Career Explorer Healthcare (clinical)
Human edge, growing
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.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 93% 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 +8.5% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on ethical judgement and emotional intelligence.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $82,280
- Job growth to 2035
- +8.5%
- Openings a year
- 8,600
- People doing it (2025)
- 142,000
- Usual route in
- Associate's degree
Where people already use AI for this work
- Explain medical information to patients or family members
- Determine operational methods or procedures
- Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care
- Train others on health or medical topics
- Administer emergency medical treatment
What the work looks like
- Set up and operate devices, such as mechanical ventilators, therapeutic gas administration apparatus, environmental control systems, or aerosol generators, following specified parameters of treatment.
- 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.
- Relay blood analysis results to a physician.
- Provide emergency care, such as artificial respiration, external cardiac massage, or assistance with cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- More of these jobs, as the demand for respiratory care services grows. Respiratory therapists will be increasingly needed across hospital and non-hospital settings to treat a wide variety of conditions and patients.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Physical therapist assistantsHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +23.0%
- Surgical assistantsHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +6.1%
- Veterinary technologists and techniciansHuman edge, growing, Index 95, +9.4%
- Dental hygienistsHuman edge, growing, Index 96, +8.0%
Also known as: CRT (Certified Respiratory Therapist), Diagnostics RRT (Diagnostics Registered Respiratory Therapist), Licensed CRT (Licensed Certified Respiratory Therapist), Respiratory Care Practitioner (RCP), CRRT (Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Respiratory Therapist), Infant RT (Infant Respiratory Therapist), Licensed RT (Licensed Respiratory Therapist), Registered Respiratory Care Practitioner (Registered RCP).
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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.