How To Become A Physical Therapy Aide: What It Is and Career Path

What is a physical therapy aide and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Physical therapy aides are part of physical therapy teams. They provide support to physical therapists and physical therapy assistants. Their responsibilities include preparing the treatment area for physical therapy, cleaning and setting up equipment, preparing patients for therapy, and providing any assistance needed by the therapist. They also perform several other tasks such as scheduling treatment sessions, monitoring inventory, ordering supplies, and filling out insurance forms. You will also be expected to maintain the equipment and must be able to assemble and disassemble parts when necessary, especially for patient's adaptive equipment or wheelchairs.

You will usually work with occupational therapists, physical therapists, audiologists, hospitals, and residential and nursing facilities. Skills such as patient care, customer service, front office, ultrasound, direct supervision, and good communication skills are required for this position. The most commonly required educational qualification is a bachelor's degree in kinesiology, physical therapy, or other related fields. An average physical therapy aide earns $27,000 annually or $13.09 an hour.

ScorePhysical Therapy AideUS Average

Salary

2.4

Avg. Salary $31,160

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.9

Growth rate 24%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.39%

Asian 9.29%

Black or African American 6.56%

Hispanic or Latino 12.04%

Unknown 4.76%

White 66.96%

Gender

female 64.42%

male 35.58%

Age - 37

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 - 37

Stress level

6.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.1

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a physical therapy aide

Explore physical therapy aide education requirements

Most common physical therapy aide degrees

Bachelor's

67.9 %

Associate

14.2 %

High School Diploma

6.6 %

Start to develop specific physical therapy aide skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	42.23%
Patient Care	9.62%
Rehabilitation	8.14%
Customer Service	5.31%
Ultrasound	4.93%

Complete relevant physical therapy aide training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New physical therapy aides 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 therapy aide based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real physical therapy aide resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed physical therapy aide usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed physical therapy aide in most of states. 40 states require physical therapy aides to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Alabama	-	-	Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant
Arkansas	Specific course required	State exam required	Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA)
California	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Physical Therapist Assistant
Connecticut	Specific course required	Third-party exam required	Physical Therapist Assistant
Delaware	Degree required	State exam required	Physical Therapist Assistant

Gain additional physical therapy aide certifications

Physical therapy aide certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific physical therapy aide certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for physical therapy aides include Advanced First Aid & CPR and Massage Therapy Certification (MT).

More About Certifications

Research physical therapy aide duties and responsibilities

Manage flexible schedule at various company facilities categorize as ILF, ALF, and SNF.
Administer ultrasound and electrical stimulation and start patients with their prescribe exercise programs.
Educate patients on supportive devices, such as braces, splints, and slings.
Earn repeated appreciations from supervisor, co-workers, and patients for providing the best quality care with compassion.

Prepare your physical therapy aide resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your physical therapy aide 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 therapy aide 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 therapy aide resume templates

Build a professional physical therapy aide 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 therapy aide resume.