Outpatient physical therapist vs behavioral technician

The differences between outpatient physical therapists and behavioral 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 $33,282 average annual salary of a behavioral technician.

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

Outpatient physical therapist vs behavioral technician overview

	Outpatient Physical Therapist	Behavioral Technician
Yearly salary	$66,359	$33,282
Hourly rate	$31.90	$16.00
Growth rate	17%	9%
Number of jobs	119,973	45,287
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
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 behavioral technician do?

A behavioral technician is responsible for supporting patients to overcome their behavior problems and difficulties. Behavioral technicians evaluate the patient's condition through counseling and administer behavioral treatment plans according to the patients' needs. They also coordinate with other physicians and mental health professionals for medications and more serious medical support as needed. A behavioral technician assists the patients in their daily activities, observe their social and personal behaviors, write progress reports, and develop engaging activities that would help them bring back a healthy lifestyle and growth.

Outpatient physical therapist vs behavioral technician salary

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

	Outpatient Physical Therapist	Behavioral Technician
Average salary	$66,359	$33,282
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $108,000	Between $24,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Somerville, MA
Highest paying state	California	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Accountable Healthcare Holdings Corp.	Missouri State University
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Education

Differences between outpatient physical therapist and behavioral technician education

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

	Outpatient Physical Therapist	Behavioral Technician
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	Social Work	Psychology
Most common college	Boston University	Johns Hopkins University

Outpatient physical therapist vs behavioral technician demographics

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

	Outpatient Physical Therapist	Behavioral Technician
Average age	41	34
Gender ratio	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%	Male, 32.7% Female, 67.3%
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 behavioral 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.

Behavioral technician example responsibilities.

Manage the behavior of students using the CPI training skills when necessary.
Train in CPR and restraint techniques, as well as behavioral training to detect the precursors to behavioral issues.
Experience with individuals of all ages affect by autism and other behavioral, developmental or communication disorders
Implement behavioral support plans provide and produce by apply behavior analysts for individual consumers diagnose with autism spectrum disorder.
Facilitate psycho-social education groups with interventions used but not limit to motivational interviewing, mental rehabilitation and think processes.
Provide observation, documentation and communication of patient behavioral and verbal responses /reactions between patients and between patients and staff.

Outpatient physical therapist vs behavioral technician skills

Common outpatient physical therapist skills

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

Common behavioral technician skills

Autism, 18%
Applied Behavior Analysis, 13%
Behavior Analysis, 12%
CPR, 7%
Autism Spectrum Disorder, 5%
Patients, 4%

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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