as I adapt exercises and treatment techniques within each patient’s plan of care.
When I was considering other job offers, one of the biggest factors for me was the commute. Some of the positions would’ve required a much longer drive into areas with extremely heavy traffic. I knew that spending a lot of time commuting each day would’ve hurt my work-life balance and overall quality of life.
The other offers were still appealing for other reasons, but the position I accepted stood out because it offered more flexibility in addition to higher pay and a manageable commute.
Starting my career with a personal situation that was challenging to share with employers was a little nerve-racking
It also confirmed that I chose the right path. Physical therapy is a world where you never stop learning. Each patient brings their own challenges, and that’s what keeps the job interesting and pushes me to grow.
About a year into my first role, I started looking for a new job to be closer to my boyfriend in Pennsylvania. I started as a physical therapy assistant at an outpatient clinic in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, in August.
The transition has been busy, but I’m excited to keep building my skills, forming connections with my patients, and starting this next chapter of building my career.
