What Do Occupational Therapist Do?
Job Description & Duties Assess, plan, organize, and participate in 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.
A Day in the Life of an Occupational Therapist (OT)
- Train caregivers how to provide for the needs of a patient during and after therapy.
- Test and evaluate patients’ physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients.
- Recommend changes in patients’ work or living environments, consistent with their needs and capabilities.
- Help clients improve decision making, abstract reasoning, memory, sequencing, coordination, and perceptual skills, using computer programs.
- Complete and maintain necessary records.
- Plan, organize, and conduct occupational therapy programs in hospital, institutional, or community settings to help rehabilitate those impaired because of illness, injury or psychological or developmental problems.
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Qualities of an Occupational Therapist (OT)
Occupational Therapists state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
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.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Other Occupational Therapist (OT) Job Titles
- Registered Occupational Therapist
- Independent Living Specialist
- Occupational Therapist (OT)
- Job Trainer
- Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist
Are There Job Opportunities for Occupational Therapists?
There were about 130,400 jobs for Occupational Therapist in 2016 (in the United States). New jobs are being produced at a rate of 23.8% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 31,000 new jobs for Occupational Therapist by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 10,200 job openings in this field each year.
The states with the most job growth for Occupational Therapist (OT) are Utah, Arizona, and Colorado. Watch out if you plan on working in Kansas, Rhode Island, or Minnesota. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Do Occupational Therapists Make A Lot Of Money?
The typical yearly salary for Occupational Therapists is somewhere between $55,490 and $120,750.
Occupational Therapists who work in California, New Jersey, or Nevada, make the highest salaries.
How much do Occupational Therapists make in each U.S. state?
| State | Annual Mean Salary |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $83,810 |
| Alaska | $86,860 |
| Arizona | $94,800 |
| Arkansas | $81,810 |
| California | $95,160 |
| Colorado | $89,770 |
| Connecticut | $90,780 |
| Delaware | $86,020 |
| District of Columbia | $94,360 |
| Florida | $81,520 |
| Georgia | $82,060 |
| Hawaii | $83,010 |
| Idaho | $81,230 |
| Illinois | $83,940 |
| Indiana | $79,870 |
| Iowa | $80,740 |
| Kansas | $78,720 |
| Kentucky | $79,460 |
| Louisiana | $85,490 |
| Maine | $72,160 |
| Maryland | $89,230 |
| Massachusetts | $87,160 |
| Michigan | $77,940 |
| Minnesota | $74,050 |
| Mississippi | $81,590 |
| Missouri | $75,120 |
| Montana | $74,940 |
| Nebraska | $76,850 |
| Nevada | $100,970 |
| New Hampshire | $79,850 |
| New Jersey | $96,600 |
| New Mexico | $81,660 |
| New York | $88,370 |
| North Carolina | $84,390 |
| North Dakota | $67,420 |
| Ohio | $85,720 |
| Oklahoma | $82,240 |
| Oregon | $90,720 |
| Pennsylvania | $81,030 |
| Rhode Island | $83,600 |
| South Carolina | $78,470 |
| South Dakota | $69,390 |
| Tennessee | $84,870 |
| Texas | $89,360 |
| Utah | $85,300 |
| Vermont | $76,840 |
| Virginia | $93,010 |
| Washington | $81,250 |
| West Virginia | $81,080 |
| Wisconsin | $73,390 |
| Wyoming | $82,010 |
Tools & Technologies Used by Occupational Therapists
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Occupational Therapists may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Email software
- Word processing software
- Spreadsheet software
- FileMaker Pro
- Internet browser software
- HMS
- Screen reader software
- Text to speech software
- Screen magnification software
- Speech recognition software
- Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR System
- Rehab Documentation Company ReDoc Suite
- BillingTracker
- Language arts educational software
- Text scanning software
- Math educational software
How do I Become an Occupational Therapist (OT)?
Education needed to be an Occupational Therapist:
How many years of work experience do I need?
Where Occupational Therapists Work
The table below shows the approximate number of Occupational Therapists employed by various industries.
Other Jobs You May be Interested In
Those interested in being an Occupational Therapist may also be interested in:
Those who work as an Occupational Therapist sometimes switch careers to one of these choices:
References:
Image Credit: Barbara E. Carver via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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