Occupational Therapists
Health ScienceO*NET 29-1122.00United States
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.
- Median annual earnings
- $99,870
- Projected change
- +16.6%
- Typical education
- Master's or Professional degree
- Employment
- 171.33K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
86.4% of the workforce
Growing to 199.76K by 2035
Explore this career by location
Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.
Showing United States
Loading available locations…
Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
Loading related ASU learning
The work
What occupational therapists do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- 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.
- Evaluate patients' progress and prepare reports that detail progress.
- Select activities that will help individuals learn work and life-management skills within limits of their mental or physical capabilities.
- Train caregivers in providing for the needs of a patient during and after therapy.
- Consult with rehabilitation team to select activity programs or coordinate occupational therapy with other therapeutic activities.
- Lay out materials such as puzzles, scissors and eating utensils for use in therapy, and clean and repair these tools after therapy sessions.
- Design and create, or requisition, special supplies and equipment, such as splints, braces, and computer-aided adaptive equipment.
- Recommend changes in patients' work or living environments, consistent with their needs and capabilities.
- Develop and participate in health promotion programs, group activities, or discussions to promote client health, facilitate social adjustment, alleviate stress, and prevent physical or mental disability.
- Provide training and supervision in therapy techniques and objectives for students or nurses and other medical staff.
- Help clients improve decision making, abstract reasoning, memory, sequencing, coordination, and perceptual skills, using computer programs.
- Conduct research in occupational therapy.
- Advise on health risks in the workplace or on health-related transition to retirement.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $69,956
- 25th percentile
- $81,365
- 50th percentile
- $99,870
- 75th percentile
- $116,963
- 90th percentile
- $134,529
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $99,870 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+16.6%much faster than average
2025171,326 jobs
2035 projected199,755 jobs
28,429 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Master's or Professional degree
- 86.4%
- Bachelor's degree
- 13.6%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Occupational Therapists59,959 postings
- 02Travel Occupational Therapists11,747 postings
- 03School Occupational Therapists11,512 postings
- 04Home Health Occupational Therapists7,787 postings
- 05Pediatric Occupational Therapists3,270 postings
- 06Outpatient Occupational Therapists2,973 postings
- 07Rehabilitation Occupational Therapists2,089 postings
- 08Acute Care Occupational Therapists1,660 postings
- 09Inpatient Occupational Therapists1,460 postings
- 10Home Care Occupational Therapists1,186 postings
- 11Acute Occupational Therapists1,160 postings
- 12Inpatient Rehabilitation Occupational Therapists940 postings
- 13Licensed Therapists/Occupational Therapists699 postings
- 14Registered Occupational Therapists677 postings
- 15Hand Therapy Occupational Therapists595 postings
- 16Orientation and Mobility Specialists575 postings
- 17Certified Occupational Therapists539 postings
- 18Skilled Nursing Facility Travel Occupational Therapists481 postings
- 19Skilled Nursing Facility Occupational Therapists456 postings
- 20Early Intervention Occupational Therapists377 postings
Top employers
- 01Soliant Health8,907 postings
- 02Encompass Health3,490 postings
- 03AMN Healthcare3,226 postings
- 04CompHealth3,048 postings
- 05Jackson Therapy Partners2,020 postings
- 06Aveanna Healthcare1,690 postings
- 07Amergis1,678 postings
- 08UnitedHealth Group1,649 postings
- 09Genesis HealthCare1,534 postings
- 10Triage Staffing1,094 postings
- 11ProCare Therapy1,092 postings
- 12Aya Healthcare1,066 postings
- 13MAS Medical1,064 postings
- 14HealthPRO Heritage1,004 postings
- 15Optum944 postings
- 16Reliant Rehabilitation942 postings
- 17LifePoint Health908 postings
- 18Stepping Stones903 postings
- 19MedPro Healthcare Staffing902 postings
- 20Supplemental Health Care879 postings
Keep looking