Occupational Therapy Assistants
Assist occupational therapists in providing occupational therapy treatments and procedures. May, in accordance with state laws, assist in development of treatment plans, carry out routine functions, direct activity programs, and document the progress of treatments. Generally requires formal training.
51,290 people do this job in the US. $72,300 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 16%
- 3%
- 81%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 14%. Today's estimate: 14%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 22 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Work under the direction of occupational therapists to plan, implement, or administer educational, vocational, or recreational programs that restore or enhance performance in individuals with functional impairments.Done daily by most who do it. | 12% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Evaluate the daily living skills or capacities of clients with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities.Done daily by most who do it. | 11% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Monitor patients' performance in therapy activities, providing encouragement.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 10% | 33 min17 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Implement, or assist occupational therapists with implementing, treatment plans designed to help clients function independently.Done daily by most who do it. | 10% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Instruct, or assist in instructing, patients and families in home programs, basic living skills, or the care and use of adaptive equipment.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Aid patients in dressing and grooming themselves.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Observe and record patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior and maintain this information in client records.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 29 min | Stays with people | |
| Select therapy activities to fit patients' needs and capabilities.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Design, fabricate, or repair assistive devices or make adaptive changes to equipment or environments.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Maintain and promote a positive attitude toward clients and their treatment programs.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Transport patients to and from the occupational therapy work area.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Attend continuing education classes.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | 46%Half by Oct 2026 |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).