How to become an occupational therapist

Official title: Occupational therapists

Also called: Occupational therapist, Community occupational therapist, Paediatric occupational therapist

Occupational therapists work with people who have a physical or learning disability or mental illness, actively engaging them in purposeful activities in order to maximise self-confidence, independent functioning and well-being.

Main tasks

• Considers the physical, psychological and social needs of a patient that may result from illness, injury, congenital condition or lifestyle problems
• Devises, designs, initiates and monitors carefully selected and graded treatments and activities as part of the assessment and intervention process
• Liaises with a wide variety of other professionals in planning and reviewing ongoing treatments
• Trains students and supervises the work of occupational therapy assistants
• Makes home visits to clients, families and carers to organise support and rehabilitation and assist them to deal and cope with disability
• Counsels clients in ways to promote a healthy lifestyle, prevention of illness and/or preparation for coping with increasing stages of illness
• Maintains patient records, manages caseloads

How to become one

Entrants usually possess A levels/H grades, an HND/HNC, a BTEC/SQA award or equivalent qualifications followed by training on an approved degree scheme necessary for state registration as an occupational therapist. There is a minimum age limit of 18 years to enter training.

Ways in

• Apprenticeship (England): Occupational therapist (level 6). England. Typically 48 months. Skills England standard ST0517.
• University: Allied Health degrees, Offered by 17 universities in the UK

Pay · Outlook

• Median full-time pay: £44,040 a year The middle half earn £36,615 to £49,167.
• About 51,600 people work in this job now, and about 56,500 are projected by 2035. (+9.6%)

Related jobs

• Physiotherapists
• Speech and language therapists
• Psychotherapists and cognitive behaviour therapists
• Clinical psychologists
• Other psychologists

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Questions people ask

How do I become an occupational therapist?

Entrants usually possess A levels/H grades, an HND/HNC, a BTEC/SQA award or equivalent qualifications followed by training on an approved degree scheme necessary for state registration as an occupational therapist. There is a minimum age limit of 18 years to enter training.

How much does an occupational therapist earn in the UK?

Median full-time pay is £44,040 a year (Office for National Statistics). The middle half earn £36,615 to £49,167.

Is an occupational therapist a growing career in the UK?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 10% by 2035, from about 51,600 to about 56,500 people (Department for Education).

Do you need a degree to become an occupational therapist?

Usually. 93% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Sources

• Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.