Recreation Workers vs Recreational Therapists
Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index
A factual, source-backed comparison of Recreation Workers and Recreational Therapists 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 | Recreation Workers | Recreational Therapists |
|---|---|---|
| Median pay | $35,380 | $60,280 |
| Employment | 309,640 | 15,060 |
| Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection | About average (+4.1%) | About average (+3.3%) |
| Annual openings · BLS projection | 68,100 | 1,300 |
| Typical education · O*NET | Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not. | Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not. |
| AI exposure · published exposure studies | Moderate · 65th pct | Low · 16th pct |
| Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk | 37th pct · 21% of tasks | 32nd pct · 20% of tasks |
| Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index | Augmentation-leaning (58.0%) | Augmentation-leaning (63.1%) |
| Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman | Yes | 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: English Language, Active Listening, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Coordination, Service Orientation, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Speech Clarity, Monitoring, Instructing, Customer and Personal Service, Problem Sensitivity, Near Vision, Speech Recognition, Education and Training, Written Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Time Management, Deductive Reasoning, Psychology, Reading Comprehension, Writing, Active Learning, Learning Strategies, Persuasion, Complex Problem Solving, Written Expression, Fluency of Ideas, Originality, Information Ordering, Category Flexibility, Negotiation, Judgment and Decision Making.
Specific to Recreation Workers
- Public Safety and Security
- Law and Government
- Administrative
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Far Vision
- Computers and Electronics
Specific to Recreational Therapists
- Therapy and Counseling
- Inductive Reasoning
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Administration and Management
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Systems Analysis
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: Office suite software , Spreadsheet software , Electronic mail software , Presentation software , Word processing software , Internet browser software .
Specific to Recreation Workers
Specific to Recreational Therapists
Full profiles
This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Recreation Workers or Recreational Therapists — 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.
- Recreation Workers vs Social and Community Service Managers
- Recreation Workers vs Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling
- Recreation Workers vs Rehabilitation Counselors
- Recreation Workers vs Instructional Coordinators
- Recreation Workers vs Social and Human Service Assistants
- Recreation Workers vs First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service Workers
- Recreation Workers vs Residential Advisors
- Recreation Workers vs Fitness and Wellness Coordinators
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
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- 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. "Recreation Workers vs Recreational Therapists." 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; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); 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/recreation-workers-vs-recreational-therapists
Singulariki. (2026). Recreation Workers vs Recreational Therapists. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/recreation-workers-vs-recreational-therapists
@misc{singulariki-recreation-workers-vs-recreational-therapists,
title = {Recreation Workers vs Recreational Therapists},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); 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/recreation-workers-vs-recreational-therapists}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.