Are you interested to take a career path in occupational therapy?

You have three options that you can select from. The options have different academic level and training requirements. These are the following:

• Occupational Therapist

OT’s help patients overcome their mental, physical and emotional disabilities to function maximally in a manner comfortable for them. The OT devises treatment plans and are primarily responsible for thinking of treatment strategies to help the patients out. To be an OT, you have to earn a master’s degree in Occupational Therapy and pass the licensure exam given by the National Certifying Board for Occupational Therapy (NCBOT).

Among the three career possibilities, OT’s have the highest annual salary average. But this salary range differs, depending which industry your work for and in what state. California is the highest paying state for OT’s with a median annual salary of 80,830 and with New Jersey as the second with an annual median salary of $79,620. The lowest paying states include New Hampshire and Maine, with hourly wages of $26.16 and $28.72, respectively.

The different industries that employ OT include Home Health Care Services, Employment Services, Schools, Nursing Care Facilities and Physician Clinics. The rank of the industries based on the median annual salary is as follows: Home Health Care Services has the highest annual average wage set at $79,110, second is Employment Services at $78,630, third is Schools at $75,260, Nursing Care Facilities at $73,200, and Physicians Clinics at $71,840.

• Occupational Therapist Assistant

Occupational therapy assistants help administer treatment plans as advised by the OT’s. They are engaged in the day-to-day guiding of patients with their therapeutic treatment. OTA’s records a patient’s progress and monitors how the patient responds to the therapy. In the past, OTA’s are directly hired fresh from high school as long as they have work-related experiences in the field. Nowadays, OTA’s are required to undergo training and earn associate degrees from accredited programs. The programs are offered in technical schools and in many colleges. The training includes fieldwork that helps the student be engaged in hands-on work experience to enhance learning. OTA’s have an annual average salary of $42,060.

• Occupational Therapist Aide

OT Aides are primarily responsible in preparing equipment and materials needed by OT’s and OTA’s in administering treatment and therapy. OT Aides are also tasked with clerical duties. OT Aides have a minimalist academic requirement. If you want to be an OT Aide, just finish high school and get on-the-job training to qualify. If you want to be an OT Aide, you can expect an average salary of $25,020.

In some states, OT’s, OTA’s and OT Aides are required to pass national certification exams to be able to practice.