Occupational Therapist Assistant

Types of Degrees Occupational Therapist Assistant Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many occupational therapist assistant graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Associate Degree	3,575
Bachelor’s Degree	42
Undergraduate Certificate	29
Basic Certificate	1

What Occupational Therapist Assistant Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to occupational therapist assistant 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 Occupational Therapist Assistant Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in occupational therapist assistant should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Skills for Occupational Therapist Assistant Majors

When studying occupational therapist assistant, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• 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.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.

Abilities for Occupational Therapist Assistant Majors

As a occupational therapist assistant major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• 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.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Occupational Therapist Assistant Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with occupational therapist assistant:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Health Specialties Professors	25.9%	$97,370
Occupational Therapy Assistants	29.0%	$60,220

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Therapist Assistant?

This major is dominated by women with about 93% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of occupational therapist assistant majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	6
Black or African American	2
Hispanic or Latino	7
White	26
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	1

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Occupational Therapist Assistant

Some careers associated with occupational therapist assistant require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to occupational therapist assistant 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)	1.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	47.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	10.0%
Master’s Degree	21.0%
Doctoral Degree	10.7%
Post-Doctoral Training	8.2%

Online Occupational Therapist Assistant Programs

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)	5	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	2	0
Associate’s Degree	236	5
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Occupational Therapist Assistant

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to occupational therapist assistant.

Major	Number of Grads
Medical/Clinical Assistant	52,088
Pharmacy Technician/Assistant	6,707
Physical Therapy Assistant	5,993
Other Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	4,121
Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance)	3,195
Radiologist Assistant	1,446
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Assistant	616
Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant	454
Anesthesiologist Assistant	382
Speech-Language Pathology Assistant	295
Pathology/Pathologist Assistant	187
Lactation Consultant	58

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.