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The differences between staff physical therapy assistants and assistant athletic trainers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a staff physical therapy assistant has an average salary of $51,881, which is higher than the $47,132 average annual salary of an assistant athletic trainer.
The top three skills for a staff physical therapy assistant include patients, rehabilitation and CPR. The most important skills for an assistant athletic trainer are rehabilitation, student athletes, and CPR.
| Staff Physical Therapy Assistant | Assistant Athletic Trainer | |
| Yearly salary | $51,881 | $47,132 |
| Hourly rate | $24.94 | $22.66 |
| Growth rate | 24% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 127,104 | 56,499 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 39 | 40 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
A staff physical therapy assistant's role is to provide treatments while under the supervision and directives of a physical therapist. Their responsibilities primarily revolve around assisting patients and therapists, documenting all treatment processes, providing care advice to patients and their families, and monitoring a patient's progress, alerting the physician should there be any concerns or unusual behavior. Furthermore, a staff physical therapy assistant may perform clerical duties such as gathering patient information, managing schedules, arranging appointments, answering calls and inquiries, and maintaining records.
An assistant athletic trainer is responsible for assisting the head athletic trainer in guiding the athletes to achieve their maximum potential and capabilities that would help them win competitions. Assistant athletic trainers handle injury circumstances and evaluate the athletes' conditions during every session and support the head trainer to mitigate injury risks by implementing training protocols and regulations. They monitor the adequacy of inventories and equipment maintenance, ensuring enough resources for training activities. An assistant athletic trainer may also perform administrative duties, such as scheduling appointments, filing medical paperwork, and coordinating with institutions for competition opportunities.
Staff physical therapy assistants and assistant athletic trainers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Staff Physical Therapy Assistant | Assistant Athletic Trainer | |
| Average salary | $51,881 | $47,132 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $71,000 | Between $35,000 And $62,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Rosa, CA | Lemoore, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | The Brearley School |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | - |
There are a few differences between a staff physical therapy assistant and an assistant athletic trainer in terms of educational background:
| Staff Physical Therapy Assistant | Assistant Athletic Trainer | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Physical Therapy | Athletic Training |
| Most common college | University of Virginia | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between staff physical therapy assistants' and assistant athletic trainers' demographics:
| Staff Physical Therapy Assistant | Assistant Athletic Trainer | |
| Average age | 39 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 34.9% Female, 65.1% | Male, 44.3% Female, 55.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 8.9% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 8.3% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 10% |