Physical Therapists
What Physical Therapists Do
Assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and improve or correct disabling conditions resulting from disease or injury.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
- Self-employed
- 4.5%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 5 of 5Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience.
- Education
- Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
- Job training
- Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.6/5
- Therapy and Counselingimportance 4.6/5
- Medicine and Dentistryimportance 4.6/5
- Psychologyimportance 4.1/5
- Education and Trainingimportance 4.0/5
- English Languageimportance 4.0/5
- Biologyimportance 3.7/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 3.2/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Contact With Others4.9/5
- Physical Proximity4.9/5
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.9/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.8/5
- Freedom to Make Decisions4.8/5
- Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.6/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Nurse Midwives98% skill match
- Nurse Practitioners97% skill match
- Occupational Therapists97% skill match
- Exercise Physiologists97% skill match
- Self-Enrichment Teachers97% skill match
- Medical Dosimetrists97% skill match
- Musicians and Singers97% skill match
- Child, Family, and School Social Workers97% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 4.0/5
- Service Orientationimportance 4.0/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.8/5
- Time Managementimportance 3.6/5
- Instructingimportance 3.4/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.4/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.3/5
- Systems Analysisimportance 3.1/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
- Advantage Software Physical Therapy Advantage
- Biometrics video game software
- Cedaron Dexter Evaluation & Impairment Rating
- Clinicient Insight
- Exercise routine creation software
- Hands On Technology TheraWriter.PT
- MediGraph
- Medical condition coding software
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Empathy
- Cooperation
- Attention to Detail
- Dependability
- Optimism
- Social Orientation
- Cautiousness
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- SocialHigh
- InvestigativeMedium
- RealisticMedium
- ConventionalMedium
- EnterprisingLow
- ArtisticLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where physical therapists make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Homosassa Springs, FL2.75× national avg
- 2Bay City, MI2.11× national avg
- 3Victoria, TX2.07× national avg
- 4Traverse City, MI2.06× national avg
- 5Wichita Falls, TX2.00× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Occupational TherapistsLateral Move
- Nurse PractitionersLateral Move
- Family Medicine PhysiciansLateral Move
- General Internal Medicine PhysiciansLateral Move
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Assistive/Augmentative Technology and Rehabilitation Engineering
- University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (San Marcos, CA)grads earn ~$76,852
- The University of Montana (Missoula, MT)grads earn ~$82,240
- University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (San Marcos, CA)grads earn ~$77,356
- University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
- Arcadia University (Glenside, PA)