Data & Research
 
* ELMI Occupation Profile - Physical Therapist Aides *
 
Physical Therapist Aides
(O*NET 31-2022.00, SOC 31-2022)
What they do
Under close supervision of a physical therapist or physical therapy assistant, perform only delegated, selected, or routine tasks in specific situations. These duties include preparing the patient and the treatment area.
 
Also called:
Physical Therapist Aide (PTA), Physical Therapy Aide (PTA), Physical Therapy Attendant, Rehabilitation Aide, Rehabilitation Attendant, Restorative Aide (RA)
 
 
Wages
Vermont - 2021
Percentile1HourlyYearly
10% $ 14.32   $29,780  
25% $ 14.32   $29,780  
Median $ 17.83   $37,090  
75% $ 18.11   $37,660  
90% $ 22.57   $46,950  
 
Average $ 17.52   $36,450  
1 What are Percentile Wages?
More at CareerOneStop
 
Industries of Employment
United States - 2020
IndustryPercent of total
  • Ambulatory healthcare services
70%
  • Hospitals; state, local, and private
21%
  • Nursing and residential care facilities
4%
  • Administrative and support services
1%
  • Educational services; state, local, and private
1%
More at BLS
 
Knowledge
People in this career often know a lot about:
  • Customer and Personal Service
    Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Therapy and Counseling
    Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
  • Education and Training
    Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • English Language
    Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Medicine and Dentistry
    Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
More at O*NET
 
Skills
People in this career often have these skills:
  • Active Listening
    Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Social Perceptiveness
    Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Coordination
    Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Monitoring
    Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Service Orientation
    Actively looking for ways to help people.
More at O*NET
 
Interests
People in this career often prefer these work environments:
  • Social
    Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
  • Realistic
    Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
What are your interests? Take the O*NET Interest Profiler
 
Work Styles
People in this career will do well at jobs that need:
  • Dependability
    Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
  • Cooperation
    Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
  • Integrity
    Job requires being honest and ethical.
  • Concern for Others
    Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
  • Self-Control
    Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
More at O*NET
 
Other Resources
  • CareerOneStop
    resource for job seekers, students, businessess and career professionals
  • O*NET Online
    nation's primary source of occupational information
 
Related Occupations
More at O*NET
 
 
Career Video
Watch at CareerOneStop with transcript or at YouTube.
 
Projected Employment
 Vermont
2020 employment 38
2030 employment 45
Annual percent change
(compounded)
1.7%
Annual projected job openings
(due to change and separations)
6
More at Occupational Projections
 
Education and Experience:
  • Typical education needed for entry
    High school diploma or equivalent
  • Work experience in a related occupation
    None
  • Typical on-the-job training needed to attain competency
    Short-term on-the-job training
Based on BLS Education and Training Classifications
 
Job Zone
Some Preparation Needed
  • Specific Vocational Preparation Range
    (4.0 to < 6.0) - A typical worker will require over 3 months up to and including 1 year of training to achieve average performance in this occupation.
Based on O*Net Job Zones and SVP
 
Education Level
How much education do most people in this career have?
Education level Percent of
U.S. Workers
Doctoral or professional degree
or post-MA certificate
  0%
Master's degree or
post-BA certificate
  0%
Bachelor's degree   8%
Associate's degree   22%
Certificate or some college,
no degree
  20%
High school diploma
or equivalent
  42%
Less than high school diploma   8%
More at O*NET
 
Abilities
People in this career often have talent in:
  • Oral Comprehension
    The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Oral Expression
    The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Problem Sensitivity
    The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Speech Recognition
    The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness
    The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
More at O*NET
 
Work Activities
In general, what you might do:
  • Assisting and Caring for Others
    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Performing General Physical Activities
    Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
  • Getting Information
    Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Handling and Moving Objects
    Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
More at O*NET
 
Detailed Work Activities
What you might do in a day:
  • Clean patient rooms or patient treatment rooms.
  • Clean medical equipment.
  • Encourage patients during therapeutic activities.
  • Engage patients in exercises or activities.
  • Maintain medical records.
More at O*NET
 
Tasks
On the job, you would:
  • Clean and organize work area and disinfect equipment after treatment.
  • Instruct, motivate, safeguard, or assist patients practicing exercises or functional activities, under direction of medical staff.
  • Record treatment given and equipment used.
  • Administer active or passive manual therapeutic exercises, therapeutic massage, or heat, light, sound, water, or electrical modality treatments, such as ultrasound.
  • Transport patients to and from treatment areas, using wheelchairs or providing standing support.
More at O*NET
 
O*NET in-it

This page includes information from the O*NET 27.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

BLS

This page includes information produced in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics and State Occupational Projecions programs.

 
 
 
 
Vermont.gov State of Vermont Department of Labor