Occupational Therapist Jobs

Occupational therapist jobs help their patients improve their ability to perform different tasks in their living and working environments. Their patients suffer from mental, physical, developmental, or emotional disabling conditions. Occupational therapists jobs use treatments to develop, recover, or preserve the daily living skills of their patients. Functioning in hospitals, schools, and other traditional healthcare settings, they work a standard 40 hour work week.

Regulated in all 50 States, occupational therapist work requires at least a master's degree or greater. As of 2007, there were 124 master's degree programs that offered entry-level education, with 66 combined bachelor's degree and master's degree programs, and 5 entry level doctoral degrees. After graduating from an accredited program and passing a national certification exam, professionals them must become licensed, resulting in a occupational therapist registered (OTR) denotation.

In 2006, there were 99,000 occupational therapist professionals employed in the nation with the largest amount of workers employed in hospitals. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a projected increase in the employment of 23 percent during 2006 to 2016, which will be significantly faster than the average for all occupations. An increasing elderly population and the increasing amount of the population that will require extensive routine therapy will trigger the opportunities for occupational therapist careers. Hospitals will play a large role in providing opportunities for employment due to outpatient rehabilitation needs, as well as schools with their extension of services for disabled students. Job prospects will be great for licensed professionals in all employment settings.

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