Physical Therapist Assistants
Assist physical therapists in providing physical therapy treatments and procedures. May, in accordance with state laws, assist in the development of treatment plans, carry out routine functions, document the progress of treatment, and modify specific treatments in accordance with patient status and within the scope of treatment plans established by a physical therapist. Generally requires formal training.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- Therapy and Counseling
- English Language
- Education and Training
- Psychology
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Computers and Electronics
- Biology
What the work involves
- Instruct, motivate, safeguard, and assist patients as they practice exercises or functional activities.
- Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment.
- Measure patients' range-of-joint motion, body parts, or vital signs to determine effects of treatments or for patient evaluations.
- Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment.
- Fit patients for orthopedic braces, prostheses, or supportive devices, such as crutches.
- Train patients in the use of orthopedic braces, prostheses, or supportive devices.
- Transport patients to and from treatment areas, lifting and transferring them according to positioning requirements.
- Monitor operation of equipment and record use of equipment and administration of treatment.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Realistic, Conventional.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree (84.2% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (37.3%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (25.5%)
- 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 Physical Therapist 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 95% of occupations compared | 97% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 76% of occupations compared | 67% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 83% of occupations compared | 62% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 69% of occupations compared | 45% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 74% of occupations compared | 45% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 76% of occupations compared | 57% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 78% of occupations compared | 71% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 85% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: very high
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: 0.96%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 2.22%
- Constant contact with others: 96.82%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 15.97%
- Fairly important: 3.68%
- Important: 2.89%
- Very important: 10.19%
- Extremely important: 67.27%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2020
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 38.32%
- Extremely important: 61.68%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2020
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 14.84%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 2.1%
- Some freedom: 45.21%
- A lot of freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2020
Time pressure
- Never: 2.22%
- Once a year or more but not every month: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a month or more but not every week: 1.07%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 44.77%
- Every day: 21.29%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2020
Conflict situations
- Never: 0.96%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 7.63%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 56.89%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 34.52%
- Every day: 0%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 5.22%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 70.97%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 5.1%
- Every day: 18.71%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2020
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 2.52%
- Fairly serious: 25.98%
- Serious: 6.07%
- Very serious: 14.84%
- Extremely serious: 50.59%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2020
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O*NET-SOC 31-2021.00 · SOC 31-2021 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8