Careers in Occupational Therapy

If you want to make a career in occupational therapy, you have two options to choose from. You can either become an occupational therapist or an occupational therapist's assistant or aide.

Occupational Therapist

Job Description
The job of an occupational therapist is to help patients with mental, emotional, developmental or physical problems, in coping up or dealing with them, so that they can lead a normal life. They need to plan out the treatment procedures for the patients they are dealing with. This includes procedures to help improve the motor skills of a patient in case of physical problems and designing processes to help them improve their reasoning and problem solving capabilities. If you work in a home or health care service, then your job description may include traveling from one place to another for visiting patients.

Educational Qualification
To become an occupational therapist, you will need a master's degree in occupational therapy from an accredited university. You will also need to pass a National Certification Exam, to get a license, without which you will not be allowed to practice. If you were good in social science, physics, chemistry and subjects related to health in your high school level, then this career is perfect for you. Of late, the career has become more and more demanding. Occupational therapists are now expected to have at least six months of relevant job experience, prior to joining any organization. Most occupational therapists work under experienced occupational therapists or go for voluntary services before they start off with their career.

Job and Salary
Occupational therapists are mainly hired by nursing homes, home and health care facilities, offices of other physical, occupational and speech therapists and elementary and secondary schools. The highest paying institutes however are the home and health care services. According to surveys made by various organizations, it has been estimated that the demand for occupational therapists will be far more than average, by 2016. 10 to 25% occupational therapists normally have more than one job at a time. While a job in a nursing home would need full time commitment, working in an elementary or secondary school would simply mean dedicating a few hours after the normal school hours.

Occupational Therapist's Assistants and Aide

Job Description
The implementation part of the work of an occupational therapist, lies in the hands of his assistant. He takes care of the accurate implementation of the treatment procedures and keeps track of the patient's progress. His job profile also includes all the paper work that is necessary for the smooth functioning of the work of an occupational therapist. Generally the work of an occupational therapist's assistant or aide, is confined to the office. He attends the calls of the patients and schedules appointments too.

Educational Qualification
An associate degree or certification from an accredited community college is the utmost necessity to work at the post of an occupational therapist's assistant. Though not required in all states, a few states demand that an occupational therapist's assistant should pass a national level certification exam, prior to joining an organization. As far as the training and work experience is concerned, an occupational therapist is normally trained during the course of his job.

Job and Salary
With the increase in the number of occupational therapists the demand for occupational therapist's assistants, is also supposed to increase by 2016. Those who assist occupational therapists working in home and health care services, are among the highest paid.

With increase in emotional and mental problems among the masses, there is a huge demand for people working in the field of occupational therapy. Even insurance companies have started hiring professionals trained in this field. It is also estimated that occupational therapists will hold management positions in various organizations and they will also have to work in fields like teaching and research.