Physical Therapist Assistant Job Outlook

Physical Therapist Assistant Job Outlook

The physical therapist assistant job outlook has been projected to be increasing by twenty seven percent between the year 2006 and 2016 according to the US Department of Labor. This is a promising career field that has virtually the highest employment rate and the demand for more physical therapist assistant is present now. Depending on where you decide to work and if you decide to travel to different locations the pay scale is varied.

Career and Employment Opportunities

If you decide to work in a large health care facility like a hospital or a physical therapy centers you would proably be making more than some one in a primary care office. If you decide that you will travel to different facilities and even to patients homes then you could get a big boost in not only pay but benefits also.

Of course with any job the physical therapist assistant job outlook salary range changes dramatically with skill level and experience. You will be getting paid to do things like help the patients, help lift the patients, move equipment, and even prepare the equipment for the patient to use.

Job Description

You will be teaching the patient things like pain management techniques and even what exercises to do and how to do them to improve strength and mobility. After looking into some positions available today I have seen everything from relocation assistance and tuition forgiveness as benefits. It is almost as though employers are begging for more Physical Therapist Assistants. With America's baby boom population aging, the need for people to help them after they have injured themselves is urgent.

Our health care field is over run with injured and sick people and with many doctors, nurses and even physical therapist retiring soon, the demand is going up and up. One thing that will always be necessary is medical and health care professionals, to take care of everyone. This is a job that it not going to be replaced by a computer because it is hands on.

Physical Therapy Assistant Wages

You will be working with patients who have had amputations, orthopedic injuries and even neuromuscular disorders and stroke victims. During only one search of mine it pulled up over five hundred job listings in my state alone, many of those were hospitals hiring several PTA's not just one. Looking at the physical therapist assistant job outlook salary for full time positions, the salary  range was between $31,000 to $44,000 as median annual salaries.

Some physical therapist assistants make as much as $52,000. Regardless the pay many people who join this field do it because being able to help someone live a normal life with less pain and less disability. That is the most rewarding part of being a physical therapist assistant.  

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