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Occupational Therapist Assistant

A program that prepares individuals, under the supervision of occupational therapists, to direct patient participation in skill-enhancing, learning, and motivational tasks; correct or diminish pathologies; and to provide direct health education and promotion services. Includes instruction in human life span development, occupational therapy principles and practice skills, treatment planning and implementation, record-keeping and documentation, patient education and intervention, activity and program direction, and assistive services management.

Types of Degrees Occupational Therapist Assistant Majors Are Earning

Those studying Occupational Therapist Assistant can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	38
Associate’s Degree	3,087
Bachelor’s Degree	53

What Occupational Therapist Assistant Majors Need to Know

Studies in Occupational Therapist Assistant build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Occupational Therapist Assistant graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Occupational Therapist Assistant emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a Occupational Therapist Assistant program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Occupational Therapist Assistant careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Occupational Therapist Assistant graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.5 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.4 / 7
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.3 / 7
Working with Computers	4.3 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.3 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.2 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.1 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Occupational Therapist Assistant professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Learning management system LMS	Computer based training software	—
Collaborative editing software	Word processing software	—
Image scanning software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—
IBM SPSS Statistics	Analytical or scientific software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Occupational Therapist Assistant graduates include:

• Educational Therapy Teacher
• College Faculty Member
• Dietetics Teacher
• College Professor
• Surgery Teacher
• First Aid Teacher
• Physical Medicine Teacher
• Pathology Teacher
• Optometry Teacher
• Lecturer
• Oxygen Therapy Teacher
• Correctional Therapy Teacher
• Adjunct Instructor
• Recreation Therapy Aides Teacher
• Physical Therapy Professor

What Can You Do With a Occupational Therapist Assistant Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Occupational Therapist Assistant commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	10.7%	$46,663	$40,304–$53,022

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Occupational Therapist Assistant graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	31.6%
Master’s degree	24.8%
Doctoral degree	17.2%
Post-doctoral training	13.2%
Bachelor’s degree	9.5%
Postsecondary certificate	2.0%
Some college courses	1.6%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Occupational Therapist Assistant?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 87.6% of Occupational Therapist Assistant degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	2,784	87.6%
Men	394	12.4%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Occupational Therapist Assistant graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,917	60.3%
Asian	156	4.9%
Hispanic or Latino	526	16.6%
Black or African American	295	9.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native	29	0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	7	0.2%
Two or More Races	101	3.2%
Race Unknown	136	4.3%
International Students	11	0.3%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Occupational Therapist Assistant Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Occupational Therapist Assistant graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$27,434
4 years	$29,082
5 years	$32,352

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $32,352 — roughly 18% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Occupational Therapist Assistant Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Occupational Therapist Assistant. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	3	10
Bachelor’s	1	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Occupational Therapist Assistant Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Occupational Therapist Assistant graduates earn a median of $29,082 four years after completion — about 23% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	80,693
Medical/Clinical Assistant	52,819
Pharmacy Technician/Assistant	7,541
Physical Therapy Assistant	5,633
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services, Other	4,065
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, Other	2,445
Radiologist Assistant	1,513
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Assistant	614
Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant	431
Anesthesiologist Assistant	423
Speech-Language Pathology Assistant	363
Advanced General Dentistry	238

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.