Testing a New Career
Most people try to find a new job, usually in the same field, when they become unemployed. Eric Knopp took the Myer-Briggs personality test and found a new career.
“I had done a lot of job jumping after getting out of college, and it was very frustrating,” says Knopp, who just completed his second year in the Institute’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program. “I was fortunate that my wife has a good job so I had a chance to try to find the right job for my career and our future.”
Knopp took the test hoping the Myer-Briggs test would show him how to best use his psychology degree from Boston University. And while he couldn’t have predicted that becoming a physical therapist would emerge as the top field for him, the test clicked because of his year of participating in Muay Thai, the national sport of Thailand.
“As you can imagine, we get a lot of injuries,” he says, noting that while coaching other kickboxers he began investigating methods of how to strengthen their bodies to help protect them from the physical rigors of the sport. “Going into physical therapy really did tie in with this personal interest.”
Once he made the unanimous decision, the 33-year-old plunged head-first into the academic ring and is determined to go the distance.
“I’m a little bit older than most of the other physical therapy students, and I hadn’t been in a classroom in years, but it’s working out very well,” he says.
The current recipient of the Charles Ely Trust Scholarship, Knopp is grateful to have the opportunity to focus his efforts into his schooling.
“Not having to work outside of school so I can keep my grades up is huge,” says the Jamaica Plain native. “I can’t tell you how important that is to me. I’m forever grateful.”
And while he has yet to solidify his plans for when he graduates in two years, it’s a good bet he will make the same impact in physical therapy as he has in the ring.