Occupational Therapy Aides
Health ScienceO*NET 31-2012.00United States
Under close supervision of an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant, perform only delegated, selected, or routine tasks in specific situations. These duties include preparing patient and treatment room.
- Median annual earnings
- $39,111
- Projected change
- +3.5%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 5.16K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
36.8% of the workforce
Growing to 5.34K 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 therapy aides do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Encourage patients and attend to their physical needs to facilitate the attainment of therapeutic goals.
- Report to supervisors or therapists, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, attendance, and accomplishments.
- Observe patients' attendance, progress, attitudes, and accomplishments and record and maintain information in client records.
- Prepare and maintain work area, materials, and equipment and maintain inventory of treatment and educational supplies.
- Instruct patients and families in work, social, and living skills, the care and use of adaptive equipment, and other skills to facilitate home and work adjustment to disability.
- Assist occupational therapists in planning, implementing, and administering therapy programs to restore, reinforce, and enhance performance, using selected activities and special equipment.
- Transport patients to and from the occupational therapy work area.
- Manage intradepartmental infection control and equipment security.
- Demonstrate therapy techniques, such as manual and creative arts and games.
- Perform clerical, administrative, and secretarial duties, such as answering phones, restocking and ordering supplies, filling out paperwork, and scheduling appointments.
- Supervise patients in choosing and completing work assignments or arts and crafts projects.
- Adjust and repair assistive devices and make adaptive changes to other equipment and to environments.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $29,295
- 25th percentile
- $35,815
- 50th percentile
- $39,111
- 75th percentile
- $46,774
- 90th percentile
- $70,175
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $39,111 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+3.5%average or slower
20255,157 jobs
2035 projected5,336 jobs
179 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 36.8%
- Associate degree
- 28.4%
- Some college
- 24.3%
- Certificate
- 8.7%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 1.8%
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.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- 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.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- 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.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants2,422 postings
- 02Rehabilitation Aides1,691 postings
- 03Rehabilitation Therapy Aides810 postings
- 04Rehabilitation Technicians784 postings
- 05Therapy Aides755 postings
- 06Rehabilitation Specialists591 postings
- 07School Speech Language Pathologists378 postings
- 08Home Health Rehabilitation Physical Therapists311 postings
- 09Rehabilitation Therapy Technicians269 postings
- 10Home Health Physical Therapists203 postings
- 11Therapy Technicians177 postings
- 12Mental Health Rehabilitation Specialists145 postings
- 13Vocational Rehabilitation Specialists145 postings
- 14Occupational Therapy Aides134 postings
- 15Exercise Physiologists133 postings
- 16Physical Therapy Technicians132 postings
- 17Psychiatric Rehabilitation Specialists132 postings
- 18Restorative Aides105 postings
- 19Activities Aides103 postings
- 20Psychosocial Rehabilitation Specialists103 postings
Top employers
- 01Aya Healthcare966 postings
- 02Soliant Health550 postings
- 03Jackson Therapy Partners374 postings
- 04Select Medical214 postings
- 05Encompass Health160 postings
- 06US Physical Therapy137 postings
- 07ProCare Therapy129 postings
- 08Amergis114 postings
- 09University of Pittsburgh Medical Center103 postings
- 10Aramark97 postings
- 11PT Solutions Physical Therapy95 postings
- 12Hope Network94 postings
- 13Triage Staffing76 postings
- 14H2 Health74 postings
- 15Providence74 postings
- 16Sheppard Pratt Health System72 postings
- 17Sunbelt Staffing69 postings
- 18Northwell Health68 postings
- 19Mountain Land Rehabilitation67 postings
- 20UnitedHealth Group64 postings
Keep looking