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Boston Career Explorer

Healthcare Practitioners and Technical

Physical Therapists

Assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and improve or correct disabling conditions resulting from disease or injury.

Also called: Acute Care PT (Acute Care Physical Therapist), Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), Home Care Physical Therapist (Home Care PT), Inpatient Physical Therapist (Inpatient PT), Outpatient Physical Therapist (Outpatient PT), Pediatric Physical Therapist (Pediatric PT)

Median pay in Greater Boston
$103,550
$49.78/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
5,330
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+7.3%
310 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
Doctoral or professional degree

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$81,220$94,750$103,550$122,380$130,220

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Plan, prepare, or carry out individually designed programs of physical treatment to maintain, improve, or restore physical functioning, alleviate pain, or prevent physical dysfunction in patients.
  • Perform and document an initial exam, evaluating data to identify problems and determine a diagnosis prior to intervention.
  • Record prognosis, treatment, response, and progress in patient's chart or enter information into computer.
  • Instruct patient and family in treatment procedures to be continued at home.
  • Evaluate effects of treatment at various stages and adjust treatments to achieve maximum benefit.
  • Confer with the patient, medical practitioners, or appropriate others to plan, implement, or assess the intervention program.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Moderate exposure46 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 37
  • Language-model AIOE 46
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 55

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for physical therapists is moderate, and observed AI use is little or none so far. AI tools may help with charting, reviewing exam data, and drafting treatment plans. Hands-on care, working with patients and families, and adjusting treatment based on how a person responds still rely on the therapist.

Likely to change

  • Charting and recording patient progress
  • Reviewing exam data and drafting plans

Still relies on people

  • Hands-on treatment and movement coaching
  • Teaching patients and families home routines

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

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Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

1 program near Boston (plus 9 graduate)

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

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