How To Become A Respiratory Therapist Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a respiratory therapist assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average respiratory therapist assistant salary is $52,569. The most common degree is a associate degree degree with an medical technician major. It usually takes 6-12 months of experience to become a respiratory therapist assistant. Respiratory therapist assistants with a Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 14% and produce 18,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreRespiratory Therapist AssistantUS Average

Salary

4.1

Avg. Salary $52,569

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.9

Growth rate 14%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.29%

Asian 6.55%

Black or African American 9.35%

Hispanic or Latino 14.79%

Unknown 4.17%

White 64.85%

Gender

female 67.12%

male 32.88%

Age - 47

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 - 47

Stress level

9.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.3

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a respiratory therapist assistant

Explore respiratory therapist assistant education requirements

Most common respiratory therapist assistant degrees

Associate

43.4 %

Bachelor's

32.6 %

High School Diploma

12.4 %

Start to develop specific respiratory therapist assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	27.85%
Respiratory Care	14.15%
BLS	11.23%
DR	6.80%
CPR	6.78%

Complete relevant respiratory therapist assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New respiratory therapist assistants 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 respiratory therapist assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real respiratory therapist assistant resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed respiratory therapist assistant usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed respiratory therapist assistant in most of states. 41 states require respiratory therapist assistants to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Alabama	-	-	Licensed Respiratory Therapist
Arkansas	Degree required	State exam required	Respiratory Therapist
California	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Respiratory Care Practitioner
Colorado	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Respiratory Therapist
Connecticut	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Respiratory Care Practitioner

Research respiratory therapist assistant duties and responsibilities

Manage artificial airways, mechanically ventilate patients, pulmonary rehab patients and perform CPR in code situations.
Refill oxygen bottles and deliver bottles and supplies Cpap set up, BiPap setup, mask fitting, cpap training classinstructor.
Monitor EKG and interpret changes.
Order medical supplies such as face tents, nebulizer, and circuits.

Prepare your respiratory therapist assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your respiratory therapist assistant 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 respiratory therapist assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable respiratory therapist assistant resume templates

Build a professional respiratory therapist assistant 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 respiratory therapist assistant resume.