{"id":977,"date":"2024-07-16T10:16:54","date_gmt":"2024-07-16T17:16:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nau.edu\/occupational-therapy\/?page_id=977"},"modified":"2025-09-05T20:45:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T20:45:18","slug":"why-become-an-ot","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/occupational-therapy\/why-become-an-ot\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Become an OT?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Why become an OT?<\/h2>\n<!-- shortcode-video-iframe -->\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"margin: 0 auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/908866985?badge=0&amp;amp;autopause=0&amp;amp;player_id=0&amp;amp;app_id=58479\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n<h2>Why study OT at NAU?<\/h2>\n<h4 aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Why earn an occupational therapy doctorate (OTD) degree?<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">To achieve your goal of becoming an occupational therapist, you can earn a master&#8217;s degree or doctorate in occupational therapy. At NAU, we offer an occupational therapy doctorate (OTD) degree that is more affordable than any other occupational therapy program in the state of Arizona and only takes an additional semester more than most master level degree programs.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Accredited programs that offer an OTD must meet minimum requirements by ACOTE, similar to a master\u2019s program. A doctoral degree is typically longer and requires that a student completes a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/occupational-therapy\/capstone-experience-project\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">capstone experience and project<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:420,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Additionally, ACOTE requires additional standards for an OTD program to focus on clinical practice skills, research skills, administration, leadership, program and policy development, advocacy, education, and theory development. NAU\u2019s program meets all of these requirements.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:420,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\"> Visit the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/occupational-therapy\/apply\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">OT admissions page<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> to learn more about our application process<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:420,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class='shortcode-column-container'><!-- shortcode-column -->\n<div class=\"shortcode-column shortcode-column--count-3\">\n    <\/p>\n<p><b>#1 Best Occupational Therapy Program in Arizona<\/b> &#8212; U.S. News and World Report 2024<\/p>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- shortcode-column -->\n<div class=\"shortcode-column shortcode-column--count-3\">\n    <\/p>\n<p><b>#65 Best Occupational Therapy program in the nation.<\/b> &#8212; U.S. News and World Report 2024<\/p>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- shortcode-column -->\n<div class=\"shortcode-column shortcode-column--count-3\">\n    <\/p>\n<p><b>#6 in the U.S. for awarding master\u2019s degrees to Native Americans<\/b> &#8212; Diverse: Issues in Higher Education<\/p>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>The Field of Occupational Therapy<\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">As defined by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA): <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:420,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cThe practice of occupational therapy means the therapeutic use of occupations, including everyday life activities with individuals, groups, populations, or organizations to support participation, performance, and function in roles and situations in home, school, workplace, community, and other settings. Occupational therapy services are provided for habilitation, rehabilitation, and the promotion of health and wellness to those who have or are at risk for developing an illness, injury, disease, disorder, condition, impairment, disability, activity limitation, or participation restriction. Occupational therapy addresses the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, sensory-perceptual, and other aspects of performance in a variety of contexts and environments to support engagement in occupations that affect physical and mental health, well-being, and quality of life.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<div class='shortcode-column-container'><!-- shortcode-column -->\n<div class=\"shortcode-column shortcode-column--count-3\">\n    <\/p>\n<p><strong>The only public and non-profit graduate doctoral program in Arizona<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- shortcode-column -->\n<div class=\"shortcode-column shortcode-column--count-3\">\n    <\/p>\n<p><strong>Occupational Therapy is ranked as the #8 best healthcare job <\/strong>&#8212; Best Jobs U.S News<\/p>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- shortcode-column -->\n<div class=\"shortcode-column shortcode-column--count-3\">\n    <\/p>\n<p><strong>#4 best jobs for work-life balance <\/strong>&#8212; Best Jobs U.S News<\/p>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Why Choose a Career in OT?<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:360,&quot;335559739&quot;:80,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<h4 aria-level=\"2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1024 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/occupational-therapy\/wp-content\/uploads\/NAU_OT_KidzSPOT_MG_8142-1-464x348.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/315\/NAU_OT_KidzSPOT_MG_8142-1-464x348.jpg 464w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/315\/NAU_OT_KidzSPOT_MG_8142-1-800x600.jpg 800w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/315\/NAU_OT_KidzSPOT_MG_8142-1-232x174.jpg 232w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 355px) 100vw, 355px\" \/><\/h4>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Careers in Occupational Therapy<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:420,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The job outlook for occupational therapists in the United States is high, with the employment of occupational therapists projected to grow 24 percent from 2016 to 2026. This growth may be attributed to the growing evidence that occupational therapists positively contributes to improved outcomes. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:420,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p aria-level=\"2\"><div class='shortcode-column-container'><!-- shortcode-column -->\n<div class=\"shortcode-column shortcode-column--count-2\">\n    <\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Expected Job Growth<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">18% job employment growth from 2018-2028 (U.S. BLS)<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This growth may be attributed to the growing evidence that occupational therapists positively contribute to improved outcomes. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n<!-- shortcode-column -->\n<div class=\"shortcode-column shortcode-column--count-2\">\n    <\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Financially Rewarding Career<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">$96,370 &#8212; Median Pay (U.S. BLS)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/p>\n<p aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\"><!-- shortcode-right-column -->\n<div class=\"shortcode-right-column\" >\n    <div class=\"shortcode-right-column__container\"><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Top 3 practice settings <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Early Intervention, School, Education (24.89%)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Hospital (22.11%)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Free-standing outpatient (20.85%)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4 aria-level=\"3\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Additional practice settings<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:160,&quot;335559739&quot;:80,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"3\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Academia &amp; Research<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"3\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Long-Term Care &amp; Skilled Nursing Facility<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"3\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Community &amp; Home Health<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"3\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Mental Health<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><em><span class=\"ui-provider a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z ab ac ae af ag ah ai aj ak\" dir=\"ltr\">(AOTA, 2023)<\/span><\/em><\/h5>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<!-- shortcode-button -->\n<div class=\"shortcode-button shortcode-button--center\">\n      <a class=\"main-button\" href=\"https:\/\/whychooseot.com\/\">Why choose occupational therapy as your career?<\/a>\n  <\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why become an OT? Why study OT at NAU? Why earn an occupational therapy doctorate (OTD) degree?\u00a0 To achieve your goal of becoming an occupational therapist, you can earn a master&#8217;s degree or doctorate in occupational therapy. At NAU, we offer an occupational therapy doctorate (OTD) degree that is more affordable than any other occupational [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":854,"featured_media":1026,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","ring_central_script_selection":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-977","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/occupational-therapy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/occupational-therapy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/occupational-therapy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/occupational-therapy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/854"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/occupational-therapy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=977"}],"version-history":[{"count":46,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/occupational-therapy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1398,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/occupational-therapy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/977\/revisions\/1398"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/occupational-therapy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/occupational-therapy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}