Health & Medicine

Occupational Therapist

Help people of all ages do daily tasks again, like dressing, writing, and cooking, after injury or illness

Open interactive guide

What does an Occupational Therapist do?

Occupational therapists work in schools, hospitals, rehab centers, and clients' homes. They find what makes daily tasks hard, then teach new ways and adjust tools or rooms. Creative, practical problem solvers who are patient with others thrive.

A day in the life

8:00 AMReview the goals for each client on today's schedule
8:30 AMHelp a child practice holding a pencil and using scissors
10:30 AMTeach a stroke patient how to button a shirt
12:30 PMVisit a home to suggest a shower seat and grab bars
2:30 PMFit a hand splint and check that it is comfortable
4:30 PMWrite progress notes and talk with a family

What's great

  • Help people regain skills that matter to them
  • Work with kids, adults, or older people
  • Creative problem solving every day
  • Settings include schools, hospitals, and homes

The hard parts

  • Master's degree plus supervised fieldwork required
  • Progress can be slow for some clients
  • Paperwork required by insurance and schools
  • Lifting and assisting clients can strain the body

What is an Occupational Therapist's salary and outlook?

$51k – $128k
Salary Range
Master's degree
Typical Education
Growing

Typical pay in this guide runs from about $51,000 to $127,500 a year, with a midpoint around $85,000. These are planning figures for students, not a job offer or an official wage.

CareerLens rates the outlook as Growing.

For the official national outlook, see BLS Occupational Data.

How do you become an Occupational Therapist?

A common path is Master's (MOT) or doctorate (OTD) in occupational therapy, plus a state license. The ladder often runs from Staff Occupational Therapist to Occupational Therapist, then Rehabilitation Supervisor, and Director of Therapy Services. Other routes: Occupational therapy assistant with an associate degree first; Bachelor's in a health or science field before graduate school; Specialty certification in hand therapy or children's therapy.

  • Occupational therapy assistant with an associate degree first
  • Bachelor's in a health or science field before graduate school
  • Specialty certification in hand therapy or children's therapy

Career path

Entry level
Staff Occupational Therapist
Mid career
Occupational Therapist
Senior
Rehabilitation Supervisor
Executive
Director of Therapy Services

Will AI replace an Occupational Therapist?

How much will AI change this job?

Quite a bit

AI will help with some tasks in this job, while the most important parts stay human.

AI will assist paperwork, but hands-on therapy stays human.

Occupational therapists help people regain skills for daily life, like dressing or cooking. AI can help track progress and suggest exercises, but therapists still guide and adjust care in person. The heart of this job, working directly with people, will not change much.

AI can help with

  • Writing progress notes and treatment summaries
  • Suggesting exercise ideas based on patient data
  • Scheduling and organizing patient appointments

What stays human

  • Building trust with patients during therapy
  • Adjusting hands-on treatment in real time
  • Understanding a patient's emotions and motivation

Skills to build now

  • Practice clear writing for notes and reports
  • Join clubs or sports to learn body movement
  • Volunteer or help others to build empathy skills

Based on public research from Anthropic and OpenAI, drafted with AI, checked automatically, and read by a person. How we know

This describes how the work may change. It is not a prediction that the job will disappear.