Occupational Therapist vs Physical Therapist: Which Field Is Better?

Dimension	Occupational Therapist	Physical Therapist
Median pay	$98,340	$101,020
Projected growth (2024–34)	13.8%	10.9%
Annual openings	10,200	13,200
2024 employment	160,000	267,200
2034 projected employment	182,100	296,400
Self-employed share	2.2%	4.5%
Typical entry education	Master's degree	Doctoral or professional degree
Related work experience	None	None
On-the-job training	None	None

Dimension

Occupational Therapist

Physical Therapist

Median pay

$98,340

$101,020

Projected growth (2024–34)

13.8%

10.9%

Annual openings

10,200

13,200

2024 employment

160,000

267,200

2034 projected employment

182,100

296,400

Self-employed share

2.2%

4.5%

Typical entry education

Master's degree

Doctoral or professional degree

Related work experience

None

On-the-job training

None

Occupational Therapist: main tradeoff

Strong projected growth and broad care settings, with graduate education and licensure as the main entry costs.

Physical Therapist: main tradeoff

Strong demand and six-figure median pay are offset by a doctoral training requirement and the economics of graduate-school cost.

Which should you choose?

Physical Therapist has the higher national median pay in the BLS data. Occupational Therapist has the higher projected 2024–2034 growth rate. The larger decision is whether you prefer the training path, work style, and occupation-specific tradeoffs of Occupational Therapist or Physical Therapist.