The Average Salary of a Respiratory Therapist 2015

Respiratory therapy is field that is continuing to grow in demand and it is one that has a higher paying salary. The amount you will make as a therapist will determine where you end up working and what type of work you do. However, the lowest paying therapists often make around $40,000.
Average Salaries
As mentioned, the lowest salary of respiratory therapy people is $40,000. The jobs that are the lowest in compensation include people who work at the universities and outpatient care centers. However, people who get jobs with specialists will find the income increase up to roughly $76,000. This makes the average salary around $56,000.
Ways to Increase Salary
When it comes to working in the medical field, there are often ways to increase your salary. This is also true with the respiratory therapy field. The best way to increase your salary is to increase your education, going from having an associate’s degree to having a Bachelor’s degree. This gives you the ability to expand where you are able to work. In addition, some respiratory therapists will have the ability to work as a registered nurse or lab technician for higher pay. This is because these jobs will require the same skills that respiratory therapy jobs do.
Know Where to Work
Unfortunately, not everywhere pays people the same amount. The highest paying jobs in the respiratory therapy field are found in California. Jobs in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and Sacramento all have the highest paid therapists in the nation. These cities have the average pay between $85,000 and $90,000.
Increase Training
As mentioned above, the best way to increase your salary is to go from an associate’s degree to a Bachelor’s degree. There are schools throughout the United States, with nearly 400 programs that offer the associate’s degree and nearly 60 that offer a Bachelor’s degree. You will need to be prepared to study several types of science, including anatomy, chemistry, and pharmacology, as well as be proficient in math. Thankfully, many programs will offer an exam to determine where your skills currently are.
The Bachelor’s degree will allow you to work with specialists and in neo-natal care units. In addition, there are centers that offer testing for conditions such as sleep disorders, and these centers will require a specialist certification in order to get the job.
The best advice that can be given to anyone attempting to get a job in the respiratory therapy field and want the highest paying job is to make sure you have people skills and compassion. You need to be able to solve problems and work with people in many medical fields in order to provide the best care for patients. The more skills you have, the higher paying positions you will qualify for.