Respiratory Therapists
Health ScienceO*NET 29-1126.00United States
Assess, treat, and care for patients with breathing disorders. Assume primary responsibility for all respiratory care modalities, including the supervision of respiratory therapy technicians.
- Median annual earnings
- $82,285
- Projected change
- +14.3%
- Typical education
- Associate degree
- Employment
- 141.23K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
82.8% of the workforce
Growing to 161.42K by 2035
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The work
What respiratory therapists do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Provide emergency care, such as artificial respiration, external cardiac massage, or assistance with cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
- Monitor patient's physiological responses to therapy, such as vital signs, arterial blood gases, or blood chemistry changes, and consult with physician if adverse reactions occur.
- Work as part of a team of physicians, nurses, or other healthcare professionals to manage patient care by assisting with medical procedures or related duties.
- Set up and operate devices, such as mechanical ventilators, therapeutic gas administration apparatus, environmental control systems, or aerosol generators, following specified parameters of treatment.
- Maintain charts that contain patients' pertinent identification and therapy information.
- Read prescription, measure arterial blood gases, and review patient information to assess patient condition.
- Inspect, clean, test, and maintain respiratory therapy equipment to ensure equipment is functioning safely and efficiently, ordering repairs when necessary.
- Relay blood analysis results to a physician.
- Explain treatment procedures to patients to gain cooperation and allay fears.
- Determine requirements for treatment, such as type, method and duration of therapy, precautions to be taken, or medication and dosages, compatible with physicians' orders.
- Make emergency visits to resolve equipment problems.
- Enforce safety rules and ensure careful adherence to physicians' orders.
- Educate patients and their families about their conditions and teach appropriate disease management techniques, such as breathing exercises or the use of medications or respiratory equipment.
- Perform bronchopulmonary drainage and assist or instruct patients in performance of breathing exercises.
- Conduct tests, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs), stress testing, or lung capacity tests, to evaluate patients' cardiopulmonary functions.
- Perform pulmonary function and adjust equipment to obtain optimum results in therapy.
- Demonstrate respiratory care procedures to trainees or other healthcare personnel.
- Use a variety of testing techniques to assist doctors in cardiac or pulmonary research or to diagnose disorders.
- Transport patients to the hospital or within the hospital.
- Teach, train, supervise, or use the assistance of students, respiratory therapy technicians, or assistants.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $63,669
- 25th percentile
- $74,526
- 50th percentile
- $82,285
- 75th percentile
- $98,738
- 90th percentile
- $118,040
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $82,285 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+14.3%faster than average
2025141,232 jobs
2035 projected161,417 jobs
20,185 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Associate degree
- 82.8%
- Bachelor's degree
- 12.1%
- Certificate
- 5.2%
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.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- 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.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- 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.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Registered Respiratory Therapists22,893 postings
- 02Respiratory Therapists22,270 postings
- 03Travel Respiratory Therapists6,127 postings
- 04Travel Registered Respiratory Therapists4,176 postings
- 05Respiratory Care Practitioners3,028 postings
- 06Certified Respiratory Therapists3,001 postings
- 07Neurodiagnostic Technicians1,806 postings
- 08NICU Respiratory Therapists1,503 postings
- 09Healthcare Specialist Respiratory Therapists734 postings
- 10Respiratory Therapy Managers683 postings
- 11Registered Respiratory Therapists/Certified Respiratory Therapists586 postings
- 12Cardiopulmonary Managers550 postings
- 13Hospital Respiratory Therapists491 postings
- 14Pediatric Respiratory Therapists480 postings
- 15Rehabilitation Therapy Aides465 postings
- 16Respiratory Therapy Supervisors413 postings
- 17Allied Respiratory Therapists405 postings
- 18Respiratory Care Managers385 postings
- 19Neonatal Respiratory Therapists356 postings
- 20Acute Care Registered Nurses293 postings
Top employers
- 01Aya Healthcare6,133 postings
- 02Soliant Health3,209 postings
- 03Titan Medical3,148 postings
- 04HCA Healthcare1,894 postings
- 05AMN Healthcare1,808 postings
- 06K&A Recruiting1,311 postings
- 07Ochsner Health1,192 postings
- 08MedPro Healthcare Staffing1,101 postings
- 09Encompass Health1,076 postings
- 10Mercy1,050 postings
- 11Triage Staffing1,022 postings
- 12Fusion Medical Staffing1,016 postings
- 13Accountable Healthcare Staffing1,006 postings
- 14Prime Time Healthcare867 postings
- 15Ingenovis Health844 postings
- 16Methodist Health System829 postings
- 17Medical Solutions679 postings
- 18Medical City Healthcare666 postings
- 19LeaderStat647 postings
- 20SSM Health Care640 postings
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