What is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant?

Certified occupational therapy assistants work under licensed occupational therapists' direction to help the clients by providing rehabilitative services to those with any form of impairment. They treat the clients by using therapeutic and self-care activities designed to improve function. Certified occupational therapy assistants earn an average sum of $51,000 annually or $25 per hour.

Certified occupational therapy assistants primarily help patients perform daily living activities and perform exercises as specified in a treatment plan. They monitor the patient's activities to ensure that they are performing the exercises correctly while offering encouragement. They also document patient's weekly progress in appropriate records while maintaining the office treatment areas.

Certified occupational therapy assistants typically hold a high school diploma or equivalent and current licensure as occupational therapy assistants in practicing state or nationally certified. It will be best to earn an associate degree, which usually takes two years to complete. Additionally, certified occupational therapy assistants typically combine classroom study with clinical fieldwork.

What Does a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Do

There are certain skills that many certified occupational therapy assistants 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 detail oriented, physical strength and compassion.

Learn more about what a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant does

How To Become a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant

If you're interested in becoming a certified occupational therapy assistant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 10.1% of certified occupational therapy assistants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.7% of certified occupational therapy assistants have master's degrees. Even though some certified occupational therapy assistants have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant
Top Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Jobs Near You

Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Career Paths

As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a certified occupational therapy assistant can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as certified nursing assistant, progress to a title such as team leader and then eventually end up with the title director of social services.

Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant

Average Salary for a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant

Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants in America make an average salary of $50,872 per year or $24 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $68,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $37,000 per year.
Average Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Salary
$50,872 Yearly
$24.46 hourly
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Roles and Types of Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant

The role of a certified occupational therapy assistant includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general certified occupational therapy assistant responsibilities:

  • Demonstrate and articulate sound clinical reasoning in treatment planning, implementation
  • Provide individualized documentation of progress comprehensive planning,
  • The assistant is expected to implement individually designed interventions based on occupational performance deficits in the areas of personal care, role/interaction skills, process skills, play, community integration/work,

There are several types of certified occupational therapy assistant, including:

Occupational Therapist

Role:

Generally, an occupational therapist prepares rehabilitative programs for disabled individuals to restore the essential functions needed daily. They use various treatment methods to help patients with physical, mental, emotional, or developmental disabilities.

In this field, you may work with individuals suffering from short-term and long-term impairments to improve conditions to advance their quality of life. This may include helping an individual with everyday life and occupation tasks. As a part of your work, you will combine aspects from various disciplines, including medicine, psychology, and sociology, to evaluate and implement comprehensive plans for patients.

If these professionals' education level is Bachelor's Degree, their average salary would be around $88,300 per year. At the same time, if you possess a Master's Degree, you can make a whopping salary of $1,39,000 annually.

  • Average Salary: $75,707
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Physical Therapy Technician

Role:

Physical Therapy Technician supports the Physical Therapists and Physical Therapy Assistants to plan and implement patient care. Physical therapy technicians provide administrative support and assist with assessing patients. They manage inventory and maintain equipment, and they often help receive incoming patients, record and stock inventory, and schedule appointments and treatments. Technicians are also in charge of cleaning equipment, washing linens, and performing clerical tasks.

Physical therapist skills include both soft and hard skills. This includes the ability to communicate information, listen actively, communicate verbally and in writing, and explain things with ease. Physical therapists must establish and foster relationships with patients as they help patients move through tough exercises. They must also be able to empathize with their patients to know how they are feeling and reacting to treatments. The educational requirement of a physical therapist technician is an associate's or bachelor's degree in physical therapy or kinesiology. Physical therapy technician makes an average salary of $69,890 per year.

  • Average Salary: $35,161
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Rehab Technician

Role:

Rehab technicians assist therapists and other medical personnel in their daily activities and therapy sessions. The technician's duty is to assist with patient intake, maintain patient records, and keep the facility and equipment clean. They also assist patients in reaching the examination and treatment room and conducting the initial assessments and basic diagnostic tests. Plus, they supervise physical therapy exercises, do paperwork and make an appointment, assist in basic life and advanced support techniques, perform EKGs, blood withdrawal, and computer order entry.

To be successful as a rehab technician, you should know therapeutic techniques, and you must also be a team player with exceptional interpersonal skills. A rehab technician must also be skilled with their hand when it comes to physical activities, and you must be able to communicate your ideas, thoughts, and opinions to those around you. To become a rehab technician, you must complete your high school education or GED, enroll in a nationally certified rehabilitation technician school, and pass the national exam through the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy ( NABCOT). A rehab technician's salary on average per year is $27,557.

  • Average Salary: $28,505
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree
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States With The Most Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active certified occupational therapy assistant jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where certified occupational therapy assistants earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California4,296$56,150
2Texas3,170$46,253
3New York1,993$62,570
4Ohio1,894$51,595
5Illinois1,809$47,856
6Virginia1,736$46,161
7Florida1,479$42,118
8New Jersey1,334$45,665
9Arizona1,148$49,249
10Missouri1,050$46,501
11Maryland799$39,889
12Oregon777$51,954
13Massachusetts724$40,672
14Kentucky611$51,039
15Louisiana570$38,625
16Alabama568$39,389
17Washington567$49,894
18North Carolina532$40,868
19Georgia529$43,411
20Oklahoma510$44,458
21Pennsylvania504$41,420
22Colorado472$53,568
23Indiana459$46,827
24New Hampshire406$50,213
25Michigan343$44,578
26Utah342$48,442
27Arkansas330$47,241
28Mississippi314$45,860
29Wisconsin312$45,413
30Tennessee311$43,811
31South Carolina307$50,238
32Connecticut304$51,548
33Minnesota268$41,663
34Kansas260$47,890
35Nevada251$59,073
36Iowa221$43,696
37South Dakota219$39,460
38West Virginia182$51,378
39North Dakota172$46,960
40New Mexico165$46,688
41Vermont155$49,032
42Nebraska154$46,762
43Alaska151$51,207
44Hawaii150$59,187
45Maine104$51,460
46Rhode Island91$56,771
47Wyoming87$42,385
48Delaware79$55,833
49Idaho79$55,336
50Montana48$52,508

Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Education

Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Majors

Occupational Therapy
83.4 %
Psychology
2.1 %
Health Sciences And Services
2.0 %

Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Degrees

Associate

83.7 %

Bachelors

10.1 %

Certificate

3.5 %

Top Colleges for Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

2. University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA • Private

In-State Tuition

$17,653

Enrollment

16,405

3. Emory University

Atlanta, GA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,306

Enrollment

6,975

4. Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH • Private

In-State Tuition

$49,042

Enrollment

5,131

5. Kettering College

Kettering, OH • Private

In-State Tuition

$12,960

Enrollment

610

6. University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, MD • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,595

Enrollment

30,184

7. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

8. University of Connecticut

Storrs, CT • Private

In-State Tuition

$15,730

Enrollment

18,830

9. Clarkson College

Omaha, NE • Private

In-State Tuition

$13,392

Enrollment

646

10. Maria College of Albany

Albany, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$15,140

Enrollment

876

Top Skills For a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant

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, 24.6% of certified occupational therapy assistants listed patients on their resume, but soft skills such as detail oriented and physical strength are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume
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Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume
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Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume

Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant diversity

Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Gender Distribution

Female
Female
85%
Male
Male
15%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among certified occupational therapy assistants, 84.8% of them are women, while 15.2% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among certified occupational therapy assistants is White, which makes up 70.8% of all certified occupational therapy assistants.

  • The most common foreign language among certified occupational therapy assistants is Spanish at 81.0%.

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Best States For a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a certified occupational therapy assistant. The best states for people in this position are New York, Hawaii, Nevada, and Rhode Island. Certified occupational therapy assistants make the most in New York with an average salary of $62,570. Whereas in Hawaii and Nevada, they would average $59,187 and $59,073, respectively. While certified occupational therapy assistants would only make an average of $56,771 in Rhode Island, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. New York

Total Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Jobs: 1,993
Highest 10% Earn:
$86,000
Location Quotient:
1.33

$62,570

Avg. Salary

View 1,993 Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Jobs In NY

2. Nevada

Total Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Jobs: 251
Highest 10% Earn:
$85,000
Location Quotient:
1.03

$59,073

Avg. Salary

View 251 Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Jobs In NV

3. Ohio

Total Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Jobs: 1,894
Highest 10% Earn:
$71,000
Location Quotient:
1.58

$51,595

Avg. Salary

View 1,894 Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Jobs In OH
Full List Of Best States For Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants

How Do Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants Rate Their Jobs?

3/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Reviews

3.0
Nov 2019
Pros

I absolutely loved working with the elderly and veteran populations in skilled nursing facilities and at the VA hospital. I thoroughly enjoy empowering people to live their best lives and I'm heart broken that I will no longer be able to find employment in this field.

Cons

I absolutely loved working as a COTA these past seven years but it has been filled with ups and downs. Working at skilled nursing facilities is difficult due to high productivity demands impacting therapist ability to give patient centered care. Now with the new patient driven payment model change to medicare laws, therapists are being laid off left and right. These therapists, like myself, will have the impossible task of trying to find work in the Seattle area - which has been flooded with newly graduated COTAs due to several OTA schools opening in this area. The jobs in pediatrics and at hospitals that are left will see in increase in competition as the displaces/laid off COTAs rush to those jobs.

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Top Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Employers

Most Common Employers For Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Life Care Centers of America$61,023$29.3436
2Central Ohio Transit Authority$54,893$26.3998
3Reliant Rehabilitation$53,547$25.7445
4Concept Rehab$53,287$25.6220
5Aegis Therapies$53,194$25.5783
6Functional Pathways$53,173$25.5625
7Sanford Health$52,800$25.3818
8Blue Sky Therapy$50,677$24.3620
9Rehab$50,319$24.1915
10Encore Rehabilitation Services$49,912$24.0061
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Updated April 6, 2023