Career Explorer Healthcare support
Human edge, growing
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.
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 low), and US jobs are projected to change by +23.0% by 2035, much faster than average. The work leans on emotional intelligence and ethical judgement.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $68,380
- Job growth to 2035
- +23.0%
- Openings a year
- 18,500
- People doing it (2025)
- 114,000
- Usual route in
- Associate's degree
Where people already use AI for this work
- Provide support or encouragement to others
- Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
- Perform administrative or clerical activities
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Train others on health or medical topics
- Prepare health or medical documents
- Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care
What the work looks like
- Instruct, motivate, safeguard, and assist patients as they practice exercises or functional activities.
- Document patient information, such as notes on their progress.
- Observe patients during treatments to compile and evaluate data on their responses and progress and provide results to physical therapist in person or through progress notes.
- Instruct patients in proper body mechanics and in ways to improve functional mobility, such as aquatic exercise.
- Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment.
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 physical therapist assistants.
- More of these jobs, as physical therapist assistants are increasingly utilized, relative to physical therapists, to provide physical therapy services.
Also known as: Certified Physical Therapist Assistant (CPTA), Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant (LPTA), Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA), Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA), Home Care Physical Therapy Assistant, Home Health Physical Therapist Assistant, Licensed Physical Therapy Assistant, Outpatient Physical Therapist Assistant.
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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.