Occupational therapists help people of all ages to fully engage in their daily lives, from their work and recreation to activities of daily living like getting dressed, cooking, eating and driving.
If you choose this field, there are many kinds of practice available for you to specialize in. You may decide to work with premature babies at a pediatric hospital or children with cerebral palsy or Down syndrome. Many practitioners choose to help children thrive in the “occupations” of childhood, which include learning, playing and growing.
Therapists also work in schools with students who have learning disabilities or behavioral problems. Or you may be interested in working with older people in their homes or nursing homes, helping them to recover from strokes or deal with Alzheimer’s disease. Some practitioners choose to help accident victims to regain needed skills or offer assistance to people with mental illness.
There are new specialties too, like training workers to use the correct ergonomics, helping people with low vision maintain their independence, making buildings and homes more accessible, evaluating and training older drivers and promoting health and wellness.
Occupational therapy services typically include:- An individualized evaluation, during which the client/family and occupational therapist determine the person’s goals
- Customized intervention to improve the person’s ability to perform daily activities and reach the goals
- An outcomes evaluation to ensure that the goals are being met and/or make changes to the intervention plan
Occupational therapy services may include comprehensive evaluations of the client’s home and other environments (e.g., workplace, school), recommendations for adaptive equipment and training in its use, and guidance and education for family members and caregivers. Occupational therapy practitioners have a holistic perspective, in which the focus is on adapting the environment to fit the person, and the person is an integral part of the therapy team.
Working Conditions | Academic Requirements | Resources
Working Conditions
Most occupational therapists work in hospitals or occupational therapy practices while others work in schools, physicians’ offices, home health services and nursing homes. Occupational therapists in hospitals and other health care and community settings usually work a 40-hour week. They spend a great many of those hours on their feet while working with patients.
Occupational therapists who work in schools may need to stay after school for meetings or other activities.
More than 30% of all occupational therapists work part-time.
Salary Range and Outlook
Occupational therapists represent a much-needed career and the employment outlook is bright. Between 2012 and 2022, employment of occupational therapists is projected to grow 29%, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Academic Requirements
To become an occupational therapist, you will first need to get a bachelor’s degree and then go on to a master’s degree program in occupational therapy. As an undergraduate, you can major in anything that interests you so long as you make sure to take the necessary prerequisites for the occupational therapy programs you apply to. Most will require courses in biology and physiology, and some programs will also expect you to have volunteered or worked in an occupational therapy setting.
Master’s programs generally take two to three years to complete. You may decide to apply to a program that offers a bachelor’s and master’s degree in a total of five years.
Some students go on to get a doctorate in occupational therapy. Doctoral programs usually require three years of study.
Both master’s and doctoral programs require at least 24 weeks of supervised fieldwork, in which prospective occupational therapists gain clinical work experience.
You can find accredited programs through the American Occupational Therapy Association.
Licensure and Specialization
Most states require occupational therapists to pass the national examination administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy. To take the exam, you must have earned a degree from an accredited educational program and completed all fieldwork requirements. Once you pass the exam, you will need to take continuing education classes to maintain your certification.
The American Occupational Therapy Association also offers a number of certifications for therapists who want to demonstrate their advanced level of knowledge in a specialty area, such as pediatrics, gerontology, driving and community mobility or low vision.
An occupational therapy degree provides you with significant work experience to equip you with the practical skills and knowledge you'll need to help others
Job options
Job options directly related to your degree include:
- Care manager
- Ergonomist
- Health improvement practitioner
- Occupational therapist
Jobs where your degree would be useful include:
- Advice worker
- Art therapist
- High intensity therapist
- Life coach
- Medical sales representative
- Play therapist
- Psychological wellbeing practitioner
- Social worker
- Special educational needs teacher
- Teaching assistant
Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.
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Work experience
You'll spend a significant amount of time during your degree in clinical placements under the supervision of qualified occupational therapists. This experience helps you to develop the skills you'll need for the job in the future.
Outside of your degree, work experience in supportive roles with vulnerable groups can allow you to further develop your communication and problem-solving skills and experience different working environments. You'll also learn about the social and psychological difficulties facing these groups. Vulnerable groups might include elderly people, those with disabilities, children and young people, and those with mental health issues, physical health difficulties or injuries.
Work experience opportunities exist within:
- youth projects
- day care centres
- special schools
- advisory services
- disability equipment hire services
- hospitals
- homeless shelters
- charities.
Search for placements and find out more about work experience and internships.
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Typical employers
The majority of graduates move into a clinical career in occupational therapy. Key employers are the NHS and local government, who employ occupational therapists within mental health services, hospital departments such as accident and emergency (A&E), or social services.
You can work in a variety of settings including:
- hospitals
- housing associations
- schools
- businesses
- community centres
- charities
- prisons
- job centres
- clients' homes.
There are opportunities to specialise, for example with children or stroke patients.
Opportunities also exist in management, education and research, private practice, prisons and with charities and social enterprises.
Related careers include working within organisations specialising in injury claims, drug rehabilitation, inclusion work or developing and distributing disability aids.
Find information on employers in charity and voluntary work, healthcare, social care and other job sectors.
Skills for your CV
Studying occupational therapy provides you with an in-depth understanding of the relationship between occupation, health and wellbeing. You develop knowledge around core subjects including human anatomy, life cycle, psychology and sociology.
You also develop a range of skills that can be used in a number of jobs. These include:
- communication and relationship building with people of all ages
- data collection and analysis
- critical thinking
- creative problem solving
- the ability to manage and prioritise a busy and complex workload
- teamwork through liaising with professionals, such as doctors or social workers, as well as patients' families, carers and employers
- teaching, mentoring and coaching
- self-awareness and the ability to reflect on learning
- a flexible and innovative response to change
- research and report writing
- IT and administration.
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Further study
The majority of occupational therapy graduates go directly into clinical employment after graduating. However, there are a number of Masters programmes available in specialist areas that may allow you to develop advanced skills within a specific area of treatment, therapy or health condition. Other postgraduate qualifications in health studies can provide opportunities to influence healthcare practice through clinical research and development.
If you're interested in other or related careers, there are opportunities for postgraduate study and training in areas such as social work, health promotion, public health, health development and teaching.
For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see Masters degrees and search postgraduate courses in occupational therapy.
What do occupational therapy graduates do?
The vast majority (89%) of occupational therapy graduates are working as therapy professionals. Caring personal services, nursing professionals, welfare and housing associate professionals, managers and proprietors in health and care services, health associate professionals and other health professionals are all among the top ten jobs held by these graduates.
DestinationsPercentageEmployed89.3Further study0.4Working and studying4.1Unemployed1.7Other4.5
Graduate destinations for occupational therapyTypes of workPercentageHealth94.8Childcare, health and education1.4Legal, social and welfare0.9Retail, catering and customer service0.8Other2.1