Psychiatric Technicians vs Physical Therapist Aides
Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index
A factual, source-backed comparison of Psychiatric Technicians and Physical Therapist Aides on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”
At a glance
| Dimension | Psychiatric Technicians | Physical Therapist Aides |
|---|---|---|
| Median pay | $42,590 | $34,520 |
| Employment | 136,300 | 44,010 |
| Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection | Growing fast (+20.0%) | About average (+2.8%) |
| Annual openings · BLS projection | 15,900 | 6,600 |
| Typical education · O*NET | Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. | Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. |
| AI exposure · published exposure studies | Low · 15th pct | Low · 7th pct |
| Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk | 57th pct · 30% of tasks | 18th pct · 15% of tasks |
| Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index | — | — |
| Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman | No | No |
Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.
Skills
Shared: Psychology, Social Perceptiveness, Therapy and Counseling, English Language, Active Listening, Monitoring, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Problem Sensitivity, Customer and Personal Service, Speaking, Coordination, Reading Comprehension, Deductive Reasoning, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, Written Comprehension, Inductive Reasoning, Public Safety and Security, Written Expression, Speech Recognition, Speech Clarity, Near Vision, Writing, Instructing, Information Ordering, Computers and Electronics, Active Learning, Persuasion, Selective Attention, Complex Problem Solving, Judgment and Decision Making, Time Management, Category Flexibility.
Specific to Psychiatric Technicians
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Education and Training
- Law and Government
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Learning Strategies
- Negotiation
Specific to Physical Therapist Aides
- Trunk Strength
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Finger Dexterity
- Multilimb Coordination
- Static Strength
- Administrative
Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).
Tools & technology
Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Electronic mail software , Word processing software , Medical software .
Specific to Psychiatric Technicians
Specific to Physical Therapist Aides
Full profiles
This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Psychiatric Technicians or Physical Therapist Aides — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.
More comparisons
Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.
- Psychiatric Technicians vs Psychiatric Aides
- Psychiatric Technicians vs Physical Therapist Assistants
- Psychiatric Technicians vs Occupational Therapy Aides
- Psychiatric Technicians vs Occupational Therapy Assistants
- Psychiatric Technicians vs Recreational Therapists
- Psychiatric Technicians vs Paramedics
- Psychiatric Technicians vs Home Health Aides
- Psychiatric Technicians vs Acute Care Nurses
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Singulariki. "Psychiatric Technicians vs Physical Therapist Aides." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/psychiatric-technicians-vs-physical-therapist-aides
Singulariki. (2026). Psychiatric Technicians vs Physical Therapist Aides. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/psychiatric-technicians-vs-physical-therapist-aides
@misc{singulariki-psychiatric-technicians-vs-physical-therapist-aides,
title = {Psychiatric Technicians vs Physical Therapist Aides},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/compare/psychiatric-technicians-vs-physical-therapist-aides}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.