Career roadmap
How to become a Recreational Therapist
Median annual wage for Recreational Therapists (29-1125) — BLS OEWS, May 2023.
What you would actually do
The tasks that make up the work of a Recreational Therapist, weighted by how central each one is to the job.
- Train patients, family members, or caregivers in techniques for managing disabilities or illnesses.
- Treat patients using psychological therapies.
- Develop treatment plans that use non-medical therapies.
- Monitor patient progress or responses to treatments.
- Record patient medical histories.
- Gather medical information from patient histories.
- Collect medical information from patients, family members, or other medical professionals.
- Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
The skills that actually carry the job
Scored on how much the work depends on each one — not a wishlist, a measurement.
- Service Orientation4.1/5
- Active Listening4.0/5
- Speaking4.0/5
- Social Perceptiveness4.0/5
- Coordination4.0/5
- Reading Comprehension3.9/5
- Writing3.9/5
- Critical Thinking3.9/5
- Instructing3.9/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.5/5
Would this suit you?
Every occupation leans on a particular mix of interests. Here is the mix measured for a Recreational Therapist — and our free 2-minute Career Match scores you on the same six.
- Social6.9/7
Helping, teaching, caring for and working directly with people
- Investigative4.2/7
Investigating, diagnosing, reasoning through problems with evidence
- Realistic3.8/7
Hands-on, practical, working with tools, machines or the body
- Artistic3.0/7
Creating, expressing, working without a fixed procedure
- Enterprising2.5/7
Persuading, leading, selling, taking commercial risk
- Conventional2.5/7
Ordering, checking, following a precise procedure accurately
Interest profiles from the O*NET 29.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Used under CC BY 4.0.
