Career Explorer Healthcare support
Human edge, growing
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.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 99% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +21.5% by 2035, much faster than average. The work leans on emotional intelligence and creative vision.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $72,300
- Job growth to 2035
- +21.5%
- Openings a year
- 8,100
- People doing it (2025)
- 52,200
- Usual route in
- Associate's degree
Where people already use AI for this work
- Provide support or encouragement to others
- Teach life skills
- Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care
- Monitor health conditions of humans or animals
- Administer therapeutic treatments
What the work looks like
- Instruct, or assist in instructing, patients and families in home programs, basic living skills, or the care and use of adaptive equipment.
- Maintain and promote a positive attitude toward clients and their treatment programs.
- Report to supervisors, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior.
- Implement, or assist occupational therapists with implementing, treatment plans designed to help clients function independently.
- Monitor patients' performance in therapy activities, providing encouragement.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- More of these jobs, as growing demand for inpatient rehabilitation services increases demand for occupational therapy assistants.
- More of these jobs, as occupational therapy assistants are increasingly utilized, relative to occupational therapists, to provide occupational therapy services.
Also known as: Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant (COTA), Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA), Licensed Occupational Therapy Assistant (LOTA), Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA), Acute Care Occupational Therapy Assistant (Acute Care OT Assistant), Certified Occupational Assistant, Licensed Occupational Therapist Assistant (LOTA), Occupational Therapist Assistant (OTA).
Is this career on your child's list?
Build a free Career Playbook matched to your child, or get a 90-day Action Plan with dated next steps, written for your child by name.
Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.