Physical Therapy Assistant Salary

The physical therapy career remained immune from recession in 2008, and continues to produce a large number of jobs every year. This is due to the increasing aging population. Currently there are 110,000 physical therapy assistants working all across America. As per the survey by Outlook Magazine, the number of physical therapy assistant jobs is increasing at the rate of 45% every year and is expected to rise at the same rate for the next decade. Thus, this seems to be a promising field for all those individuals who are looking for a way to survive future economic turbulence.

A physical therapist assistant works in clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, and health-care centers and assists the physical therapist with the recovery of patients. Mostly the patients have restricted body movements due to some injury or illness. The physical therapist assistant performs various treatment and rehabilitation procedures on patients under the supervision of a physical therapist. A usual treatment plan includes applying an ice-pack, conducting therapeutic exercises, massaging, etc. It is important for assistant have good upper body strength as he has to lift patients and take them to treatment area.

In order to become a physical therapy assistant, an individual needs to complete a two-year Associate's degree from an accredited school and then obtain a license. There are more than two hundred schools that offer physical therapy assistant programs. Some colleges also provide online courses for individuals who cannot join regular programs. Students are taught core subjects such as medical terminology, introduction to physical therapy, remedial work, biology, etc. They are also supposed to participate in a summer training program in a clinic to apply the skills they learned and also experience the field hands-on.

A fresh graduate with a physical therapy assistant degree can earn an annual salary of $32,000. With increase in experience and certifications, the salary scale also increases. After 4 years of experience the salary is the range of $38,000 to $45,000. An individual with 20 years of experience can earn close to $60,000. The location of job also determines the salary of assistant. Those who work in Virginia earns higher than those working Florida and New york. Factors like cost of living and demand are responsible for this variation. One can also earn comparatively higher salary while working in home-health service facilities than working in physician's office or in schools. Nursing homes pays the second highest salary followed by government facilities.