If you decide to become a respiratory therapist, you can expect to work hard—but the rewards will be well worth it. Not only will you make an excellent wage, but you will also have the satisfaction of knowing that you have helped to improve people’s health and their lives.

AND…

You will know that you work in a secure profession.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the respiratory therapist profession will grow much faster than average in the coming decade. This is especially true for those respiratory therapists who work with babies or have cardiopulmonary skills.

Why the Job Growth?

One of the biggest reasons that respiratory therapists are needed now—and will be needed much more in the future—is the aging of the population.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average life expectancy for an American in 2010 will be 78.3 years. Medical advances and life style changes have contributed to a greater population of middle aged to elderly people—and these people who are more likely to need the services of a respiratory therapist.

What Does a Respiratory Therapist Do?

In simple terms, respiratory therapists help people to breathe. But there is nothing simple about the important—and even life saving—duties of a respiratory therapist.

Some of the many complex duties of a respiratory therapist include:

• Running diagnostic tests on patients
• Interviewing and evaluating a patient’s respiratory ailments
• Treating premature infants who cannot yet breathe on their own
• Treating elderly sufferers of pneumonia, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.
• Connecting patients who cannot breathe on their own to incubators and closely monitoring them
• Working with physicians to develop an appropriate healthcare plan for the patient
• Performing chest physiotherapy—a process that removes mucus from the lungs—on patients

In addition, some new fields that are opening up to respiratory therapists include:

• Pulmonary therapy
• Polysomnography—diagnosing such sleeping breathing disorders as sleep apnea
• Rapid response team member in a hospital
• Directing smoking cessation programs

Respiratory Therapist Salary

A respiratory therapist’s salary varies quite a bit depending upon the type of workplace—i.e hospital or doctor’s offices—and the focus of their practice. They typically earn between $35,200 and $64,900.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• The median annual salary of respiratory therapists was $47,420 in May of 2006
• The middle 50 percent earned between $40,840 and $56,160
• The highest 10 percent earned more than $64,190
• The lowest 10 percent earned less than $35,200

In 2002, the median annual income of respiratory therapists who worked in medical and surgical hospitals was $44,110.

But there is another level to the respiratory therapy profession—the technicians.

Respiratory therapy technicians generally have less responsibility that a full respiratory therapist, a fact that is reflected in their salaries.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• The median annual salary of respiratory therapy technicians was $39,120 in May of 2006
• The middle 50 percent earned between $32,050 and $46,930
• The highest 10 percent earned more than $56,220
• The lowest 10 percent earned less than $25,940