Physical Therapy Aide Career

Why Become a Physical Therapy Aide?

The demand for competent people to work in physical therapy aide careers is expected to increase in the future, reflecting the rapid growth in the healthcare industry due to a population that is increasing in number as well as climbing in age. The elderly population, those who have suffered from heart attacks and strokes, trauma victims, and newborns with birth defects will all greatly benefit from cardiac or physical rehabilitation and therapeutic services.

Choosing a physical therapy aide career allows you to work in a variety of settings, including home healthcare services, nursing care facilities, general and medical surgical hospitals, and offices of physicians and other health practitioners, including other orthopedic practices.

Employment Outlook for Physical Therapy Aides

The physical therapy aide career is a growing field with great prospects for physical therapy aides, who help physical therapists to manage more patients. The employment outlook for the physical therapy aide career is better than the average for all occupations; the projected job growth in this field is expected to be up to 36% by 2018. (U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, 2010-2011 Occupational Outlook Handbook)

What You Can Earn Working in a Physical Therapy Aide Career

The U.S. Department of Labor Statistics lists the middle 50 percent of those in a physical therapy aide career earning up to $28,670. Working for a nursing care facility resulted in the highest median annual wages for industries that employ the largest numbers of physical therapy aides.

(U.S. Dept. of Labor Statistics, 2010-2011 Occupational Outlook Handbook)