Activity Therapist Overview
Working as an Activity Therapist
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an activity therapist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $22.13 an hour? That's $46,022 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 1,400 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does an Activity Therapist Do
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.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an activity therapist, we found that a lot of resumes listed 14.6% of activity therapists included treatment plans, while 11.7% of resumes included recreational activities, and 11.2% of resumes included mental health. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the activity therapist job title. But what industry to start with? Most activity therapists actually find jobs in the health care and non profits industries.
How To Become an Activity Therapist
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 46.6% of activity therapists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 37.4% 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.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an activity therapist. When we researched the most common majors for an activity therapist, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on activity therapist resumes include associate degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an activity therapist. In fact, many activity therapist jobs require experience in a role such as internship. Meanwhile, many activity therapists also have previous career experience in roles such as recreation therapist or volunteer.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
Activity Therapist Career Paths
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 is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for an Activity Therapist
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Sc Department of Public Safety Activity Therapist I-Uec Activity Therapist I-Uec | Sc Department of Public Safety Sc Department of Public Safety | 11/14/2020 11/14/2020 | $27,52711/14/2020 $27,527 |
State of Illinois Activity Therapist (Upward Mobility Target Title) Activity Therapist (Upward Mobility Target Title) | State of Illinois State of Illinois | 11/14/2020 11/14/2020 | $47,76011/14/2020 $47,760 |
Sc Department of Public Safety Activity Therapist (#021548) Kirkland Correctional Institution, Columbia Lead Activity Therapist (#021548) Kirkland Correctional Institution, Columbia Lead | Sc Department of Public Safety Sc Department of Public Safety | 08/28/2020 08/28/2020 | $36,52308/28/2020 $36,523 |
State of Illinois Activity Therapist-OPT MC (Upward Mobility Target Title) Activity Therapist-OPT MC (Upward Mobility Target Title) | State of Illinois State of Illinois | 03/25/2020 03/25/2020 | $46,48803/25/2020 $46,488 |
Sc Department of Public Safety Activity Therapist Activity Therapist | Sc Department of Public Safety Sc Department of Public Safety | 05/24/2019 05/24/2019 | $26,98805/24/2019 $26,988 |
Calculate your salary
Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
Top Colleges for Activity Therapists
1. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
2. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
3. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Public
4. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Public
5. SUNY Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY • Public
6. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Public
7. New York University
New York, NY • Private
8. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Public
9. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
10. Howard University
Washington, DC • Private
Top Skills For an Activity Therapist
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, 14.6% of activity therapists listed treatment plans on their resume, but soft skills such as leadership skills and listening skills are important as well.
- Treatment Plans, 14.6%
- Recreational Activities, 11.7%
- Mental Health, 11.2%
- Group Therapy, 9.4%
- Crisis Intervention, 8.3%
- Other Skills, 44.8% See All Activity Therapist Skills