Occupational therapy programs prepare the interested candidate for a career in occupational therapy. The OT career path begins with the candidate expressing a keen interest in helping others and more often than not, may start off as an occupational therapy aide, a job that is learned in specific situations and requires only a high school diploma. However, for the individual keen on advancing to the OTA level, attending occupational therapy programs in occupational therapy assistant schools is incumbent. Occupational therapist assistant schools provide the training required to follow this career path. These qualifications come in the form of an associate degree that is offered by the institution although the final examinations are nationally certified through the Accredited Council for Occupational Therapy Education. As of 2009, there were 135 Accredited Council for Occupational Therapy Education accredited occupational therapy programs in the US and its territories.
Enrollment in occupational therapist schools usually requires a high school diploma, the passion for the job as well as a great interpersonal outlook. In addition, prospective students can increase their chances of getting admitted into OTA schools by taking up health care related courses in high school such as biology and chemistry. They may also volunteer in health care related facilities such as those for nursing, physical therapy and other health care facilities in general. In addition to accreditation, most states in the US, forty to be precise, regulate the OT industry through licensing, certification and registration. This is achieved through the administration of a national certification program or exam. On passing this exam, the OTA is accorded the COTA (Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant) title with the newly certified professional being required to continue their development through ongoing occupational therapy programs, workshops and courses so as to maintain their certified status. This continuous professional development offers the licensee the opportunity to advance to administrative positions or even teach at occupational therapist assistant schools is their occupational therapist programs.
On accreditation and certification, the newly licensed OTA has access to some 34,400 employment opportunities in the OT sector and about two thirds of these being exclusively OTA jobs. The main places of employment are in health care professional offices, hospitals, and nursing care facilities amongst other places that may offer health care in one way or another. In addition to this, the OT job market is expected to expand by thirty percent year on year for the next eight to ten years, a rate that is way above the industry average for all other professions. The median annual earnings for an OTA stood at $48,230 as of May 2008 with the middle percentile earning between $39,240 and $57,810 and the lowest percentile steady at $31,150.
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