Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist

Types of Degrees Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many respiratory care therapy graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Associate Degree	5,020
Bachelor’s Degree	1,475
Master’s Degree	138
Undergraduate Certificate	113
Basic Certificate	54

What Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, respiratory care therapy/therapist majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Skills for Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist Majors

A major in respiratory care therapy/therapist prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a respiratory care therapy/therapist student include the following:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with respiratory care therapy/therapist:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Health Specialties Professors	25.9%	$97,370
Respiratory Therapists	23.3%	$60,280

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist?

The major attracts more women than men. About 74% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of respiratory care therapy/therapist majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	132
Black or African American	217
Hispanic or Latino	228
White	749
International Students	47
Other Races/Ethnicities	102

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist, too. About 3.2% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist

Some careers associated with respiratory care therapy/therapist require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for respiratory care therapy/therapist careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	3.2%
Some College Courses	0.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	60.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	17.8%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	2.5%
Master’s Degree	7.9%
Doctoral Degree	5.5%
Post-Doctoral Training	4.2%

Online Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	10	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	7	0
Associate’s Degree	338	4
Bachelor’s Degree	3	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	16	5
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to respiratory care therapy/therapist.

Major	Number of Grads
Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)	27,986
Physician Assistant	12,477
Radiologic Technology	10,598
Surgical Technology	7,433
Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician	6,280
Medical Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiation Therapy	3,991
Athletic Training	3,255
Other Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	1,970
Cardiovascular Technology/Technologist	1,420
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technology	921
Electrocardiograph Technology/Technician	611
Nuclear Medical Technology/Technologist	588
Electroneurodiagnostic/Electroencephalographic Technology/Technologist	384
Polysomnography	235
Perfusion Technology/Perfusionist	183
Mammography Technician/Technology	110
Radiation Protection/Health Physics Technician	71
Gene/Genetic Therapy	41
Cardiopulmonary Technology	39
Hearing Instrument Specialist	14
Orthopedic Technology	6

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.