How To Become A Physical Therapist Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a physical therapist technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Ron Precht,

Dr. Evan Papa Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a physical therapist technician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $33.83 an hour? That's $70,364 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 17% and produce 40,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a physical therapist technician?

Ron Precht

Senior Manager, American Massage Therapy Association

Generally, metropolitan areas have had more openings for massage therapists. This is a report from the end of 2019 that has the most recent data we have available. Report

ScorePhysical Therapist TechnicianUS Average

Salary

5.5

Avg. Salary $70,364

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.2

Growth rate 17%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.47%

Asian 11.36%

Black or African American 3.81%

Hispanic or Latino 7.64%

Unknown 3.76%

White 72.96%

Gender

female 61.27%

male 38.73%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

8.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.7

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a physical therapist technician

Explore physical therapist technician education requirements

Most common physical therapist technician degrees

Bachelor's

59.3 %

Associate

19.7 %

High School Diploma

9.4 %

Start to develop specific physical therapist technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	52.37%
Rehabilitation	9.68%
Patient Care	5.46%
Electrical Stimulation	3.33%
Traction	3.25%

Complete relevant physical therapist technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New physical therapist technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a physical therapist technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real physical therapist technician resumes.

Research physical therapist technician duties and responsibilities

Demonstrate working knowledge of community mental health services identify in the Medicaid guidelines and attain contractual outcomes within designate time frames.
Order supplies for patients needs such as braces, wheelchairs, and walkers.
Administer traction to relieve cervical and lumbar pain, using intermittent and static traction equipment.
Fit patients for orthopedic braces, prostheses, and supportive devices, such as crutches.

Prepare your physical therapist technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your physical therapist technician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a physical therapist technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable physical therapist technician resume templates

Build a professional physical therapist technician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your physical therapist technician resume.