Respiratory Therapists
Assess, treat, and care for patients with breathing disorders. Assume primary responsibility for all respiratory care modalities, including the supervision of respiratory therapy technicians. Initiate and conduct therapeutic procedures; maintain patient records; and select, assemble, check, and operate equipment.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
- Complex Problem Solving
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Psychology
- Mechanical
- Biology
- Administration and Management
What the work involves
- Set up and operate devices, such as mechanical ventilators, therapeutic gas administration apparatus, environmental control systems, or aerosol generators, following specified parameters of treatment.
- Provide emergency care, such as artificial respiration, external cardiac massage, or assistance with cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
- Determine requirements for treatment, such as type, method and duration of therapy, precautions to be taken, or medication and dosages, compatible with physicians' orders.
- Monitor patient's physiological responses to therapy, such as vital signs, arterial blood gases, or blood chemistry changes, and consult with physician if adverse reactions occur.
- Read prescription, measure arterial blood gases, and review patient information to assess patient condition.
- Enforce safety rules and ensure careful adherence to physicians' orders.
- Maintain charts that contain patients' pertinent identification and therapy information.
- Inspect, clean, test, and maintain respiratory therapy equipment to ensure equipment is functioning safely and efficiently, ordering repairs when necessary.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Social, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree (99.2% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (61%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (68.9%)
- 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 Respiratory Therapists 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 | Low | Lower on contact with others than 76% of occupations compared | 57% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 60% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 90% of occupations compared | 74% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 62% of occupations compared | 72% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 84% of occupations compared | — |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 76% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 63% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 78% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: 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: 28.34%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 14.91%
- Constant contact with others: 56.75%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 12.94%
- Fairly important: 16.19%
- Important: 15.47%
- Very important: 1.24%
- Extremely important: 54.16%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 1.19%
- Very important: 25.02%
- Extremely important: 73.78%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 14.87%
- Very little freedom: 0.6%
- Limited freedom: 1.24%
- Some freedom: 10.83%
- A lot of freedom: 72.46%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 15.56%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 28.51%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 0.73%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 14.96%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 14, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 16.7%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 45.8%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 13.19%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 24.3%
- Every day: 0%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 29.74%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 31.53%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 1.24%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 27.98%
- Every day: 9.51%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 28.71%
- Fairly serious: 0.6%
- Serious: 0.85%
- Very serious: 15.6%
- Extremely serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 14, Incumbent 08/2026
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
Where people with this background could move
- Analyze
Orthotists and Prosthetists
Closeness 91/100 · job zone +2
- Analyze
Radiologic Technologists and Technicians
Closeness 91/100
- Analyze
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
Closeness 90/100 · job zone +2
- Analyze
Anesthesiologist Assistants
Closeness 90/100 · job zone +2
- Analyze
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
Closeness 90/100 · job zone +1
- Analyze
Surgical Assistants
Closeness 90/100
Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job
O*NET-SOC 29-1126.00 · SOC 29-1126 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8