Physical Therapist Aides
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.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Service Orientation
- Reading Comprehension
- Social Perceptiveness
- Coordination
- Writing
- Speaking
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Therapy and Counseling
- Psychology
- Public Safety and Security
- Administrative
- Education and Training
What the work involves
- Clean and organize work area and disinfect equipment after treatment.
- Observe patients during treatment to compile and evaluate data on patients' responses and progress and report to physical therapist.
- Instruct, motivate, safeguard, or assist patients practicing exercises or functional activities, under direction of medical staff.
- Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment.
- Transport patients to and from treatment areas, using wheelchairs or providing standing support.
- Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment.
- Perform clerical duties, such as taking inventory, ordering supplies, answering telephone, taking messages, or filling out forms.
- Maintain equipment or furniture to keep it in good working condition, including performing the assembly or disassembly of equipment or accessories.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Realistic, Conventional.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (34.4% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (39.9%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (69.5%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Physical Therapist Aides 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 85% of occupations compared | 88% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Higher on dealing with the public than 59% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 88% of occupations compared | 69% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 73% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 93% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 70% of occupations compared | 29% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 66% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Higher on consequence of error than 50% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: moderate
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%
- Contact with others about half the time: 7.55%
- Contact with others most of the time: 4.66%
- Constant contact with others: 87.78%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 23.17%
- Fairly important: 4.02%
- Important: 8.34%
- Very important: 14.43%
- Extremely important: 50.03%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2023
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 30.73%
- Extremely important: 69.27%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 1.13%
- Very little freedom: 0.97%
- Limited freedom: 28.79%
- Some freedom: 50.32%
- A lot of freedom: 18.79%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Time pressure
- Never: 20.51%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 30.22%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 2.12%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 19.46%
- Every day: 27.69%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2023
Conflict situations
- Never: 28.79%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 18.26%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 27.05%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 22.69%
- Every day: 3.21%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 13.91%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 16.86%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 34.26%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 16.67%
- Every day: 18.3%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 21.51%
- Fairly serious: 11.73%
- Serious: 37.19%
- Very serious: 7.78%
- Extremely serious: 21.79%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2023
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O*NET-SOC 31-2022.00 · SOC 31-2022 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8