Physical Therapy Assistant Salary Information

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Find Out How Much You Could Be Making On A Physical Therapy Assistant Salary

One of the fastest growing areas in the healthcare industry is physical therapy field.
 
Both the physical therapist and physical therapy assistant professions are projected to grow in the coming decade.
 
Aside from the excellent job security offered in this field, there is also the prospect of receiving a fairly high salary.
However, if you don’t have the resources or the desire to pursue a career as a physical therapist, there is the great alternative option of being a therapist’s assistant. Compared to other assistance salaries in the healthcare industry, the physical therapy assistant salary is very competitive and stable, which is perfect for today’s economic uncertainty.
 
Contrary to what some may think, a physical therapy assistant job is not a stepping stone towards a career as a physical therapist, although looking at it, you may think that they are doing basically the same work. This is understandable so since a physical therapy assistant is working directly under the supervision of the therapist and the assistant is there to assist the physical therapist in providing treatment to patients to regain their mobility and to prevent or lessen physical disabilities.
 
The curriculum if you undertake a physical therapy assistant training program is quite different from that of the physical therapist. The prerequisite requirements for physical therapist education are not found in the physical therapy assistant’s curriculum. However, there are accredited PTA-to-PT programs if ever you decided to pursue a career as a therapist after you’ve gained enough experiences as an assistant.
 
Of course, staying on in the same job over a period of time offers the advantage of possibly receiving a higher physical therapy assistant salary than what is offered when starting out. If you have had less than one year of experience as a physical therapy assistant, you may be started out on a $13.62 to $25.29 hourly rate.
 
Staying on in the same job for up to five years sould then increase your hourly rate up to the $17.43 to $24.15 an hour range. If you love your job and have stayed on in your role for as much as 10 or more years, your hourly rate can often rise as high as $20.41 to $32.78 an hour given the right circumstances.
 
One way of quickly increasing your physical therapy assistant salary is by taking further training and education, plus getting your certification and licensure as may be required by the State where you’ll be working in. If you get training for CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation), you’ll usually get start out on $18.38 to $25.07 an hour.
An assistant with Basic Life Support (BLS) training starts from $20.25 to $25.74 in hourly wages, whilst those that are also Certified Athletic Trainers receive $18.46 to $22.92 an hour. A licensed physical therapy assistant normally receives $18.72 to $26.37 an hour. A physical therapy assistant with a license to do massage therapy can earn as much as $30 an hour.
 
From all this data you can easily conclude that the physical therapy assistant salary that you can earn depends largely on your willingness to invest time, money, and effort into honing and improving your skills and knowledge.
 
With the projected 35% growth in employment of physical therapy assistants in the coming years, nothing should stop you from pursuing a career which earns a good physical therapy assistant salary now. This is especially the case if it’s your desire to help people with disabilities be able to regain as much of their previous lives before their physical injury as possible. Nothing could be more noble and rewarding than working in a profession that's aimed at helping others one-on-one.