Therapy aide vs occupational therapy technician

The differences between therapy aides and occupational therapy technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an occupational therapy technician has an average salary of $32,056, which is higher than the $29,312 average annual salary of a therapy aide.

The top three skills for a therapy aide include patients, patient care and rehabilitation. The most important skills for an occupational therapy technician are patients, physical therapy, and adaptive.

Therapy aide vs occupational therapy technician overview

	Therapy Aide	Occupational Therapy Technician
Yearly salary	$29,312	$32,056
Hourly rate	$14.09	$15.41
Growth rate	25%	25%
Number of jobs	50,598	54,684
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	-	-

Therapy aide vs occupational therapy technician salary

Therapy aides and occupational therapy technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Therapy Aide	Occupational Therapy Technician
Average salary	$29,312	$32,056
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $37,000	Between $14,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	Beverly, MA	-
Highest paying state	Montana	-
Best paying company	State Bar of Michigan	-
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between therapy aide and occupational therapy technician education

There are a few differences between a therapy aide and an occupational therapy technician in terms of educational background:

	Therapy Aide	Occupational Therapy Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Kinesiology	Kinesiology
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	Northwestern University

Therapy aide vs occupational therapy technician demographics

Here are the differences between therapy aides' and occupational therapy technicians' demographics:

	Therapy Aide	Occupational Therapy Technician
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 29.1% Female, 70.9%	Male, 26.1% Female, 73.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.6% Asian, 5.2% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.6% Asian, 5.2% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between therapy aide and occupational therapy technician duties and responsibilities

Therapy aide example responsibilities.

Assist in implementing clinical treatment programs using ABA (apply behavior analysis).
Prepare patients for physical therapy treatment by welcoming, comforting, providing and/or assisting patient into physical therapy apparel.
Require the physical ability and training to conduct CPR.
Fabricate and modify splints according to Dr. Gupta's specifications.
Perform wound care, remove sutures, and help the therapists in fabricating custom make orthotic splints.
Collect data on client's achievements for the purpose of documenting activities, preparing reports and/or updating IEP logs.

Occupational therapy technician example responsibilities.

Administer physical and occupational therapy treatment plans to patients under the direct supervision of a therapist.
Assist therapists with transfers and ADL sessions in acute, ICU, and rehabilitation.
Assist in providing rehabilitative therapy to patients in the rehabilitation, transitional care and outpatient clinics.
Prepare materials for assessments and provide assistance to individuals through hands-on methods and direct contact observations by assisting the rehabilitation supervisor.
Maintain dynamic and static AAC devices, create overlays and programme changes to devices.
Suggest energy conservation/work simplification techniques.

Therapy aide vs occupational therapy technician skills

Common therapy aide skills

Patients, 28%
Patient Care, 16%
Rehabilitation, 16%
BARS, 10%
Physical Therapy, 5%
Occupational Therapy, 3%

Common occupational therapy technician skills

Patients, 37%
Physical Therapy, 9%
Adaptive, 7%
Vital Signs, 6%
Occupational Therapy Treatments, 6%
Patient Care, 5%

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Healthcare Support Industry
Therapy Aide
Therapy Aide vs Occupational Therapy Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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