Physiotherapist vs Physical therapist

A physiotherapist helps people who have experienced injury, illness, or disability by providing exercise routines, manual therapy, education, and advice, while a physical therapist is there to help injured or ill people improve movement and manage pain.

How To Become A Physiotherapist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a physiotherapist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted Expert

Ron Precht

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a physiotherapist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $33.68 an hour? That's $70,054 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 17% and produce 40,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Physiotherapist?

Ron Precht

Senior Manager, American Massage Therapy Association

Generally, metropolitan areas have had more openings for massage therapists. This is a report from the end of 2019 that has the most recent data we have available. Report

ScorePhysiotherapistUS Average

Salary

5.5

Avg. Salary $70,054

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.2

Growth Rate 17%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.47%

Asian 17.71%

Black or African American 3.13%

Hispanic or Latino 6.55%

Unknown 3.62%

White 68.52%

Gender

female 60.14%

male 39.86%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress Level

8.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

10.0

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.7

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a physiotherapist

Explore physiotherapist education requirements

Most common physiotherapist degrees

Bachelor's

68.5 %

Master's

17.5 %

Diploma

4.0 %

Start to develop specific physiotherapist skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	33.36%
Rehabilitation	12.54%
Home Health	9.08%
Physical Therapy	8.17%
Physiotherapy	5.93%

Complete relevant physiotherapist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New physiotherapists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a physiotherapist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real physiotherapist resumes.

Research physiotherapist duties and responsibilities

Assess needs for specialize equipment, orthotics, and wheelchairs as well as possible interventions to manage spasticity and joint contractures.
Provide first-aid, physical therapy treatment and complete rehabilitation for injure players.
Provide support for rehabilitation services department, assisting therapy staff members when necessary.
Facilitate psychological adjustment of patients with extensive/grossly deforming injuries through counseling, pleasant mannerisms and use of good humor.

Prepare your physiotherapist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your physiotherapist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a physiotherapist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Physiotherapist Resume templates

Build a professional Physiotherapist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Physiotherapist resume.

Apply for physiotherapist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a physiotherapist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do physiotherapists rate their job?