1. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216
An Activity Therapist needs to have communication, leadership, and coordinating skills. Most Activity Therapists work in the health care, non-profit, and city government industries. You will be required to plan, direct, and coordinate medically-approved recreation programs for patients in nursing homes, hospitals, or skilled care homes. You will need to coordinate sports, trips, drama, social activities, as well as arts and crafts. You may need to assess a patient's condition to do activities and recommend the appropriate recreational activity.
An Activity Therapist will also perform administrative activities like maintaining files and processing paperwork. You will need to keep equipment in good repair as well as controlling resources. You will need to be a leader of volunteers or staff members who assist in activities. You will need at least a bachelor's degree or extensive social work experience, sports management, and be an intern as a recreation therapist or volunteer. You can make an average yearly salary of $42,000.
There are certain skills that many activity therapists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed leadership skills, listening skills and speaking skills.
If you're interested in becoming an activity therapist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 71.4% of activity therapists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 14.1% of activity therapists have master's degrees. Even though most activity therapists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of recreation therapist you might progress to a role such as program coordinator eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title lead therapist.
What Am I Worth?
The role of an activity therapist includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general activity therapist responsibilities:
There are several types of activity therapist, including:
A therapist is the keeper of secrets. Neither therapist nor client is likely to advertise what is going on during sessions. You might have pinned down therapists as doctors of psychology who try to help the weak and crazy among us.
Well, the truth is contrary: it is a humble and courageous gesture to seek the help of a professional, not only in moments of crisis, trying to deal with harmful mental patterns or toxic core beliefs, which cause suffering to the patient and his/her or her environment alike, but also on a preventive basis.
So, just as much as it is the job of therapists to diagnose mental health problems and propose and conduct treatments, it is also their responsibility to make sure a diagnosis will never be necessary.
As a treatment coordinator, you will assist doctors and other medical professionals in performing treatment procedures and giving medications to patients. You will perform administrative duties like scheduling medical appointments, informing patients about the various treatment plans, maintaining medical information on the database, and processing payments for medical procedures. You will also collaborate with the insurance agencies to verify the eligibility status of patients and their information. As a treatment coordinator, you will work with patients in the recovery period, and you will manage treatment plans recommended by the doctor. Additionally, you will ensure patients take the necessary medication and ensure that they adhere to treatment plans.
To become a treatment coordinator, you need at least a high school diploma or its equivalent. Some employers prefer an associate's degree. You must possess organization, planning, interpersonal, computer, and communication skills and must have at least a year of relevant work experience. Treatment coordinators earn an average salary of $41,249 per annum. This ranges between $29,000 and $59,000.
Recreation therapists are responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating recreation-based treatment programs for people with disabilities, injuries, or illnesses. They work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, and government parks and recreation departments.
These therapists use a variety of modalities, including arts and crafts; drama, music, and dance; sports and games; aquatics; and community outings to help maintain or improve a patient's physical, social, and emotional well-being. Educational requirements to qualify for the position include a bachelor's degree in recreational therapy or a related field such as art therapy and physical therapy.
It usually takes a person four to five years to become a recreation therapist. A small number of states within the United States require licensing. While you may not need a license in your state, most employers prefer to hire recreation therapists with the Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) credential.
Recreation therapists' employment is projected to grow 8% in the coming years, much faster than the average for all occupations. The median pay for a normal workweek is $23.18 an hour, which equates to $48,220 a year. The position is highly rewarding, both emotionally, monetarily, and physically.
Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
---|---|---|---|
1 | California | 4,030 | $73,735 |
2 | Texas | 2,656 | $48,246 |
3 | Illinois | 1,644 | $46,153 |
4 | New York | 1,565 | $63,754 |
5 | Pennsylvania | 1,503 | $57,551 |
6 | Georgia | 1,476 | $45,573 |
7 | Ohio | 1,400 | $50,660 |
8 | North Carolina | 1,221 | $42,250 |
9 | Indiana | 1,203 | $56,825 |
10 | New Jersey | 1,125 | $59,894 |
11 | Virginia | 1,081 | $47,576 |
12 | Washington | 1,003 | $63,222 |
13 | Michigan | 942 | $49,530 |
14 | Missouri | 904 | $47,797 |
15 | Maryland | 859 | $59,877 |
16 | Colorado | 831 | $48,512 |
17 | Tennessee | 707 | $45,154 |
18 | South Carolina | 696 | $46,756 |
19 | Wisconsin | 673 | $41,514 |
20 | Minnesota | 627 | $51,015 |
21 | Alabama | 538 | $49,956 |
22 | Iowa | 505 | $45,036 |
23 | Oregon | 494 | $74,623 |
24 | Kansas | 486 | $43,886 |
25 | Kentucky | 477 | $47,955 |
26 | Oklahoma | 440 | $45,962 |
27 | Nebraska | 383 | $50,521 |
28 | Arkansas | 328 | $51,841 |
29 | Utah | 247 | $67,704 |
30 | Nevada | 246 | $66,934 |
31 | Massachusetts | 219 | $54,587 |
32 | Maine | 218 | $50,995 |
33 | Idaho | 198 | $60,678 |
34 | North Dakota | 192 | $63,992 |
35 | Florida | 183 | $47,651 |
36 | Montana | 176 | $48,793 |
37 | Delaware | 165 | $45,097 |
38 | Arizona | 67 | $55,249 |
39 | Connecticut | 45 | $57,889 |
40 | Mississippi | 37 | $61,887 |
41 | Louisiana | 35 | $48,719 |
42 | New Hampshire | 29 | $52,385 |
43 | West Virginia | 27 | $50,459 |
44 | Rhode Island | 27 | $42,688 |
45 | South Dakota | 22 | $48,279 |
46 | New Mexico | 19 | $57,449 |
47 | Hawaii | 13 | $47,605 |
48 | Wyoming | 6 | $48,993 |
49 | Vermont | 5 | $49,820 |
50 | Alaska | 3 | $70,038 |
New York, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216
Saint Louis, MO • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,399
Enrollment
7,356
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$6,798
Enrollment
31,503
New York, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$7,182
Enrollment
16,205
Stony Brook, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$9,625
Enrollment
17,407
Seattle, WA • Private
In-State Tuition
$11,207
Enrollment
30,905
New York, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
Tampa, FL • Private
In-State Tuition
$6,410
Enrollment
31,321
Durham, NC • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
Washington, DC • Private
In-State Tuition
$26,756
Enrollment
6,166
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 29.3% of activity therapists listed patients on their resume, but soft skills such as leadership skills and listening skills are important as well.
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Activity Therapist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Activity Therapist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
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Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jefferson County Health Center | $64,471 | $31.00 | 4 |
2 | Queens Health Systems | $64,335 | $30.93 | 5 |
3 | Mental Health Center | $58,567 | $28.16 | 6 |
4 | BronxCare Health System | $57,992 | $27.88 | 4 |
5 | Spectrum for Living | $53,608 | $25.77 | 14 |
6 | United Way of Anchorage | $51,173 | $24.60 | 7 |
7 | Philhaven | $51,100 | $24.57 | 8 |
8 | Tri-County Mental Health Services | $50,984 | $24.51 | 5 |
9 | Delaware Center for Justice | $50,321 | $24.19 | 6 |
10 | Pine Rest | $50,113 | $24.09 | 7 |