Recreational therapy aide vs physical therapist

The differences between recreational therapy aides 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 $50,346 average annual salary of a recreational therapy aide.

The top three skills for a recreational therapy aide include recreational therapy, patients and CPR. The most important skills for a physical therapist are patients, rehabilitation, and home health.

Recreational therapy aide vs physical therapist overview

	Recreational Therapy Aide	Physical Therapist
Yearly salary	$50,346	$73,070
Hourly rate	$24.20	$35.13
Growth rate	4%	17%
Number of jobs	50,591	86,697
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	43	41
Years of experience	12	-

Recreational therapy aide vs physical therapist salary

Recreational therapy aides and physical therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Recreational Therapy Aide	Physical Therapist
Average salary	$50,346	$73,070
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $71,000	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 recreational therapy aide and physical therapist education

There are a few differences between a recreational therapy aide and a physical therapist in terms of educational background:

	Recreational Therapy Aide	Physical Therapist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Rehabilitation Science	Physical Therapy
Most common college	Duke University	Duke University

Recreational therapy aide vs physical therapist demographics

Here are the differences between recreational therapy aides' and physical therapists' demographics:

	Recreational Therapy Aide	Physical Therapist
Average age	43	41
Gender ratio	Male, 23.9% Female, 76.1%	Male, 36.3% Female, 63.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.5% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 3.3% White, 74.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	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	9%	12%

Differences between recreational therapy aide and physical therapist duties and responsibilities

Recreational therapy aide example responsibilities.

Work with MDS coordinator and interview residents for annual MDS sections and care planning.
Counsele and encourage patients to develop leisure activities.
Assist recreation therapists in planning and implementing recreation-base treatment programs to patients.
Coordinate rehabilitation practices through recreational activities
Perform orthopedic rehabilitation and adolescent psych rehabilitation.
Perform orthopedic rehabilitation and adolescent psych rehabilitation.

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

Recreational therapy aide vs physical therapist skills

Common recreational therapy aide skills

Recreational Therapy, 32%
Patients, 25%
CPR, 12%
Compassion, 11%
Music Therapy, 9%
Therapeutic Recreation Programs, 8%

Common physical therapist skills

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

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Recreational Therapy Aide
Recreational Therapy Aide vs Physical Therapist

Updated January 8, 2025

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