Do You Want Fries With That?
You may find that you're not making enough money as a "therapist" in your particular job setting. If you've checked the median pay scale at similar settings in your area, a setting change might be in order. I've written a number of times about this topic for
Advance, and it bears repeating again and again. It also beats working your way up to Head Fry Cook at the local fast food restaurant.
Now, as Head Fry Cook, you *could* eventually be your own boss, but then if you were a Fully Qualified Brain Surgeon or Centerfold Model, that would also be true. If you're reminding yourself that you got into the field to help people, it's time to look at the various ways you can still be in respiratory care and help them.
MULTIPLE OPTIONS
Geographically, you have to consider what's available. I remember the "good ole days" where a one year stint in Saudi Arabia netted you $75,000, and I think it was tax free. Do you really want to take a trip around the world? You might be saying a resounding yes to that. As long as you have freedom to travel, a life (however long lived) as a traveling RT is an option.
Should you start on that road, literally and figuratively, find out the buying power of your earnings where you go. Just because you're in a new setting won't promise that your cash will travel as far as you do.
My experience in medical equipment has taught me that I'm still wary of cylinders (and I believe that they may just have their own consciousness), but it's an option I prefer to extended patient care.
Investigate some creative possibilities with marketing your respiratory skills. Pulmonary doctors may need someone in-office to assess patients and give stat treatments. Much depends on the physician's office.
DO YOU CARRY THE MEMBERSHIP?
Some therapists popped into the field by way of nursing, or vice versa. If you have more initials after your name than those ending in RT, you have exponentially increased your scope in job relocation.
You can also carry out a short term plan to add credentials, including the now-popular Asthma or Tobacco Educator. While your irritation with your current pay scale or duties might be tipping you to "exit stage right" from the field, don't make rash judgements.