Occupational Therapy Assistants
Assist occupational therapists in providing occupational therapy treatments and procedures. May, in accordance with state laws, assist in development of treatment plans, carry out routine functions, direct activity programs, and document the progress of treatments. Generally requires formal training.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
- Reading Comprehension
- Time Management
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- Psychology
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Therapy and Counseling
- Public Safety and Security
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Administrative
What the work involves
- Observe and record patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior and maintain this information in client records.
- Maintain and promote a positive attitude toward clients and their treatment programs.
- Monitor patients' performance in therapy activities, providing encouragement.
- Select therapy activities to fit patients' needs and capabilities.
- Instruct, or assist in instructing, patients and families in home programs, basic living skills, or the care and use of adaptive equipment.
- Evaluate the daily living skills or capacities of clients with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities.
- Aid patients in dressing and grooming themselves.
- Implement, or assist occupational therapists with implementing, treatment plans designed to help clients function independently.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Conventional, Realistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree (91.7% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (38.7%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (40%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Occupational Therapy Assistants is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very high | Higher on contact with others than 89% of occupations compared | 86% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 67% of occupations compared | — |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 80% of occupations compared | 86% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 84% of occupations compared | 55% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 96% of occupations compared | — |
| Conflict situations | Very high | Higher on conflict situations than 81% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very high | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 95% of occupations compared | — |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 64% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: very high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
- Consequence of error: low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0.43%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 13.94%
- Constant contact with others: 85.63%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2022
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 1.29%
- Important: 13.85%
- Very important: 15.73%
- Extremely important: 30.14%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2022
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 13.14%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 0.86%
- Extremely important: 86%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2022
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 0.43%
- Some freedom: 44.61%
- A lot of freedom: 54.96%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2022
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0.43%
- Once a month or more but not every week: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a week or more but not every day: 0.86%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2022
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 30.62%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 15.32%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 40.98%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2022
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 13.09%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 13.79%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 28.02%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2022
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly serious: 26.58%
- Serious: 13.77%
- Very serious: 14.26%
- Extremely serious: 18.8%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2022
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O*NET-SOC 31-2011.00 · SOC 31-2011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8