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Occupational Therapists

Assess, plan, and organize rehabilitative programs that help build or restore vocational, homemaking, and daily living skills, as well as general independence, to persons with disabilities or developmental delays. Use therapeutic techniques, adapt the individual's environment, teach skills, and modify specific tasks that present barriers to the individual.

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A look at the work

  • Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients.
  • Complete and maintain necessary records.
  • Plan, organize, and conduct occupational therapy programs in hospital, institutional, or community settings to help rehabilitate persons with disabilities because of illness, injury or psychological or developmental problems.
  • Plan and implement programs and social activities to help patients learn work or school skills and adjust to handicaps.
  • Select activities that will help individuals learn work and life-management skills within limits of their mental or physical capabilities.
  • Evaluate patients' progress and prepare reports that detail progress.
  • Train caregivers in providing for the needs of a patient during and after therapy.
  • Lay out materials such as puzzles, scissors and eating utensils for use in therapy, and clean and repair these tools after therapy sessions.

A selection of source-listed tasks; duties vary by role and employer.

Interests involved in this work

These source scores describe occupational work activities. They are separate from your personal test results.

Hands-on

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

3.6 / 7

Investigative

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

4.2 / 7

Creative

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

3.1 / 7

Helping people

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

6.1 / 7

Enterprising

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

1.8 / 7

Organizing

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

3.1 / 7

Skills to explore

Source-reported importance on a 1–5 scale. Try a course, project or conversation to learn what these skills involve.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

2021-08

4.1 / 5

Service Orientation

Actively looking for ways to help people.

2021-08

4.1 / 5

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

2021-08

4.1 / 5

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

2021-08

4.0 / 5

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

2021-08

4.0 / 5

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

2021-08

4.0 / 5

Social Perceptiveness

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

2021-08

4.0 / 5

Judgment and Decision Making

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

2021-08

4.0 / 5

Instructing

Teaching others how to do something.

2021-08

4.0 / 5

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

2021-08

4.0 / 5

Plan a small next step

Talk to someone doing this work, look for a supervised activity, and explore the subjects that interest you. Admission, licensing and current program requirements should be confirmed with the relevant institutions.

Source preparation category: Job Zone 5 of 5 · 2021-08. This category describes typical preparation, not your eligibility.

Related study fields

Source crosswalk connections are research leads, not required qualifications.

Occupational Therapy/Therapist →

Explore all related study fields →

Source & methodology

O*NET-SOC code 29-1122.00 · Database 31.0 · Retrieved Oct 14, 2026. Dates on individual observations describe their source periods.

How interest exploration matching works →

Data: O*NET® 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Used under CC BY 4.0. StudyIndex normalizes the presentation and adds exploration features; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions.