Physical therapists focus on how the body moves: strength, balance, mobility and pain after an injury, surgery or illness. Occupational therapists focus on helping people do the everyday activities that matter to them, like dressing, cooking, working or learning, often by adapting the task or the environment. Both require a graduate degree and a state license, and they frequently work side by side.
How the daily work differs
- Physical therapist: evaluates movement, designs exercise programs, uses hands-on techniques and tracks progress in things like walking, range of motion and strength. A typical patient might be recovering from a knee replacement, a sports injury or a stroke.
- Occupational therapist: looks at what a person needs to do in daily life and what is getting in the way, whether that is physical, cognitive, sensory or emotional. A typical client might be a child working on handwriting, an adult relearning to cook after a stroke, or someone returning to work after an injury.
A simple way to remember it: a PT might help a patient regain the strength to walk to the bathroom, and an OT might help the same patient manage getting dressed once they are there.
Training route and length
- Physical therapist: a bachelor’s degree in any major with science prerequisites, then a Doctor of Physical Therapy program that typically takes about three years, including full-time clinical rotations.
- Occupational therapist: a bachelor’s degree with prerequisites, then an accredited entry-level master’s or doctoral program, usually around two to three years, including supervised fieldwork. Both degree levels currently lead to the same license.
Common undergraduate majors include kinesiology, biology, psychology and exercise science. See what you can do with a kinesiology degree and a psychology degree. If you are unsure whether a doctorate is worth it, our guide on going to grad school helps you think it through.
Licensing in general terms
- Physical therapist: pass the National Physical Therapy Examination and meet your state board’s requirements, which can include a law exam and continuing education to renew.
- Occupational therapist: pass the national NBCOT certification exam and apply for a state license, then keep up with continuing education.
Requirements vary by state, so check the licensing board where you plan to practice.
Where they work and when
- Physical therapist: outpatient orthopedic and sports clinics, hospitals, inpatient rehab, skilled nursing facilities, home health and schools. Outpatient clinics often offer early morning or evening hours for working patients.
- Occupational therapist: schools and pediatric clinics are a large share of jobs, along with hospitals, rehab units, skilled nursing, home health, hand therapy and mental health settings. School-based roles follow the school calendar.
Who tends to prefer which
- PT: people who love exercise science, sports or how the body works mechanically, and who like measurable progress you can see week to week.
- OT: people who enjoy creative problem solving, are interested in the whole person including thinking and emotions, like working with children, or get energy from adapting the world to fit someone.
How to choose and test both
- Shadow a PT and an OT, ideally in the same hospital or rehab unit where they treat the same patients. Many graduate programs also expect observation hours.
- Volunteer or work as a rehab aide or therapy tech to see the pace and the paperwork.
- Set up informational interviews and ask what surprised each person most in their first year.
- Take an intro anatomy course and a psychology course; notice which one pulls you in.
- If you are still exploring, compare a related path like speech-language pathology.
Both fields also have assistant roles that take about two years of training, which can be a way in or a career of their own. For current pay and outlook, check the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Where a mentor helps
A mentor can help a student or career changer line up observation hours, choose a major, keep prerequisites and applications on a weekly schedule, and stay steady through graduate school. Mentors are not credentialed career counselors, admissions counselors or licensing experts; they help you do the research and the work yourself. See career and education mentoring, mentoring for college students and our career paths hub.
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Common questions
Is OT or PT school longer?
PT programs are doctoral and usually about three years. OT programs can be master’s or doctoral, often two to three years, so OT can be slightly shorter.
Do PTs and OTs work together?
Often. In hospitals and rehab units they commonly treat the same patients, with the PT focused on movement and the OT on daily activities.
Which is better for working with kids?
Both have pediatric roles, but school and pediatric settings are an especially large part of occupational therapy.
Can I switch from one to the other later?
Not without a new degree. The licenses are separate, so it is worth shadowing both before you apply.
Get started
Trying to choose between PT and OT and want a plan for testing both? Call (888) 305 5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. A member of our team reviews every assessment personally and sets up a free intro call.