Physical Therapy Assistant

Types of Degrees Physical Therapy Assistant Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many physical therapy assistant graduations there were in 2021-2022 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Associate Degree	6,171
Undergraduate Certificate	193
Bachelor’s Degree	90
Basic Certificate	45

What Physical Therapy Assistant Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to physical therapy 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 Physical Therapy Assistant Majors

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

• 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.
• 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.
• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

Skills for Physical Therapy Assistant Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to physical therapy assistant:

• 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.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

Abilities for Physical Therapy Assistant Majors

A major in physical therapy assistant will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Physical Therapy Assistant Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with physical therapy assistant:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Physical Therapist Assistants	31.1%	$58,040

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Physical Therapy Assistant?

This major is dominated by women with about 65% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	364
Black or African American	357
Hispanic or Latino	983
White	3,853
International Students	40
Other Races/Ethnicities	574

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Physical Therapy Assistant. About 0.6% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Physical Therapy Assistant Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to physical therapy assistant is $57,750. This median refers to 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 Physical Therapy Assistant

Some careers associated with physical therapy 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.

Find out what the typical degree level is for physical therapy assistant careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	99.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	0.2%

Online Physical Therapy 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)	15	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	380	4
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	1	0
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 Physical Therapy Assistant Worth It?

The median salary for a physical therapy assistant grad is $57,750 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 45% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $357,000 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Physical Therapy Assistant

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to physical therapy assistant.

Major	Number of Grads
Medical/Clinical Assistant	54,553
Pharmacy Technician/Assistant	7,327
Occupational Therapist Assistant	4,508
Other Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	4,145
Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance)	3,373
Radiologist Assistant	1,360
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Assistant	571
Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant	375
Anesthesiologist Assistant	371
Speech-Language Pathology Assistant	299
Pathology/Pathologist Assistant	157
Lactation Consultant	49

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.