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Career Rating and Comparison
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Degrees and Schools
A minimum of an associate's degree is required to be a respiratory therapist. Most associate's degree and bachelor's degree programs offered through universities, colleges, medical schools and vocational schools prepare students for careers in advanced respiratory therapy, while a few focus more on entry-level roles.
In order for graduates to be eligible for licensure in most states, programs must be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) or Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC).
Classes
Respiratory therapy students divide their time between coursework and supervised clinical experience. Courses typically include:
- anatomy and physiology
- pathophysiology and microbiology
- chemistry and pharmacology
- physics and mathematics
- diagnostic and therapeutic tests and procedures
- medical devices and equipment
- assessing patients and documenting progress
- cardiopulmonary resuscitation and rehabilitation
- use of clinical practice guidelines
- caring for patients at home
- promoting respiratory health and preventing disease
- medical records and insurance
Online Classes and Programs
There are several associate's degree and bachelor's degree programs in respiratory therapy available online. These programs provide convenience and flexibility, but usually do not include the supervised clinical practice that is required to be properly prepared as a respiratory therapist. Important note: only programs accredited by the CAAHEP or CoARC qualify graduates for certification and licensure.
Employment Requirements
An associate's degree in respiratory therapy is the minimum educational requirement for respiratory therapists. In addition, employers require that they be cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certified at all times.
In order to practice in all states except Alaska and Hawaii, respiratory therapists must be licensed. To obtain a license, national certification as a Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) through the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) is usually required. To qualify for supervisory or intensive-care positions, CRTs can obtain certification as a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) by completing advanced programs and passing two examinations.
How to Evaluate Schools
Asking the following kinds of questions is important when evaluating respiratory therapy degree programs:
- Accreditation - Has the program been accredited by the CAAHEP or CoARC?
- Curricula and focus - Does the program prepare students for only entry-level roles, or also advanced respiratory therapy?
- Tuition and financial aid - What financial aid options such as grants, scholarships, work / study and student loans are available? How much support does the school offer to help students take advantage of these opportunities?
- Class structure and practical experience - What is the student-teacher ratio in most classes? Does the school have a well-established program for supervised clinical experience working directly with patients?
- Graduate success - What percentage of graduates became CRTs? Does the school provide comprehensive job placement assistance?
Respiratory Therapist Job Description
Being able to freely take a deep breath is something that most people take for granted until they can't due to health conditions. Respiratory therapists (also called respiratory technicians or respiratory care practitioners) work with patients who have breathing disorders or other conditions that affect their heart and lungs. Working in hospitals and emergency rooms or for home health care agencies, respiratory therapists provide direct care to patients young and old who, because of underdeveloped growth, disease or damage, cannot get the oxygen they need from breathing.
Although respiratory therapists usually handle more complex tasks than respiratory technicians, their roles frequently overlap. The responsibilities of both roles usually include:
- interviewing patients and performing examinations
- conducting diagnostic testing
- documenting patient information and progress
- reporting results to doctors
- responding to emergency / critical care situations
- visiting patients in their homes to provide and maintain equipment
- treating patients with drugs, physiotherapy, and use of medical devices and equipment
- educating patients in self-care and the use of equipment
Unlike respiratory technicians, respiratory therapists work with doctors and other healthcare professionals to establish patient care plans. They are responsible for complicated therapeutic decisions such as providing care for patients on life-support or those in intensive care.
Career Profiles
To help career searchers evaluate their options, BrainTrack has asked hundreds of workers to profile their jobs with a review and ratings. See below for a summary of this career compared to all rated careers and for detailed reviews.
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| Opportunity for Promotion | | |
| Career Flexibility | | |
| How Cool Is The Career | | |
| How Stressful | | |
| Social Orientation | | |
| Earnings Potential | | |
| Task Variety | | |
| Job Security | | |
Job Title: Registered Respiratory Therapist
Attended: Stanly Community College • Albemarle, NC
Studied Respiratory Therapy (completion in 2005)
Highest relevant degree: Associate's
• Submitted: 2/26/2012
"While I am mostly satisfied in my current career, I find that there are certain limitations to being a respiratory therapist. For the most part, though, it's exciting and advancing at a steady rate due to our expertise being needed more as people grow older and live longer."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| School Rating | 9 | I think that Stanly Community College and the instructors that I had are determined to prepare you and get you ready for your career. They are involved and the curriculum is set up so that you cannot slack off and still make the final cut. |
| Opportunity for Promotion | 6 | The opportunity to get promoted isn't as good because promotion within respiratory therapy means that you have extensive knowledge and/or hands on expertise in the field. There really isn't much higher to go other than being a teacher of the subject or being the manager of a small bunch of respiratory therapists. I find that a lot of the respiratory therapists would rather to the labor instead of the meetings and paperwork. |
| Job Security | 8 | While nurses are more in demand because hospitals use more of them, smaller numbers of Respiratory Therapists are needed. That can make it hard to find a job. The field has not been around as long as nursing, but with baby boomers reaching elderly age, and often with lung issues, we are increasingly needed, so someone who has our particular knowledge to treat these patients is in demand. |
| Earnings Potential | 7 | Being a respiratory therapist will not make you rich most of the time, but the pay and earnings are decent and competitive with that of other hospital personnel and staff, like the nurses. With a promotion to something like manager or a teacher, of course earning potential goes up. Travel therapists get paid a lot more hourly than staff therapists at a hospital. |
| How Stressful | 9 | Respiratory therapy can be extremely stressful at times. Emergency situations where life hangs in the balance is stressful. Additionally, we are often spread very thin with large workloads and not a lot of time to do it, so you have to be good at what you're doing and you have to use proper judgement and time management all at the same time. |
| Task Variety | 8 | On most days the tasks will the same, but the way you do things differs. Different procedures are used on different patients because not one thing works for every patient. A therapist has to consider their patients, their needs, and the best way to implement treatments. |
| How Cool Is The Career | 6 | One does not get into the career of respiratory for the glitz or the glamour. If you are a therapist, you know that you are important and the most important thing is that you be as good as you can be at your job, because peoples lives depend on it. During most emergency situations, we're called and heavily depended upon, but when most of the family members remember anyone to thank after all is said and done, it's rarely the respiratory therapist that they remember. |
| Career Flexibility | 8 | Most of the therapists I know work 12 hour shifts and work 3 or 4 days/nights a week. A lot of them are self scheduled, meaning as long as they work the determined number of hours, they decide, with some flexibility, when they work. That can come in handy when you need it. I do not know much about working at home as a respiratory therapist, but most are employed within hospitals, doctors offices, and home care areas. Respiratory therapists are needed nationwide also, so most hospitals use them. |
| Social Orientation | 7 | Respiratory therapists have a lot of social interaction with all of the different people that we have to treat and with nurses that have to care for them as well as doctors and other fellow therapists. We all have to communicate to make an effective plan for the patient to get better. Sometimes we spend a lot of time talking to our patients to get past histories so we can better understand certain problems. |
Job Title: Respiratory Therapist
Attended: Des Moines Area Community College • Ankeny, IA
Studied Respiratory Therapy (completion in 1984)
Highest relevant degree: Associate's
• Submitted: 2/29/2012
"To be able to help people is a wonderful experience. Going home at the end of the day having taught someone how to deal with their disease is great."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| School Rating | 9 | The school was great. They taught me all aspects of Resp. Therapy, from basic nebs to trauma to PFT's. They also taught me what was necessary to keep my job - good attitude and good work ethic. |
| Opportunity for Promotion | 7 | Unless you want to be in management, promotional opportunities are not great. You can kind of work around the various aspects of Resp Therapy. These would include PFT's, Home Care, and Neonatal Care. |
| Job Security | 10 | There are always people who smoke. There are always people who need treatment for pneumonia or pulmonary function testing for occupation hazards. |
| Earnings Potential | 8 | It pays the bills. Not quite as good as nursing, but better than radiology. Overtime is good. You can usually pick up PRN work in the bigger cities. |
| How Stressful | 8 | Stress is part of the game when you work with sick people. Working by yourself in a 40 bed hospital can be pretty stressful. |
| Task Variety | 10 | Working in a small hospital, my day to day workload is varied. PFT's, EEG's, and Cardiac Stress testing are all aspects of my job from day to day. We also participate in home care and pulmonary rehab. |
| How Cool Is The Career | 6 | Not too cool, except when people talk about Resp Care on TV. Most people don't think sputum is cool. |
| Career Flexibility | 10 | Really, I think it is flexible, especially working in a small hospital. We do many things not traditionally associated with resp care. We do Cardiac Stress Testing, Home Care, EEG's, and Ekg's. |
| Social Orientation | 8 | We in Respiratory Care are a pretty tight knit group, as there are not that many of us in Iowa. I was just at an educational seminar and saw some old friends, and I was able to make some new ones. |
Job Title: Certified Respiratory Therapist
Attended: Edison State College • Fort Myers, FL
Studied Respiratory Care (completion in 2010)
Highest relevant degree: Associate's
• Submitted: 2/26/2012
"I'm very happy with my job, but sometimes there are days with patients when you do everything right and they still are not happy. I do love working with the kids."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| School Rating | 7 | They could have given us more clinics to better prepare us for our career. I wish they would have given us more mock NBRC style tests. |
| Opportunity for Promotion | 5 | I only have 2 years of experience, but I can get promoted to Lead Therapist with more experience. I can also get promoted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit with the experience I have now. |
| Earnings Potential | 7 | As an RT, I earn a good living for just having an associate degree. I earned a extra shift bonus because I work nights. |
| How Stressful | 5 | Yes, you have a lot of patients on breathing treatments. A respiratory therapist is responsible for the airway in the code blue situation. |
| Task Variety | 9 | On most days, an RT does the same stuff, but there are days where we are just doing floor therapy. On other days we are in the ICU running ventilators, doing Arterial Blood Gases, or doing treatments with EZPAP. |
| How Cool Is The Career | 5 | It is very exciting because everyday you do not know what you will have to handle. You can go from treating kids to adults, from running ventilators to breathing treatments with CPT. |
| Career Flexibility | 5 | You can not work at home in my career. You can always get more certification for different specializations. |
| Social Orientation | 9 | As an RT you socialize with your patients. I always ask my patients how their day is and how they are doing. |
Job Title: Certified Respiratory Therapist
Attended: BPCC (Bossier Parish Community College) • Bossier City, LA
Studied Respiratory Therapy (completion in 2009)
Highest relevant degree: Certificate
• Submitted: 3/5/2012
"I'm satisfied with the pay but not with the promotion opportunities. There are not many levels to move up to in the industry."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| School Rating | 9 | Ashley Dulle was a great instructor who provided us with all that she could. We also had excellent learning opportunities at the area hospitals. |
| Opportunity for Promotion | 5 | There are only 2 more steps that I see as far as promotions. One is for me to get registered, and secondly when I'm registered, to become RRT 2. |
| Job Security | 6 | Since I'm certified, my employer will not hire me full-time until I'm registered. All CRT can only work PRN. |
| Earnings Potential | 5 | I don't see the earnings potential in this field increasing anytime soon. The recession has also definitely hurt this field as we are forced to cut back where we can. |
| How Stressful | 6 | This job has its stressful moments, but that mainly depends on where you are working that night. If you are in the BU or ER, that's a high stress area vs. floor therapy. |
| Task Variety | 7 | Each day I come to work I don't know where I'm going to go. Sometimes it's ICU and sometimes it's the floors. The combination is different daily and your patients change day to day. |
| How Cool Is The Career | 5 | I don't feel that this job is any more or less cool than any other job in the medical profession. I feel sometimes that this career is not well respected. |
| Career Flexibility | 6 | My schedule is very flexible right now because of my PRN Status. The only shifts available to work are evenings and night shift. Here in this local area, RRT jobs are hard to come by. |
| Social Orientation | 9 | This field offers many opportunities for social interaction. Doctors, nurses, and other therapists are always around. You are never lonely and can always find someone to talk to. |
Job Title: CRT
Attended: Pima Medical Institute • Las Vegas, NV
Studied Respiratory Therapy (completion in 2010)
Highest relevant degree: Certificate
• Submitted: 3/4/2012
"I like my career. It allows me to work with patients in a daily basis. Big upgrade from being a phlebotomist."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| School Rating | 5 | I have nothing to compare it to. However, I feel comfortable with ABGs and changing vents. |
| Opportunity for Promotion | 2 | Not much in the way of promotions. We get paid more for experience, but that's about it. |
| Job Security | 9 | Lots of hospitals here. I had no trouble finding a job. |
| Earnings Potential | 5 | Our salary range is pretty narrow. There is not too much room for a huge pay bump. |
| How Stressful | 8 | This job is pretty chill. However, some days get hectic when there are lots of blood gases to do and not enough time. |
| Task Variety | 4 | We basically do the same things day to day. In the end, most jobs consist of repeating the same job over and over again. |
| How Cool Is The Career | 5 | I think our jobs are cool. We get to deal with very sick patients and work with the doctors to get patients better. |
| Career Flexibility | 5 | We work long shifts. However, once we are done, we don't have to worry about work at home. |
| Social Orientation | 8 | There is a lot of interaction with this job. We meet with patients to assess their lung function constantly. |
Job Title: Respiratory Therapist
Attended: Florida A And M University • Tallahassee, FL
Studied Cardiopulmonary Science (completion in 2000)
Highest relevant degree: Bachelor's
• Submitted: 3/13/2012
"I am truly satisfied with my career choice. I have found that respiratory therapists don't sometimes get enough credit for the knowledge we have gained in the classroom and on the job."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| School Rating | 10 | I think the teachers were great and knowledgeable. The instructors prepared you through real world experiences. |
| Opportunity for Promotion | 4 | Promotions are few and far between. There are not a whole lot of opportunities to move up in the business. |
| Job Security | 8 | We don't have the job security we once did. Hospitals are cutting budgets and in some hospitals other professionals perform our duties and so respiratory therapists are not needed. |
| Earnings Potential | 6 | The earning potential is a little above average. I don't see many big opportunities to boost my earnings. |
| How Stressful | 5 | Although the job could get stressful at times, I don't think it is more than many other jobs. |
| Task Variety | 4 | Daily tasks get a little mundane. Sometimes giving breathing treatments all day gets somewhat old. |
| How Cool Is The Career | 5 | It is really not a glamourous job. It can be exciting when helping someone and you see how your skills help them to do better. |
| Career Flexibility | 5 | There are opportunities for work hour changes. I have worked both day and night shifts. I was also able to change facilities. |
| Social Orientation | 9 | We have social interaction with people in other disciplines. I am sometimes called for interdisciplinary meetings about patients. |
Job Title: Lead Respiratory Therapist
Attended: Arkansas Valley Technical Institute • Ozark, AR
Studied Respiratory Therapy (completion in 1988)
Highest relevant degree: Certificate
• Submitted: 3/28/2012
"I feel like I am in a field that is needed. The knowledge that I have benefits many people and I have a deeper knowledge of pulmonary issues than nurses. I don't think that respiratory therapy is a field that can be fazed out."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| School Rating | 7 | At the time I went it was an eleven month school. It was difficult to learn everything in that amount of time. Now I believe it has been extended to at least 18 months and that should help quite a bit. |
| Opportunity for Promotion | 7 | I don't think there's much room for promotion in the small company that I work for. If I worked for a larger chain company, then I may have more opportunity for growth. |
| Job Security | 9 | I work for a durable medical equipment company. We have a lot of oxygen and CPAP patients. That is a need that just continues to grow annually and I don't see that changing in my lifetime. |
| Earnings Potential | 5 | I feel that I make good money for the level of education that I have. However, the opportunity for income growth is poor. |
| How Stressful | 4 | In the home setting it's not stressful at all. Most of the stress comes from the money aspect of the job, making sure we are getting paid. Now in the hospital setting it can be very stressful. There are never enough therapists to cover all the patients. |
| Task Variety | 4 | I pretty much do the same thing day in and day out. Occasionally something odd does occur, but that's pretty rare. |
| How Cool Is The Career | 4 | Respiratory therapists don't get a lot of notice. I feel that we are upstaged by registered nurses. This is kinda sad because when a patient is crashing the nurse will be the first person to call a therapist for assistance. |
| Career Flexibility | 2 | There are very minimal jobs for RT's. It's either working in a hospital or a medical equipment business. I don't know of anything else that's available. |
| Social Orientation | 5 | I get a lot of interaction with people, but the age diversity is poor. Most of our patients are elderly. I do, however, like that age group and enjoy visiting with them as I am assisting them in their care. |
Job Title: RRT
Attended: Darton College • Albany, GA
Studied Respiratory Therapy (completion in 2010)
Highest relevant degree: Associate's
• Submitted: 3/24/2012
"Working with patients is great and rewarding. The field has become very much state regulated and therapists spend more time documenting than taking care of patients."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| School Rating | 7 | Darton is an accredited school for respiratory and the teachers know how to train the students. I was very ready to begin working. |
| Opportunity for Promotion | 6 | Average opportunities for advancement in the short term. Therapists who stay in the field for 10 years have great opportunity. |
| Job Security | 8 | The field is growing and very secure. The downside is that there are many respiratory therapists who cannot find jobs because of the number of growing students in the field. |
| Earnings Potential | 8 | My hospital pays the best in the area. The opportunity for increased earning potential is very high. The higher paying jobs are working through travel agencies after you get a years experience. |
| How Stressful | 7 | Respiratory therapy is a tough major and can be stressful. Their are many licenses you must get before graduation. PALS was very stressful. I also had to pass two state board exams. |
| Task Variety | 7 | The work areas are rotated weekly. One week I may be in ICU and the next in pediatrics. Tasks can be different in the areas. ICU is ventilators. Pediatrics can have many different types of treatment. |
| Career Flexibility | 5 | My shifts are set for 36 and 48 hour work weeks. Overtime is sometimes necessary. I spend 90 hours every two weeks at work. |
| Social Orientation | 7 | I meet many people everyday, both patients and family. I have to interact with staff and managers on a daily basis. |
Job Title: Respiratory Therapist
Attended: Triton College • River Grove, IL
Studied Respiratory Therapy (completion in 2002)
Highest relevant degree: Associate's
• Submitted: 4/4/2012
"I enjoy working with people in a hospital setting. Unfortunately, many hospitals are reducing RT departments and pushing our work on nurses."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| School Rating | 10 | Conveniently located in Chicagoland area. Allowed me to transform my life in 2 short years. |
| Opportunity for Promotion | 5 | Those who chose to limit themselves to just respiratory therapy are pretty much stuck. However, I have seen my colleagues use their healthcare experience to propel them into much higher paid careers with pharmaceutical sales companies and nursing homes. |
| Job Security | 5 | When I started, the demand for RT's was great and I had much greater flexibility because it was so easy to move to another hospital. With recent cutbacks in RT departments, this is no longer the case. |
| Earnings Potential | 5 | In my area, 35-50k is about the average. Without getting into management, it is hard to make much more. |
| How Stressful | 8 | Long shifts combined with working odd hours can be very stressful. That being said, it's always 72 degrees and clean, much better than my previous job. |
| Task Variety | 10 | The people always change as new patients are admitted. The tasks do get repetitive, but I try to stay focused on the patients. |
| How Cool Is The Career | 7 | I don't get paid like a doctor, but I also spend much more time with the patients. If you are going into healthcare for the love of people, being a respiratory therapist is pretty cool. I enjoy being a positive influence to people when they are at their worst. |
| Career Flexibility | 6 | Work schedule is great. Most hospitals work in three shifts so you can generally choose when you would like to work. There are a lot of part time and in home respiratory jobs, and being in the healthcare field, the jobs are where the people are. |
| Social Orientation | 10 | Besides working in a department of 20 other RT's, I am constantly out on the floor caring for patients. If you like to talk, and aren't afraid to introduce yourself, you will meet some great people in this line of work. |
Job Title: Registered Respiratory Therapist
Attended: Big Sandy Community And Technical College • Prestonsburg, KY
Studied Respiratory Care (completion in 2009)
Highest relevant degree: Associate's
• Submitted: 4/7/2012
"The pay is ok, but could be better, and the hours aren't too bad. I wish RT's got a little more respect in the hospital setting."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| School Rating | 10 | The program director is AMAZING! The instructors are great with students and very helpful. Overall the program has a high pass rate for the board exams. |
| Opportunity for Promotion | 7 | The manager and supervisor positions are filled at the moment. But in the future, I'm sure that if I wanted to pursue a higher position, I would be able to. |
| Job Security | 9 | I think there will always be a need for respiratory therapists because of black lung and smokers. I work in a trauma center and RT's are definitely needed for trauma's, intubations, etc. |
| Earnings Potential | 8 | The pay rate is pretty good where I am at. Also, if I wanted to make more money, I could easily do so by relocating or trying a traveling position. |
| How Stressful | 8 | Sometimes it is hard to work under pressure and make decisions that could be life threatening. It is also stressful to work with certain types of people and egos in the hospital setting. |
| Task Variety | 10 | Everyday that I come to work I have a different task than the previous day. There is never a dull moment and always a chance to learn something new. |
| How Cool Is The Career | 6 | People look up to me because of my job, although a lot of people just think I do neb treatments. |
| Career Flexibility | 7 | It is not easy to find RT jobs in rural areas. The hours at my job are flexible. |
| Social Orientation | 8 | I have the opportunity to meet so many different types of people. It really makes life interesting and also I get to communicate with people that understand what I'm talking about. |
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