Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between physical therapist assistants and staff physical therapy assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a physical therapist assistant has an average salary of $53,035, which is higher than the $51,881 average annual salary of a staff physical therapy assistant.
The top three skills for a physical therapist assistant include patients, rehabilitation and home health. The most important skills for a staff physical therapy assistant are patients, rehabilitation, and CPR.
| Physical Therapist Assistant | Staff Physical Therapy Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $53,035 | $51,881 |
| Hourly rate | $25.50 | $24.94 |
| Growth rate | 24% | 24% |
| Number of jobs | 80,018 | 127,104 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 67% | Associate Degree, 47% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A physical therapist assistant's role is to provide treatments that will help a patient improve physical movements while under a physical therapist's supervision. Their responsibilities revolve around regularly observing a patient's reaction and progress to the treatment, operating various machines such as treadmills and trainers, and giving instructions to families on how to take care of the patient while at home. Furthermore, they must coordinate with a physical therapist to meet all of the patient's needs and give the best treatment possible.
A staff physical therapy assistant's role is to provide treatments while under the supervision and directives of a physical therapist. Their responsibilities primarily revolve around assisting patients and therapists, documenting all treatment processes, providing care advice to patients and their families, and monitoring a patient's progress, alerting the physician should there be any concerns or unusual behavior. Furthermore, a staff physical therapy assistant may perform clerical duties such as gathering patient information, managing schedules, arranging appointments, answering calls and inquiries, and maintaining records.
Physical therapist assistants and staff physical therapy assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Physical Therapist Assistant | Staff Physical Therapy Assistant | |
| Average salary | $53,035 | $51,881 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $70,000 | Between $37,000 And $71,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Santa Rosa, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Children's Hospital Colorado | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a physical therapist assistant and a staff physical therapy assistant in terms of educational background:
| Physical Therapist Assistant | Staff Physical Therapy Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 67% | Associate Degree, 47% |
| Most common major | Physical Therapy | Physical Therapy |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Virginia |
Here are the differences between physical therapist assistants' and staff physical therapy assistants' demographics:
| Physical Therapist Assistant | Staff Physical Therapy Assistant | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 33.7% Female, 66.3% | Male, 34.9% Female, 65.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 13.0% Asian, 8.6% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 8.9% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |