Salaries and roles
There are a wide range of job roles, settings, specialisms and fields in occupational therapy, with salaries starting from £20,000
With demand for occupational therapy services both in the UK and abroad, there are significant job opportunities, and the profession can offer a rewarding career.
Traditionally the majority of BAOT members work in the National Health Service (NHS) but increasingly qualified occupational therapists have found exciting opportunities in other work settings, and we expect this trend to continue.
Occupational therapy support staff work in the same places as occupational therapists, with varying levels of independence and responsibility based on experience and the service needs.
Job roles
As a qualified occupational therapist, you could consider working in a number of different job roles:
- practitioner
- researcher
- manager
- lecturer
- consultant
Fields and specialisms
Within occupational therapy there is the option to work in different fields, such as social care, mental health, education, learning disabilities or physical rehabilitation. There are also a wide range of practice specialisms to choose from, such as eating disorders, hand therapy and substance misuse and you may wish to specialise in working with children, adults or older people.
Job settings
You can also decide whether you want to work for someone else or for yourself, in the community, in a hospital, or in a university educating future occupational therapists. The profession continues to develop new areas of practice, so there are many options that you can consider. Occupational therapy jobs exist in a number of settings, including:
- charities and voluntary agencies
- commercial and industrial organisations
- disabled living centres
- equipment companies
- government agencies
- housing departments
- local community services
- NHS and private hospitals
- private practice
- schools, colleges and universities
- social services and social work departments
- wheelchair services
- hostels for the homeless
- residential care homes
Qualified occupational therapists working in the NHS start with an average salary of about £20,000, rising for more experienced and consultant occupational therapists to around £40-50,000
Local government salaries tend to be pitched around the same level, although they are set by individual employers so can vary significantly.
Earnings are similar in the private, voluntary and charitable sectors. In addition, occupational therapists working in London can receive London weighting of around £5,500.
The average hours of work are 35–37.5 hours per week. Most occupational therapy staff work Monday to Friday during ‘office hours’, but there are an increasing number of posts that cover evenings and weekends, particularly in mental health community services, acute hospitals, accident and emergency services and private practice.
