Career
Physical therapist assistants
Guide patients through exercises that restore movement.
$68,380
Median pay
+23.0%
Job growth, 2025–35
18,500
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, motivate, safeguard, and assist patients as they practice exercises or functional activities.
- Document patient information, such as notes on their progress.
- Observe patients during treatments to compile and evaluate data on their responses and progress and provide results to physical therapist in person or through progress notes.
- Instruct patients in proper body mechanics and in ways to improve functional mobility, such as aquatic exercise.
- Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment.
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 objects & tools?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Instruct, motivate, safeguard, and assist patients as they practice exercises or functional activities.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Monitoring.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
2 years of education after high school (associate's degree), for a median of $68,380 a year and 18,500 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Physical Therapy AssistantCIP 51.0806
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Physical Therapist Aides$35,240 · +4.0%
- Occupational Therapy Assistants$72,300 · +21.5%
- Occupational Therapy Aides$39,160 · +3.6%
- 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.
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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.