Career
Occupational therapy assistants
Help patients rebuild the skills of daily life.
$72,300
Median pay
+21.5%
Job growth, 2025–35
8,100
Openings a year
Associate's degree
Typical education
2 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Instruct, or assist in instructing, patients and families in home programs, basic living skills, or the care and use of adaptive equipment.
- Maintain and promote a positive attitude toward clients and their treatment programs.
- Report to supervisors, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior.
- Implement, or assist occupational therapists with implementing, treatment plans designed to help clients function independently.
- Monitor patients' performance in therapy activities, providing encouragement.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on people & care, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Instruct, or assist in instructing, patients and families in home programs, basic living skills, or the care and use of adaptive equipment.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Service Orientation.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
2 years of education after high school (associate's degree), for a median of $72,300 a year and 8,100 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Occupational Therapist AssistantCIP 51.0803
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Occupational Therapy Aides$39,160 · +3.6%
- Physical Therapist Assistants$68,380 · +23.0%
- Physical Therapist Aides$35,240 · +4.0%
- Psychiatric Technicians$45,130 · +22.3%
- Respiratory Therapists$82,280 · +8.5%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
Not sure this fits who you are? Start with Vocational Finder →
Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.