Physical Therapist Salaries
By an allied health world contributing writer
Published: February 5th, 2010
What is the average salary of a physical therapist?
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in May of 2006 physical therapists had a median annual income of $66,200. Those in the middle 50 percent had an income of $55,000-$79,000. The highest ten percent earned over $95,000 and the lowest ten percent earned under $47,000. Home health care and long term care (nursing home) facilities typically pay the best salaries for physical therapists.
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Are physical therapists in high demand?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 173,000 jobs were held by physical therapists throughout the United States in 2006. The number of job openings for physical therapists is projected to grow 27 percent between 2006 and 2016. With an aging population, as well as continued advancement of new treatments and techniques, there is expected to be continued growth in this profession.
What opportunities exist for career advancement in this field?
The opportunities for advancement are in this field are based on what employment setting a physical therapist works in. Corporation outpatient clinics include staff PTs, managers of clinic locations, a manager for a region of clinics, and a state manager. However, the higher a physical therapist moves on the employment ladder, typically the less patient care they are responsible for. Rather they are more focused on administration duties such as managing staff, ensuring continuing education credits and licensure are up to date, and providing training. Physical therapists who enjoy working with patients may choose to gain a specialty certificate, which may earn them a pay increase.
