Occupational Therapist Assistant

Types of Degrees Occupational Therapist Assistant Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many occupational therapist assistant graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Associate Degree	4,759
Undergraduate Certificate	48
Bachelor’s Degree	40
Basic Certificate	1

What Occupational Therapist Assistant Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to occupational therapist assistant were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Occupational Therapist Assistant Majors

Occupational Therapist Assistant majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• 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.
• Time Management - Managing one’s own time and the time of others.

Abilities for Occupational Therapist Assistant Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a occupational therapist assistant student include the following:

• 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
Occupational Therapy Assistants	29.0%	$60,220

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Occupational Therapist Assistant?

This major is dominated by women with about 88% 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	245
Black or African American	377
Hispanic or Latino	651
White	3,109
International Students	24
Other Races/Ethnicities	353

Geographic Diversity

Occupational Therapist Assistant appeals to people across the globe. About 0.5% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Occupational Therapist Assistant Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $60,410 to $122,320 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to occupational therapist assistant. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

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 Occupational Therapist Assistant

Some careers associated with occupational therapist assistant 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 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

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 234 schools offered some type of occupational therapist assistant 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)	3	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	2	0
Associate’s Degree	227	3
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

Is a Degree in Occupational Therapist Assistant Worth It?

The median salary for a occupational therapist assistant grad is $60,410 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 51% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $410,200 after 20 years!

Trades 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	56,439
Physical Therapy Assistant	7,420
Pharmacy Technician/Assistant	7,393
Other Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	3,406
Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance)	3,031
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Assistant	709
Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant	365
Speech-Language Pathology Assistant	189
Radiologist Assistant	106
Anesthesiologist Assistant	82
Lactation Consultant	42

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.