Healthcare Practitioners
Occupational Therapists
Also called: Assistive Technology Trainer, Certified Hand Therapist (CHT), Early Intervention Occupational Therapist, Home Health Occupational Therapist
US median pay
$100,330
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+14.8%
faster than average
Openings a year (US)
10,000
169,600 employed
Typical entry education
Master's degree
Preparation 5/5 · Extensive preparation
What this job is
Assess, plan, and organize rehabilitative programs that help build or restore vocational, homemaking, and daily living skills, as well as general independence, to persons with disabilities or developmental delays. Use therapeutic techniques, adapt the individual's environment, teach skills, and modify specific tasks that present barriers to the individual.
What they do day to day
- Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients.
- Complete and maintain necessary records.
- Plan, organize, and conduct occupational therapy programs in hospital, institutional, or community settings to help rehabilitate persons with disabilities because of illness, injury or psychological or developmental problems.
- Plan and implement programs and social activities to help patients learn work or school skills and adjust to handicaps.
- Select activities that will help individuals learn work and life-management skills within limits of their mental or physical capabilities.
- Evaluate patients' progress and prepare reports that detail progress.
- Train caregivers in providing for the needs of a patient during and after therapy.
- Lay out materials such as puzzles, scissors and eating utensils for use in therapy, and clean and repair these tools after therapy sessions.
- Consult with rehabilitation team to select activity programs or coordinate occupational therapy with other therapeutic activities.
- Design and create, or requisition, special supplies and equipment, such as splints, braces, and computer-aided adaptive equipment.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Service Orientation4.1/5
- Social Perceptiveness4.0/5
- Judgment and Decision Making4.0/5
- Instructing4.0/5
- Time Management3.8/5
- Coordination3.8/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.2/5
- Systems Evaluation3.1/5
Knowledge
- Therapy and Counseling4.7/5
- Psychology4.5/5
- Customer and Personal Service4.3/5
- Medicine and Dentistry4.2/5
- English Language4.1/5
- Education and Training3.9/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 5 of 5 — Extensive preparation. Usually a graduate degree (master's, PhD, MD, JD) and extensive experience.
Typical entry education (BLS): Master's degree.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Master's degree86%
- Bachelor's degree14%
Who this job suits
Mostly Social
Helping, teaching and caring for people
Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.