Physical Therapist Aides

AI & job outlook

What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.

Exposure to current AI

Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.2), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.2). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.

Job outlook

Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.

“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.

Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient

The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.

Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.

Tasks

All 19 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

• Clean and organize work area and disinfect equipment after treatment. Core · importance 4.5
• Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment. Core · importance 4.5
• Instruct, motivate, safeguard, or assist patients practicing exercises or functional activities, under direction of medical staff. Core · importance 4.4
• Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment. Core · importance 4.3
• Administer active or passive manual therapeutic exercises, therapeutic massage, or heat, light, sound, water, or electrical modality treatments, such as ultrasound. Core · importance 4.2
• Change linens, such as bed sheets and pillow cases. Core · importance 4.2
• Observe patients during treatment to compile and evaluate data on patients' responses and progress and report to physical therapist. Core · importance 4.2
• Record treatment given and equipment used. Core · importance 4.2
• Transport patients to and from treatment areas, using wheelchairs or providing standing support. Core · importance 4.2
• Measure patient's range-of-joint motion, body parts, or vital signs to determine effects of treatments or for patient evaluations. Supplemental · importance 4.2
• Perform clerical duties, such as taking inventory, ordering supplies, answering telephone, taking messages, or filling out forms. Core · importance 4.0
• Schedule patient appointments with physical therapists and coordinate therapists' schedules. Core · importance 4.0
• Train patients to use orthopedic braces, prostheses, or supportive devices. Supplemental · importance 4.0
• Arrange treatment supplies to keep them in order. Core · importance 3.9
• Administer traction to relieve neck or back pain, using intermittent or static traction equipment. Supplemental · importance 3.7
• Assist patients to dress, undress, or put on and remove supportive devices, such as braces, splints, or slings. Core · importance 3.6
• Maintain equipment or furniture to keep it in good working condition, including performing the assembly or disassembly of equipment or accessories. Core · importance 3.6
• Fit patients for orthopedic braces, prostheses, or supportive devices, adjusting fit as needed. Supplemental · importance 3.4
• Participate in patient care tasks, such as assisting with passing food trays, feeding residents, or bathing residents on bed rest. Supplemental · importance 3.1

Work activities

• Schedule patient procedures or appointments.
• Clean patient rooms or patient treatment rooms.
• Clean medical equipment.
• Monitor patient progress or responses to treatments.
• Encourage patients during therapeutic activities.
• Engage patients in exercises or activities.
• Hold patients to ensure proper positioning or safety.
• Move patients to or from treatment areas.
• Confer with other professionals to plan patient care.
• Maintain medical records.
• Perform clerical work in medical settings.
• Inventory medical supplies or equipment.
• Prepare medical instruments or equipment for use.
• Maintain medical equipment or instruments.
• Administer therapy treatments to patients using hands or physical treatment aids.
• Assist patients with daily activities.
• Assess physical conditions of patients to aid in diagnosis or treatment.
• Teach medical procedures or medical equipment use to patients.
• Fit patients for assistive devices.
• Administer basic health care or medical treatments.

Knowledge, skills & abilities

O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).

Knowledge

Essential skills

Abilities

Transferable skills

Skills in demand

Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.

• English Language Common Skill
• Active Listening Common Skill
• Speech Recognition Specialized Skill
• Social Perceptiveness Common Skill
• Reading Comprehension Common Skill
• Writing Common Skill
• Time Management Common Skill
• Microsoft Word Common Skill
• Microsoft Outlook Common Skill
• Microsoft Excel Common Skill
• Instructing Specialized Skill
• Information Ordering Specialized Skill
• Inductive Reasoning Common Skill
• Critical Thinking Common Skill
• Active Learning Common Skill
• Psychology Specialized Skill
• Finger Dexterity Common Skill
• Deductive Reasoning Common Skill
• Complex Problem Solving Common Skill
• Learning Strategies Specialized Skill
• Telecommunications Specialized Skill
• Mathematics Common Skill
• Systems Analysis Specialized Skill
• Negotiation Common Skill
• Biology Specialized Skill
• Foreign Language Common Skill
• Visualization Specialized Skill
• Physics Specialized Skill
• Depth Perception Common Skill
• Chemistry Specialized Skill
• Equipment Maintenance Specialized Skill
• Geography Specialized Skill
• Equipment Selection Specialized Skill
• Medical Software Specialized Skill
• Installation Specialized Skill

Tools & technology

Work context

How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.

How to get in

Job zone

Zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed

Education

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Typical entry-level education

High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement

Related experience

Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.

Preparation level

SVP (Below 6.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

What to study: Health Professions and Related Programs . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.

Education of current workers

Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Interest areas

Work styles

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

Industries that employ this occupation

Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.

Where this work is most concentrated

Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).

Related occupations

Part of the Healthcare & Human Services career cluster.

• Physical Therapist Assistants · 31-2021.00 Compare →
• Occupational Therapy Aides · 31-2012.00 Compare →
• Occupational Therapy Assistants · 31-2011.00 Compare →
• Psychiatric Technicians · 29-2053.00 Compare →
• Psychiatric Aides · 31-1133.00 Compare →
• Occupational Therapists · 29-1122.00 Compare →
• Respiratory Therapists · 29-1126.00 Compare →
• Medical Assistants · 31-9092.00 Compare →
• Nursing Assistants · 31-1131.00 Compare →
• Massage Therapists · 31-9011.00 Compare →
• Physical Therapists · 29-1123.00 Compare →
• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians · 29-1229.04 Compare →

Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.

What you can do with this

Options the data surfaces for Physical Therapist Aides — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

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.

@misc{singulariki-role-31-2022-00,
  title  = {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/roles/role-31-2022-00}
}