How to become an occupational therapist salary

Generally, an occupational therapist prepares rehabilitative programs for disabled individuals to restore the essential functions needed daily. They use various treatment methods to help patients with physical, mental, emotional, or developmental disabilities.

In this field, you may work with individuals suffering from short-term and long-term impairments to improve conditions to advance their quality of life. This may include helping an individual with everyday life and occupation tasks. As a part of your work, you will combine aspects from various disciplines, including medicine, psychology, and sociology, to evaluate and implement comprehensive plans for patients.

If these professionals' education level is Bachelor's Degree, their average salary would be around $88,300 per year. At the same time, if you possess a Master's Degree, you can make a whopping salary of $1,39,000 annually.

What Does an Occupational Therapist Do

Occupational therapists treat injured, ill, or disabled patients through the therapeutic use of everyday activities. They help these patients develop, recover, and improve the skills needed for daily living and working.

Learn more about what an Occupational Therapist does

How To Become an Occupational Therapist

Occupational therapists need at least a master’s degree in occupational therapy; some therapists have a doctoral degree. Occupational therapists also must be licensed.

Learn More About How To Become an Occupational Therapist

Top Occupational Therapist Jobs Near You

Occupational Therapist Career Paths

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of senior technician specialist you might progress to a role such as manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title registered nurse case manager.

Top Careers Before Occupational Therapist

Top Careers After Occupational Therapist

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Average Salary for an Occupational Therapist

Occupational Therapists in America make an average salary of $75,707 per year or $36 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $97,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $58,000 per year.

Average Occupational Therapist Salary

$75,707 Yearly

$36.40 hourly

What Am I Worth?

How to become an occupational therapist salary

Occupational Therapist Education

Occupational Therapist Majors

Occupational Therapist Degrees

Top Colleges for Occupational Therapists

1. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

2. Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA • Private

3. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

4. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

5. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

6. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

7. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

8. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

9. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

10. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

Top Skills For an Occupational Therapist

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 16.2% of occupational therapists listed patient care on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and patience are important as well.

  • Physical Therapy Services, 12.5%

Occupational Therapist Demographics

Occupational Therapist Gender Distribution

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among occupational therapists, 83.2% of them are women, while 16.8% are men.
  • The most common race/ethnicity among occupational therapists is White, which makes up 78.7% of all occupational therapists.
  • The most common foreign language among occupational therapists is Spanish at 56.0%.

Online Courses For Occupational Therapist That You May Like

Advertising Disclosure  The courses listed below are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the course, we may receive a commission.

Occupational Therapy Introduction - ACCREDITED CERTIFICATE

How to become occupational therapist, basic Psychology, Physiology & Anatomy, working with disabilities, children adults...

Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale

Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical syst...

Vohra Wound Care Certification for Facility-Based Nurses

The Vohra Wound Care Certification program was developed by Vohra Wound Physicians. Vohra is the largest group of wound physicians in the United States, with more than 20 years of clinical experience providing wound care services to more than 3000 skilled nursing facilities in 30 states, with thousands of patients treated every month. We believe every patient, family, nurse, and caregiver can be empowered through education. Hundreds of thousands of people have already benefited from this course...

Show More Occupational Therapist Courses

Best States For an Occupational Therapist

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an occupational therapist. The best states for people in this position are California, Alaska, Nevada, and Hawaii. Occupational therapists make the most in California with an average salary of $105,738. Whereas in Alaska and Nevada, they would average $98,525 and $95,125, respectively. While occupational therapists would only make an average of $94,336 in Hawaii, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

How Do Occupational Therapist Rate Their Jobs?

How to become an occupational therapist salary

What do you like the most about working as Occupational Therapist?

Geriatric population and working towards functional goal. Show More

What do you NOT like?

Clients don’t think they need to participate to get better. Show More


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Top Occupational Therapist Employers

Occupational Therapist Videos

How to become an occupational therapist salary

Day in the Life: Occupational Therapist

How to become an occupational therapist salary

Occupational Therapist, Career Video from drkit.org

How to become an occupational therapist salary

Occupational Therapist Salary | How Much Money Does an Occupational Therapist Make?

Becoming an Occupational Therapist FAQs

How long does it take to become a registered occupational therapist?

Becoming a registered occupational therapist can take 5-11 years. Most occupational therapists enter the occupation with a master's degree in occupational therapy.

Master's programs usually take two to three years to complete, and doctoral programs can take about three and a half years. However, some schools offer dual-degree programs in which the student earns a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in five years.

Is becoming an occupational therapist hard?

Yes, becoming an occupational therapist can be hard. Because it has specific requirements, examinations, and requires a license, it can take a lot of time and money.

Most occupational therapists enter the field with a master's degree. Master's degree programs are typically 2-3 years, and tuition can be costly. Before taking the required NBCOT exam, there are also fieldwork requirements, which cost over $500.

Is occupational therapy a dying field?

No, occupational therapy is not a dying field. In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment is projected to grow 17 percent from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average (about eight percent) for all occupations.

Occupational Therapist Assistant vs Physical Therapist Assistant

An occupational therapist assistant is a professional who aims to help people learn to complete tasks for independent living and carrying out job functions, while a physical therapist assistant is a professional that helps patients regain a range of motion, strength, and flexibility in affected areas of the body.

Occupational Therapist vs Speech Therapist

An occupational therapist is a medical professional who treats patients from head to toe, while a speech therapist is a professional who is narrowly focused on treating complications that affect a patient's speech, language, and swallowing ability.

Occupational therapist vs Physical therapist

Occupational therapists are individuals focused on improving the patient's ability to perform activities needed for daily living, while physical therapists help injured or ill people improve movement and manage pain.

What degree do you need to be an occupational therapist?

You need a master's degree to be an occupational therapist. Students can earn a bachelor's degree in a related field, like biology or physiology, before advancing to a master's program, or they can apply for a combined bachelor's/master's program.

What pays more OT or PT?

A physical therapist (PT) is paid a little more than an occupational therapist (OT).

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for PTs in 2020 was $91,010, whereas, for OTs, it was $86,280. However, as most jobs go, it depends on factors like location. Nevada is a top-paying state for both PTs and OTs, but it pays OTs more, possibly because of a scarcer number of OTs employed.

What qualifications do you need to be an occupational therapist?

The minimum qualifications to be an occupational therapist are completing Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE(r))-accredited educational program and passing the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) exam.

Search For Occupational Therapist Jobs

    Updated September 9, 2022

    What type of occupational therapist gets paid the most?

    Overall Highest Paid Occupational Therapy Positions.
    “Child Day Care Services” – $108,650..
    Management of Companies and Enterprises – $101,540..
    Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities – $93,870..
    Nursing and Skilled Nursing Facilities – $90,660..
    Home Health Services – $90,480..

    Is becoming an OT worth it?

    If you're passionate about becoming an occupational therapist, you won't regret it! The job flexibility and variety of job options combined with knowing you are truly making a difference in peoples' lives makes it a great career choice as long as you're prepared and you know the potential drawbacks you might encounter.

    Is becoming an occupational therapist hard?

    The short answer is: YES, occupational therapy school is hard. But so is physical therapy school, nursing school, medical school, pharmacy school, physician's assistant school, etc. All healthcare degrees are going to be challenging, and for good reason.

    How do I start my career in occupational therapy?

    To become an occupational therapist, you will need to earn both an undergraduate and graduate degree and pass the required licensure exams. You can expect to spend six to seven years in school: four years for an undergraduate degree and two to three years for a graduate degree (if you are attending school full-time).