Respiratory Care Therapy

Types of Degrees Respiratory Care Therapy Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many respiratory care therapy/therapist graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Associate Degree	5,059
Bachelor’s Degree	1,432
Undergraduate Certificate	161
Master’s Degree	123
Basic Certificate	70

What Respiratory Care Therapy Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to respiratory care therapy/therapist and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist Majors

Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Skills for Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist Majors

respiratory care therapy/therapist majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• 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.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist Majors

A major in respiratory care therapy/therapist will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Respiratory Care Therapy Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with respiratory care therapy/therapist:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Health Specialties Professors	25.9%	$97,370
Respiratory Therapists	23.3%	$60,280

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Respiratory Care Therapy?

This major is dominated by women with about 73% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of respiratory care therapy/therapist majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	98
Black or African American	180
Hispanic or Latino	218
White	746
International Students	70
Other Races/Ethnicities	120

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist, too. About 4.9% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Respiratory Care Therapy Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $51,380 to $122,320 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Respiratory Care Therapy

Some careers associated with respiratory care therapy/therapist require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to respiratory care therapy/therapist have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	3.2%
Some College Courses	0.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	60.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	17.8%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	2.5%
Master’s Degree	7.9%
Doctoral Degree	5.5%
Post-Doctoral Training	4.2%

Online Respiratory Care Therapy Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 408 schools offered some type of respiratory care therapy/therapist program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	8	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	8	0
Associate’s Degree	342	2
Bachelor’s Degree	2	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	14	4
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Respiratory Care Therapy Worth It?

The median salary for a respiratory care therapy/therapist grad is $62,500 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 57% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $452,000 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Respiratory Care Therapy

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to respiratory care therapy/therapist.

Major	Number of Grads
Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)	26,641
Physician Assistant	11,351
Radiologic Technology	9,790
Surgical Technology	7,583
Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician	5,396
Medical Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiation Therapy	4,850
Athletic Training	3,767
Other Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	1,911
Cardiovascular Technology/Technologist	1,405
Nuclear Medical Technology/Technologist	619
Electrocardiograph Technology/Technician	568
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technology	525
Electroneurodiagnostic/Electroencephalographic Technology/Technologist	379
Polysomnography	302
Perfusion Technology/Perfusionist	138
Mammography Technician/Technology	69
Radiation Protection/Health Physics Technician	51
Cardiopulmonary Technology	40
Hearing Instrument Specialist	32
Gene/Genetic Therapy	31
Orthopedic Technology	15

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.