How To Become A Staff Physical Therapist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a staff physical therapist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Todd Roach D.C.,

Dr. Evan Papa Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a staff physical therapist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $35.18 an hour? That's $73,174 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 17% and produce 40,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a staff physical therapist?

Dr. Todd Roach D.C.

Assistant Professor of Biology, Aurora University

My best advice to new graduates would be not to lose focus. There are a lot of "shiny objects" in healthcare that can be distracting. It doesn't matter if you open your practice or start working for an established tradition; there are many distractions when it comes to attracting and fulfilling patient needs. Find what you are passionate about (i.e., sports rehab, pain control, headaches, etc.) and focus on your message and talents.

ScoreStaff Physical TherapistUS Average

Salary

5.7

Avg. Salary $73,174

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.2

Growth rate 17%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.47%

Asian 11.28%

Black or African American 3.94%

Hispanic or Latino 7.85%

Unknown 3.79%

White 72.67%

Gender

female 62.82%

male 37.18%

Age - 40

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 - 40

Stress level

8.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.7

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a staff physical therapist

Explore staff physical therapist education requirements

Most common staff physical therapist degrees

Bachelor's

61.5 %

Master's

18.0 %

Doctorate

17.5 %

Start to develop specific staff physical therapist skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	31.19%
Rehabilitation	10.97%
Occupational Therapy	10.32%
Physical Therapy Assistants	6.12%
Direct Patient Care	3.67%

Complete relevant staff physical therapist training and internships

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

Research staff physical therapist duties and responsibilities

Achieve high level of patients satisfaction due to sound clinical management, quality of care and compassion.
Provide inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services for adult and geriatric patients and establish appropriate individual treatment plans for optimal patient care.
Perform physical therapy evaluations and treatments in sub-acute and long-term setting with patients of various neurological, med-surgical, orthopedic diagnoses.
Provide direct outpatient orthopedic/sports medicine rehabilitation services

Prepare your staff physical therapist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your staff physical 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 physical 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 physical therapist resume templates

Build a professional staff physical 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 physical therapist resume.