Occupational Therapist Assistant
Impact: Direct Patient Care
Occupational therapy assistants help occupational therapists provide treatments and procedures to clients. They guide clients in therapeutic activities, teach new ways of accomplishing everyday tasks, instruct in the use of special equipment, and record client progress.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Extensive
- Team vs solo
- Team: 70%, Solo: 30%
- Client facing
- Always
- Impact visibility
- High
- Travel
- Limited Remote
- Schedule flexibility
- Structured
- Remote work
- On-site Only
- Typical work hours
- 40 hours
- Stress level
- Moderate
At a glance
- Median salary
- $68,340 per year
- Entry-level
- $55,000
- Senior
- $80,000
- Growth by 2033
- 18% (Much faster than average)
- Demand
- Growing Fast
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- High
- Typical student debt
- $20,000 - $40,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Therapeutic Exercise
- Documentation
- Adaptive Equipment Use
Soft skills
- Communication
- Empathy
- Patience
Technical complexity: Moderate
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Associate's Degree
- Licensing
- Yes
- Years to mid-career
- 5
- Years to senior
- 10
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Occupational Therapy Assistant
- Occupational Therapist (with further education)
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- Low
- AI disruption risk
- Low
- Demand trend
- Growing Fast
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 4/10
- Meaning
- 4/10
- Work-life balance
- 3.5/10
- Prestige
- 6/10
- Social perception
- High