Career Specializations

• Sleep Disorders: Loud snoring is just the beginning of the health problems that respiratory therapists help patients with when their airways become blocked during sleep.
• Neonatology: Having just been developed, the lungs of newborn infants are extremely fragile and thus, require very careful attention from respiratory therapists.
• Pediatrics: With an asthma epidemic sweeping the nation, respiratory therapists may choose to work closely with children to teach them how to manage their condition and prepare for what to do in the case of an attack.
• Pulmonary Function Technology: Respiratory therapists may specialize in the technology that works to improve lung function.

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Degree Levels

• Associate Degree: 2 years to complete
• Bachelor's Degree: 4 years to complete
• Master's Degree: 2 years to complete

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Education & Certification Requirements

Respiratory therapists must, at the very minimum, complete their associate degree in respiratory therapy at a school accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) or the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). Accreditation status of schools offering respiratory therapy programs is constantly being updated on the CoARC website. Accredited programs may be at colleges and universities, medical schools, vocational-technical institutes, and/or the armed forces.

If you live anywhere in the United States, you must obtain your license before you can start working as a respiratory therapist. In order to be licensed, you must first meet the eligibility requirements provided by the National Board for Respiratory Care. Once you have graduated from a CAAHEP- or CoARC-accredited entry-level or advanced program and pass the exam, you may then receive your Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) credential. After passing two separate examinations, you may be awarded the Registered Respiratory Therapist credential. (BLS)

The entry-level CRT exam consists of 160 multiple-choice questions and will take three hours to complete. In order to prepare for the exam, you must be familiar with the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of all entry-level respiratory therapists. Also, many employers of respiratory therapists require employees to hold active cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification.

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Salary Information

As of May 2008, respiratory therapists earned median annual wages of $52,200. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $37,920, while the highest 10 percent earned more than $69,800. If you obtain a bachelor's or master's degree in respiratory therapy, you will likely be earning an amount toward the top of this range. (BLS)

California was the highest paying state for respiratory therapists, providing an annual mean wage of $67,970 in May 2010. Colleges, universities, and professional schools paid the highest salaries, which provided an annual mean wage of $66,450 the same year. (BLS)

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Job Outlook

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has a favorable prediction for respiratory therapists; employment for respiratory therapists is expected to grow 21 percent over the period of 2008 to 2018. This amount is much greater than the average for all occupations. The increasing demand for respiratory therapists in the next decade will come from the large aging population and a large prevalence of cardiopulmonary disease among this demographic. As a result, more respiratory therapists will be needed to meet the health demands of the elderly. Additionally, respiratory therapists have taken on more expansive roles in case management, emergency care, disease prevention, and the early detection of pulmonary disorders, which will also contribute to growth in the demand for respiratory therapists.

Job opportunities are best for people who have obtained both a bachelor's degree and certification in respiratory therapy. Most job openings for respiratory therapists will be in hospitals, although there are additional openings in home healthcare services, consumer-goods rental firms, health practitioner offices, and in the employment services industry. (BLS)

Related Careers

If you have considered working as a respiratory therapist, you probably want to spend your hours working to improve the health of patients. Another career that would allow you to do this is physical therapy. Physical therapists work alongside people suffering from physical disabilities to improve their functioning and/or lessen their pain. As a physical therapist, you can be expected to provide massages and electrical stimulation, guide exercises, and facilitate stretching. .

Also, you might consider work in occupational therapy. As an occupational therapist, you will develop ways to improve the quality of life for those suffering any physical, mental, emotional, or developmental health issues. You will work directly with patients to allow them to perform routine tasks in both living and working environments. Patients who have experienced a permanent loss of functioning may seek treatment from occupational therapists so that they can eventually live more independently. If work as an occupational therapist seems like too much responsibility or requires a more rigorous academic commitment than you were hoping for, you can also consider working as an occupational therapy assistant.