Outpatient physical therapist vs behavior technician

The differences between outpatient physical therapists and behavior technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an outpatient physical therapist has an average salary of $66,359, which is higher than the $38,026 average annual salary of a behavior technician.

The top three skills for an outpatient physical therapist include patients, physical therapy and rehabilitation. The most important skills for a behavior technician are autism, applied behavior analysis, and behavior analysis.

Outpatient physical therapist vs behavior technician overview

	Outpatient Physical Therapist	Behavior Technician
Yearly salary	$66,359	$38,026
Hourly rate	$31.90	$18.28
Growth rate	17%	9%
Number of jobs	119,973	47,541
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	41	34
Years of experience	-	-

What does an outpatient physical therapist do?

An outpatient physical therapist specializes in diagnosing and treating a patient's movement dysfunction often caused by an illness or injury. Their responsibilities revolve around studying a patient's medical history, performing initial assessments, crafting a specific care and treatment plan, and discussing the extent of treatments with patients and their families. An outpatient physical therapist may also provide advice to families or guardians on how to assist and care for patients at home, prescribe medication, and perform follow-up consultations.

What does a behavior technician do?

The job of a behavioral technician is to offer mental health services to patients who struggle with behavior-related problems. Behavior technicians uphold the highest standard of quality of care. They are the ones who enforce learning programs like self-help, communication, and play skills. It is their duty to incorporate medical care training for parents, so caregivers or family members can support and teach skills during family activities. One must be good in written and verbal communication, can work with team members, and develop good interpersonal relationship skills to be a good technician.

Outpatient physical therapist vs behavior technician salary

Outpatient physical therapists and behavior technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Outpatient Physical Therapist	Behavior Technician
Average salary	$66,359	$38,026
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $108,000	Between $29,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Urban Honolulu, HI
Highest paying state	California	Hawaii
Best paying company	Accountable Healthcare Holdings Corp.	Ernst & Young
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Education

Differences between outpatient physical therapist and behavior technician education

There are a few differences between an outpatient physical therapist and a behavior technician in terms of educational background:

	Outpatient Physical Therapist	Behavior Technician
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Social Work	Psychology
Most common college	Boston University	Northwestern University

Outpatient physical therapist vs behavior technician demographics

Here are the differences between outpatient physical therapists' and behavior technicians' demographics:

	Outpatient Physical Therapist	Behavior Technician
Average age	41	34
Gender ratio	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%	Male, 26.5% Female, 73.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 11.3% White, 72.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 14.3% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 6.4% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	12%	15%

Differences between outpatient physical therapist and behavior technician duties and responsibilities

Outpatient physical therapist example responsibilities.

Facilitate development of coping techniques to manage psychiatric symptoms effectively; educate patients on importance of medication management and compliance.
Demonstrate working knowledge of community mental health services identify in the Medicaid guidelines and attain contractual outcomes within designate time frames.
Perform assessments with clients to determine diagnosis and need of services.
Complete intake assessment and formulate diagnosis.
Assist veterans with transportation to interviews.
Provide active case management service for veterans in residential treatment.

Behavior technician example responsibilities.

Manage and target behaviors using the ESDM, ABA, PRT and SCERTS model.
Teach family members and teachers different ways to achieve cooperation with child and transfer skills to ensure an efficient learning environment.
Have RBT credential from the BACB.
Work with kids with autism * run programs apply individually for each child
Provide ABA services to adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
Facilitate intensive in-home ABA services to children with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

Outpatient physical therapist vs behavior technician skills

Common outpatient physical therapist skills

Patients, 23%
Physical Therapy, 17%
Rehabilitation, 11%
Patient Care, 10%
Therapy Services, 5%
Social Work, 5%

Common behavior technician skills

Autism, 25%
Applied Behavior Analysis, 19%
Behavior Analysis, 8%
BCBA, 5%
Developmental Disabilities, 4%
Social Work, 4%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Outpatient Physical Therapist
Outpatient Physical Therapist vs Behavior Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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