Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
What is a staff occupational therapist and how to become one
What general advice would you give to a staff occupational therapist?
Nicole Scheiman DrOT, MHS, OTR/L, CLT-LANA, CES, CKTP, CEES-Advanced, CSST, CDCS, CORE
Department Chair/Program Director/ Professor, Huntington University
Avg. Salary $73,477
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 14%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.30%
Asian 9.33%
Black or African American 4.91%
Hispanic or Latino 6.36%
Unknown 3.72%
White 75.38%
Genderfemale 79.56%
male 20.44%
Age - 38American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 38Stress level is very high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is good
6.4 - fair
Staff occupational therapist career paths
Key steps to become a staff occupational therapist
Explore staff occupational therapist education requirements
Start to develop specific staff occupational therapist skills
Skills Percentages Patients 26.89% Rehabilitation 11.90% Physical Therapy 9.61% Occupational Therapy 6.65% COTA 3.97% Complete relevant staff occupational therapist training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New staff occupational therapists 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 staff occupational therapist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real staff occupational therapist resumes.Research staff occupational therapist duties and responsibilities
- Achieve advance clinical competency in UE splinting.
- Implement ADL techniques and fabricate adaptive equipment for increase modified independence.
- Provide accurate assessments/evaluation on rehabilitation patients.
- Work contingent for Beaumont home care and at SNF's.
Prepare your staff occupational therapist resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your staff occupational therapist 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 staff occupational therapist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable staff occupational therapist resume templates
Build a professional staff occupational therapist 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 staff occupational therapist resume.
Apply for staff occupational therapist jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a staff occupational therapist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first staff occupational therapist job
Are you a staff occupational therapist?
Share your story for a free salary report.
Average staff occupational therapist salary
The average staff occupational therapist salary in the United States is $73,477 per year or $35 per hour. Staff occupational therapist salaries range between $56,000 and $96,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do staff occupational therapists rate their job?
Staff occupational therapist reviews
I absolutely loved working with the elderly and veteran populations in skilled nursing facilities and at the VA hospital. I thoroughly enjoy empowering people to live their best lives and I'm heart broken that I will no longer be able to find employment in this field.
I absolutely loved working as a COTA these past seven years but it has been filled with ups and downs. Working at skilled nursing facilities is difficult due to high productivity demands impacting therapist ability to give patient centered care. Now with the new patient driven payment model change to medicare laws, therapists are being laid off left and right. These therapists, like myself, will have the impossible task of trying to find work in the Seattle area - which has been flooded with newly graduated COTAs due to several OTA schools opening in this area. The jobs in pediatrics and at hospitals that are left will see in increase in competition as the displaces/laid off COTAs rush to those jobs.
Geriatric population and working towards functional goal.
Clients don’t think they need to participate to get better.
Updated January 8, 2025
