Healthcare Support
Occupational Therapy Aides
Under close supervision of an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant, perform only delegated, selected, or routine tasks in specific situations. These duties include preparing patient and treatment room.
Also called: Certified Occupational Rehabilitation Aide (CORA), Direct Service Professional (DSP), Direct Support Professional (DSP), Occupational Rehabilitation Aide, Occupational Therapist Aide (OT Aide), Occupational Therapy Aide (OT Aide)
- Median pay in Greater Boston
- $35,340
- $16.99/hr
- Jobs in Greater Boston
- 60
- Massachusetts 2024–2034
- +2.3%
- 30 openings a year
- Typical U.S. entry requirement
- High school diploma or equivalent
- plus Short-term on-the-job training
Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.
Pay range in Greater Boston
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $35,340 | $35,340 | $35,340 | $42,710 | $43,210 |
10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.
What you’d do
- Encourage patients and attend to their physical needs to facilitate the attainment of therapeutic goals.
- Report to supervisors or therapists, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, attendance, and accomplishments.
- Observe patients' attendance, progress, attitudes, and accomplishments and record and maintain information in client records.
- Prepare and maintain work area, materials, and equipment and maintain inventory of treatment and educational supplies.
- Transport patients to and from the occupational therapy work area.
- Instruct patients and families in work, social, and living skills, the care and use of adaptive equipment, and other skills to facilitate home and work adjustment to disability.
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.
Lower exposure26 of 100
The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:
- AIOE 24
- Language-model AIOE 36
- GPTs-are-GPTs 18
Observed AI use today: Some (Anthropic Economic Index)
AI exposure is lower for this job, and observed AI use is some. AI tools may help with record-keeping and progress reports, but moving patients, setting up rooms, and encouraging people are physical, in-person work. The bigger factor for demand is that federal projections expect insurance payment limits to reduce demand for aides.
Likely to change
- Recording patient attendance and progress
- Tracking supply inventory
Still relies on people
- Encouraging patients during therapy
- Transporting patients and preparing treatment rooms
What federal projections say
“Demand change - share decreases as payer restrictions in the reimbursement of services provided by occupational therapy aides dampens demand for the occupation.”
Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.
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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).
No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.
Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.
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