Occupational Therapy Assistant

Your training in this program prepares you to help clients overcome the challenges of recovery from illness, injury, or other disabling condition. You’ll receive hands-on clinical experience and expert instruction on the practices, techniques, and equipment you’ll use as a professional. Upon completion, you’ll be eligible to take the national certification exam.

The occupational therapy assistant program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 4720 Montgomery Lane, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD 20814-3449. ACOTE's telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its Web address is www.acoteonline.org.

Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapy assistant administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). In addition, most states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.

Job Titles & Career Information

Click each title to learn more about important career information such as employment rates, and average salary in our region.

  • 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.

    Hourly Wage: $30.73

    Currently Employed: 168

    Projections:

    168 people are employed as Occupational Therapy Assistants. This number is expected to increase by 16.67% over the next four years.

    Austin Community College MSA Map

Data analysis of traditional and real-time labor market information (LMI) provided in collaboration with Emsi (Economic Modeling Specialists International), a CareerBuilder company.