Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code RSI

Respiratory Therapists

Assess, treat, and care for patients with breathing disorders. Assume primary responsibility for all respiratory care modalities, including the supervision of respiratory therapy technicians. Initiate and conduct therapeutic procedures; maintain patient records; and select, assemble, check, and operate equipment.

Also called: CRT (Certified Respiratory Therapist), Diagnostics RRT (Diagnostics Registered Respiratory Therapist), Licensed CRT (Licensed Certified Respiratory Therapist), Respiratory Care Practitioner (RCP), CRRT (Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Respiratory Therapist), Infant RT (Infant Respiratory Therapist), Licensed RT (Licensed Respiratory Therapist), Registered Respiratory Care Practitioner (Registered RCP).

O*NET 29-1126.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $82,280; Middle half earn $74,520 to $98,730. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +12% · Much faster than average; 139,600 jobs in 2024, projected 156,400. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Respiratory therapists".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Set up and operate devices, such as mechanical ventilators, therapeutic gas administration apparatus, environmental control systems, or aerosol generators, following specified parameters of treatment.
Monitor patient's physiological responses to therapy, such as vital signs, arterial blood gases, or blood chemistry changes, and consult with physician if adverse reactions occur.
Read prescription, measure arterial blood gases, and review patient information to assess patient condition.
Relay blood analysis results to a physician.
Provide emergency care, such as artificial respiration, external cardiac massage, or assistance with cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Enforce safety rules and ensure careful adherence to physicians' orders.
Work as part of a team of physicians, nurses, or other healthcare professionals to manage patient care by assisting with medical procedures or related duties.
Maintain charts that contain patients' pertinent identification and therapy information.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Monitoring4.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.9 / 5
Speaking3.9 / 5
Active Learning3.4 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.7 / 5
Medicine and Dentistry4.4 / 5
Public Safety and Security4.2 / 5
English Language4.0 / 5
Psychology3.9 / 5
Mechanical3.9 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic67
Investigative62
Artistic0
Social65
Enterprising11
Conventional49

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

advanced physiotherapist · DE Fachphysiotherapeut/Fachphysiotherapeutin · FR expert physiothérapeute/experte physiothérapeute
physiotherapist · DE Physiotherapeut/Physiotherapeutin · FR physiothérapeute
speech and language therapist · DE Sprachtherapeut/Sprachtherapeutin · FR orthophoniste
occupational therapy assistant · DE Ergotherapieassistent/Ergotherapieassistentin · FR assistant ergothérapeute/assistante ergothérapeute
clinical perfusion scientist · DE Fachassistent Herz-Kreislauf-Funktionsdiagnostik/Fachassistentin Herz-Kreislauf-Funktionsdiagnostik · FR perfusionniste clinique
physiotherapy assistant · DE Physiotherapieassistent/Physiotherapieassistentin · FR kinésithérapeute

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Physiotherapists (2221)73,700 employed
Speech and language therapists (2223)19,100 employed
Occupational therapists (2222)56,000 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.19. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (29-1126).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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