Physical trainer vs physical therapist

The differences between physical trainers and physical therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a physical therapist has an average salary of $73,070, which is higher than the $25,278 average annual salary of a physical trainer.

The top three skills for a physical trainer include physical therapy, strength training and soccer. The most important skills for a physical therapist are patients, rehabilitation, and home health.

Physical trainer vs physical therapist overview

	Physical Trainer	Physical Therapist
Yearly salary	$25,278	$73,070
Hourly rate	$12.15	$35.13
Growth rate	19%	17%
Number of jobs	72,865	86,697
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	37	41
Years of experience	12	-

Physical trainer vs physical therapist salary

Physical trainers and physical therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Physical Trainer	Physical Therapist
Average salary	$25,278	$73,070
Salary range	Between $17,000 And $35,000	Between $56,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Parkway
Best paying industry	-	Professional

Differences between physical trainer and physical therapist education

There are a few differences between a physical trainer and a physical therapist in terms of educational background:

	Physical Trainer	Physical Therapist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Kinesiology	Physical Therapy
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	Duke University

Physical trainer vs physical therapist demographics

Here are the differences between physical trainers' and physical therapists' demographics:

	Physical Trainer	Physical Therapist
Average age	37	41
Gender ratio	Male, 67.2% Female, 32.8%	Male, 36.3% Female, 63.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 5.1% White, 71.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 3.7% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 7.5% Asian, 14.3% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	13%	12%

Differences between physical trainer and physical therapist duties and responsibilities

Physical trainer example responsibilities.

Manage various football, basketball, and speed camps while conveying the importance of self-motivation.
Receive NASM certification for personal training service.
Create feedback and progress reports regarding development for on boarding new associates and provide official information on a SharePoint database.
Create original TRX classes and encourage inactive members to participate consistently.

Physical therapist example responsibilities.

Conduct in-services and train colleagues in effective techniques for safely managing the CVA patient.
Achieve high level of patients satisfaction due to sound clinical management, quality of care and compassion.
Perform physical therapy evaluation and treatment of orthopedic patients and supervise PTAs.
Progress patients' functional mobility during treatment sessions by modifying task, intensity, and adaptive equipment utilize.
Motivate patients to participate in treatment sessions by educating them on the benefits of early mobility following cardiac and thoracic surgery.
Experience include IFSP and IEP writing and implementation

Physical trainer vs physical therapist skills

Common physical trainer skills

Physical Therapy, 45%
Strength Training, 12%
Soccer, 12%
Weight Loss, 8%
Training Sessions, 8%
Front Desk, 8%

Common physical therapist skills

Patients, 30%
Rehabilitation, 15%
Home Health, 13%
Quality Care, 5%
Physical Therapy, 3%
Treatment Programs, 3%