Occupational Therapists
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations- O*NET-SOC code
- 29-1122.00
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.
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
High· relative
LowFour relative bandsVery highGroup-level value
Scale, basis and source
Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)
831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band
- Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03
0.008
0.000Range of values carried here0.745Group-level value
Scale, basis and source
Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published
Mapped onto O*NET tasks
Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value
- Data source: ILOPublished: 2025
0.20
0.09Range of values carried here0.70Group-level value
Scale, basis and source
Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published
Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published
What kind of figure this source publishes
The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.
Task-level exposure
Show 14 hidden tasks17 rated tasks · 8 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (47.1%)
β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.
- Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
- All rated tasks are in the O*NET 31.0 task list.
- Source
- OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
- Release
- gh-main-0471612
- License
- MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI
| Task (O*NET 20.1) | Claude.aiRaw / share % | APIRaw / share % |
|---|---|---|
Plan, organize, and conduct occupational therapy programs in hospital, institutional, or community settings to help rehabilitate those impaired because of illness, injury or psychological or developmental problems.29-1122.00 | 0.003153.4 | —0 |
Provide training and supervision in therapy techniques and objectives for students or nurses and other medical staff.29-1122.00 | 0.002746.6 | —0 |
Complete and maintain necessary records. | —0 | 0.0043100.0 |
Values in this tab are predicted labels, not observations. Eloundou et al. (2023) published two rating regimes — human raters and GPT-4 — and the β shown here is derived from the GPT-4 rater basis alone; the same task can take a different value under the other regime. The unit and the meaning differ from the observed shares (%) in the other tabs, so do not place them on the same axis.
| Task (O*NET 27.2) | βE1 + 0.5 × E2 |
|---|---|
Complete and maintain necessary records.O*NET Task ID 347 | 1.0 |
Evaluate patients' progress and prepare reports that detail progress.O*NET Task ID 348 | 1.0 |
Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients.O*NET Task ID 349 | 0.5 |
Recommend changes in patients' work or living environments, consistent with their needs and capabilities.O*NET Task ID 352 | 0.5 |
Help clients improve decision making, abstract reasoning, memory, sequencing, coordination, and perceptual skills, using computer programs.O*NET Task ID 354 | 0.5 |
Design and create, or requisition, special supplies and equipment, such as splints, braces, and computer-aided adaptive equipment.O*NET Task ID 357 | 0.5 |
Advise on health risks in the workplace or on health-related transition to retirement.O*NET Task ID 360 | 0.5 |
Conduct research in occupational therapy.O*NET Task ID 361 | 0.5 |
β = E1 + 0.5 × E2 · E1 = tasks where direct LLM access alone cuts time by at least 50%, E2 = tasks where software built on top of an LLM cuts time by at least 50%. Values take only 0 / 0.5 / 1.0.
Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Anthropic Economic Index, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page
All O*NET 31.0 task statements (17)
All O*NET 31.0 task statements for this occupation (English, as published; task type core or supplemental). Exposure values are not listed here; they are in the table above, next to each task statement as worded in the O*NET version each source used.
| Task (O*NET 31.0) | Type |
|---|---|
| Complete and maintain necessary records. | Core |
| Evaluate patients' progress and prepare reports that detail progress. | Core |
| Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients. | Core |
| Select activities that will help individuals learn work and life-management skills within limits of their mental or physical capabilities. | Core |
| 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. | Core |
| Recommend changes in patients' work or living environments, consistent with their needs and capabilities. | Core |
| Consult with rehabilitation team to select activity programs or coordinate occupational therapy with other therapeutic activities. | Core |
| Help clients improve decision making, abstract reasoning, memory, sequencing, coordination, and perceptual skills, using computer programs. | Core |
| Develop and participate in health promotion programs, group activities, or discussions to promote client health, facilitate social adjustment, alleviate stress, and prevent physical or mental disability. | Core |
| Provide training and supervision in therapy techniques and objectives for students or nurses and other medical staff. | Core |
| Design and create, or requisition, special supplies and equipment, such as splints, braces, and computer-aided adaptive equipment. | Core |
| Plan and implement programs and social activities to help patients learn work or school skills and adjust to handicaps. | Core |
| Lay out materials such as puzzles, scissors and eating utensils for use in therapy, and clean and repair these tools after therapy sessions. | Core |
| Advise on health risks in the workplace or on health-related transition to retirement. | Core |
| Conduct research in occupational therapy. | Core |
| Train caregivers in providing for the needs of a patient during and after therapy. | Core |
| Provide patients with assistance in locating or holding jobs. | Supplemental |
0.10/ 3· Robot exposure index
Scale, basis and source
Each physical task is graded 0–3 by the setting in which robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated could do it (0 none · 1 purpose-built robot settings such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line · 2 structured facilities such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port · 3 unstructured settings such as a private home or a construction site), and the grades are averaged by share of working time
Physical tasks among this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks
Anthropic estimated the grades and time shares with Claude Opus 5 using web search, as of 2026.
The robot exposure index is a different measure from the AI exposure figures on this site and cannot be added to or compared with them. It does not measure actual adoption or cost, and 0 also covers occupations with no physical tasks.
Tier of each physical task
Robot environment tiers (E0–E3)
E0 noneDetails
Rated not doable by robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated, even in a purpose-built setting
E1 purpose-built robot settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting built around the machine, such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line
E2 structured facilitiesDetails
Rated doable in a human work facility that an institution keeps to a working standard, such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port
E3 unstructured settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting that no institution keeps to a working standard, such as a private home or a construction site
Only tasks classified as physical are listed; other tasks have no tier in the source.
| Task (O*NET 29.3) | Robot environment tier |
|---|---|
| Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients. | E0 none |
| 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. | E0 none |
| Design and create, or requisition, special supplies and equipment, such as splints, braces, and computer-aided adaptive equipment. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Lay out materials such as puzzles, scissors and eating utensils for use in therapy, and clean and repair these tools after therapy sessions. | E2 structured facilities |
Occupation information
Employment outlook (BLS)
Values for the whole SOC 29-1122 group (Occupational therapists), not for this O*NET occupation alone.
- Employment, 2025
- 170K
- Projected employment, 2035
- 195K
- Change (2025–35)
- +14.8%
- Median annual wage, 2025
- $100,330
- Typical education needed for entry
- Master's degree
Korea classification links (KSCO)
Links from the current release of the Korea Occupation Direct Crosswalk v1.1, made by AI Changing Work. Relation values are read from the O*NET-SOC occupation side.
| KSCO code | KSCO title | Relation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24662 | 작업치료사 | Same scope | confirmed |
Relation and status definitions(kr-direct v1.1)
ILO occupational description
AI Changing Work links the ISCO-08 unit groups below to this occupation by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (2018 SOC to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to ISCO-08) as published, without case-by-case selection; each link may be whole or partial.
- ISCO-08 2269Health Professionals Not Elsewhere Classified
The definition, tasks and examples below are the ILO's description of that unit group, not of this occupation.
This unit group covers health professionals not classified elsewhere in Sub-major Group 22: Health Professionals. For instance, the group includes occupations such as podiatrist, occupational therapist, recreational therapist, chiropractor, osteopath and other professionals providing diagnostic, preventive, curative and rehabilitative health services.
Tasks
- In such cases tasks would include -
- (a) interviewing patients and conducting diagnostic tests to determine their health status, functional limitations, and the nature of physical or mental disorders, illnesses or other health problems;
- (b) developing and implementing treatment plans for injuries, illnesses and other physical and mental impairments;
- (c) evaluating and documenting patients' progress through treatment plans, and referring patients and families to medical doctors or other health care providers for specialized, rehabilitative or other care services as needed;
- (d) administering therapeutic care and treatment to patients, including through application of manual and physical chiropractic and osteopathic techniques;
- (e) recommending environmental adaptations in the home, leisure, work and school environments on an individual or group basis to enable individuals with functional limitations to perform their daily activities and occupations;
- (f) planning and implementing therapeutic programmes on an individual and group basis for improving and maintaining physical, cognitive, emotional and social functioning, including through the use of arts and crafts, dance and movement, music and other recreational activities;
- (g) identifying and prescribing treatments for conditions affecting the foot, ankle and related structures of the leg due to illness, disease or other physical impairment, and prescribing corrective footwear and advising on foot care to manage foot ailments;
- (h) performing minor surgical procedures such as on the foot and ankles.
Example occupations
Arts therapist · Chiropractor · Dance and movement therapist · Occupational therapist · Osteopath · Podiatrist · Recreational therapist
Sources: ILO ISCO-08 — details: Credits
ESCO occupational vocabulary
Each entry below is matched to this occupation in the published ESCO-O*NET Crosswalk (version 1, 2022). The match types are that crosswalk's; the wording is AI Changing Work's.
- occupational therapy assistantESCO 2269.5This occupation is broader
Occupational therapy assistants support occupational therapists by working with people and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to, or are expected to do, or by modifying the occupation or the environment to better support their occupational engagement. They work under the supervision of an occupational therapist.
Source: European Commission, DG EMPL — ESCO API 2026-08-08 (bridge v1.2.1)
License: CC BY 4.0 (EU Reuse Notice)
ESCO reuse terms and the modification notice are in Credits.
France classification links (ROME)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and ROME 4.0 job profiles, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side. Links marked “provisional” were adopted on the judgments of two judges from the same model family (Claude) alone, or by an operator rule applied to their judgments, so they rest on weaker evidence than confirmed links.
| ROME code | ROME title (French) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| J1403 | Ergothérapeute | Same scopeprovisional |
| J1412 | Psychomotricien / Psychomotricienne | Related, not a match |
| K1109 | Graphothérapeute | Related, not a match |
Source: France Travail — Répertoire Opérationnel des Métiers et des Emplois (ROME 4.0), version 61, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/repertoire-operationnel-des-metiers-et-des-emplois-rome). Licence Ouverte 2.0.
ROME codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET-SOC occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a France Travail correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: fr-direct v1)
Spain classification links (CNO-11)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and CNO-11 occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| CNO-11 code | CNO-11 title (Spanish) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 2156 | Terapeutas ocupacionales | Same scopeprovisional |
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11, Royal Decree 1591/2010) — www.ine.es · Licensed CC BY 4.0. CNO-11 codes and Spanish titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not an INE correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: es-direct v1)
Germany classification links (KldB)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and KldB occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| KldB code | KldB title (German) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 81723 | Berufe in der Ergotherapie - komplexe Spezialistentätigkeiten | Same scopeprovisional |
| 81724 | Berufe in der Ergotherapie - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
Source: © Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 – überarbeitete Fassung 2020, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de. KldB codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own mapping (eigene Zuordnung) and are not a Bundesagentur für Arbeit correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: de-direct v1)
Japan classification links (JSCO)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and JSCO occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| JSCO code | JSCO title (Japanese) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 144 | 理学療法士，作業療法士 | This occupation is narrower |
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan Standard Occupational Classification (Dec. 2009, MIC Notification No. 555). JSCO codes and Japanese titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a MIC correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: jp-direct v1)
Sources, licenses and AI Changing Work's modification and translation notices for this page: Credits & sources