Marcus J., OTR/L — Travel Therapy Mentor

About Marcus

Marcus was three years into a comfortable hospital OT position in Houston when a fellow therapist made an offhand comment that stuck with him: "I make more in three months of travel than you do in six." He spent the next six months skeptical, researching, and eventually convinced enough to try one contract. That was four years ago.

The transition from permanent hospital employment to travel wasn't without friction. Marcus found that many recruiters didn't fully understand OT scope — they'd pitch him contracts that weren't right for his specialty, undersell his marketability in IRF settings, or fail to communicate what supervision expectations looked like at different facilities. "It took me a while to find people who actually understood what an OTR in acute care brings to a facility," he says. "Once I did, the whole experience got a lot better."

Marcus has worked acute care at large teaching hospitals, community hospitals, and two inpatient rehab facilities — in Texas, Colorado, New York, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania. He's passionate about helping OTs understand their market value, particularly in settings like IRF and acute care where there's often more leverage than travelers realize.

How Marcus Mentors

Marcus works especially well with OTs who are:

• Currently in a permanent position and seriously considering the switch to travel
• Wondering whether OT travel is as viable as PT travel (it is — Marcus can break down the numbers)
• Trying to evaluate whether a recruiter genuinely understands OT scope and placement
• Looking to break into acute care or IRF settings specifically

What He's Learned About Agencies

Marcus has worked with three agencies over his career. His experience has been that agency quality varies more for OTs than for PTs — because OT market knowledge isn't universal among recruiters. He now works primarily with an agency where his recruiter has a healthcare background, can speak to OT-specific credentialing requirements, and doesn't try to push him into settings that aren't right for his specialty.

"I've referred a few OT colleagues to ProTherapy because their recruiters have been straight with them about OT-specific contracts. That's rare enough to be worth mentioning."

A Typical Conversation with Marcus

Marcus does most of his mentoring over a short video call or asynchronous messages. He's particularly good at helping you think through the financial comparison between your current permanent salary (with benefits) and a travel package — a comparison that's more complicated than it looks and where many permanent OTs underestimate what they'd actually gain.