An occupational therapist salary is quite lucrative in comparison to the salaries of other healthcare workers. An occupational therapist is mainly concerned with therapy that helps patients regain their motor skills after a physical or mental trauma, or due to old age. The therapist must plan and execute programs as per the requirements of every patient and it also involves teaching skills for using adaptive equipments.
Although a well paid profession, the salaries aren't standard through the entire country and will depend on factors like location and the type of institution you are doing work for. For example the state of California gets the highest average salary at $82,610, followed by Nevada at $81,310. Furthermore, certain cities within hawaii have higher salary structure then other areas. If we again take the exemplory case of California, places like Redwood City and San Mateo pay an income of around $94,580 whereas areas like Oxnard and Ventura in the same state pay around $89,080.
The next factor impacting the increase of an occupational therapist salary is the type of establishment where the professional works. These professionals are mainly needed in hospitals, assisted living facilities, health care centers, schools along with other institutions. sensory integration in healthcare establishments and hospitals get relatively better pay than those who work in elementary or secondary schools. If we also start to see the spread of therapists working in different institutions; hospitals and health care centers account for more than half the quantity of OTs in employment today.
Taking the entire median salary of an OT working in hospitals and health care centers in the united kingdom, would be work out to about $70,680 per year; whereas the mean for therapists employed in schools would amount to $61,590 in a year. This again can be an overall perspective, as therapists used in specialty schools have the ability to draw $75,260 annually on an average.
If you are likely to become an OT, these figures is highly recommended only as a broad guideline. Don't decide to proceed to another state just because it seems the salaries are better there. Additionally you need to think about the demand in each area for occupational therapists and how fast it is possible to land a job there. Although California is the highest paying state currently, the amounts of occupational therapist positions are highest in the state of Massachusetts. Should also consider the age group of patients you prefer to work with. If you're good with children and younger people, then schools would be the best placement for you.
Taking into consideration the overall prospects for an occupational therapist, the picture looks promising. THE UNITED STATES Bureau of Labor Statistics has predicted that the demand for these professionals is likely to go up. Presently there are about 98,740 salaried therapists across the country and the requirement will probably be beyond 122,000 therapists by 2016.
Although there is a lesser chance of occupational therapist salary rising soon, due to the present economic situation, the demand for these professionals is steadily growing and there's good potential for finding employment in this field.