Physical Therapist vs Occupational Therapist: Which Field Is Better?

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

Dimension

Physical Therapist

Occupational Therapist

Median pay

$101,020

$98,340

Projected growth (2024–34)

10.9%

13.8%

Annual openings

13,200

10,200

2024 employment

267,200

160,000

2034 projected employment

296,400

182,100

Self-employed share

4.5%

2.2%

Typical entry education

Doctoral or professional degree

Master's degree

Related work experience

None

On-the-job training

None

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.

Occupational Therapist: main tradeoff

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

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 Physical Therapist or Occupational Therapist.