Psychiatric Technicians

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$45,130

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$38,430 – $50,160

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

156,960

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

+22.3%

Growing at twice the all-jobs rate or more (7%+)

Openings a year (projected)

17,000

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

Postsecondary nondegree award

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Care for individuals with mental or emotional conditions or disabilities, following the instructions of physicians or other health practitioners. Monitor patients' physical and emotional well-being and report to medical staff. May participate in rehabilitation and treatment programs, help with personal hygiene, and administer oral or injectable medications.

Main tasks

• Provide nursing, psychiatric, or personal care to patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities.
• Encourage patients to develop work skills and to participate in social, recreational, or other therapeutic activities that enhance interpersonal skills or develop social relationships.
• Restrain violent, potentially violent, or suicidal patients by verbal or physical means as required.
• Lead prescribed individual or group therapy sessions as part of specific therapeutic procedures.
• Monitor patients' physical and emotional well-being and report unusual behavior or physical ailments to medical staff.
• Take and record measures of patients' physical condition, using devices such as thermometers or blood pressure gauges.
• Observe and influence patients' behavior, communicating and interacting with them and teaching, counseling, or befriending them.
• Aid patients in performing tasks, such as bathing or keeping beds, clothing, or living areas clean.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

Postsecondary nondegree award

Work experience in a related job: less than 5 years

Training once hired: short-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 3

Medium preparation

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Psychiatric Aides

  $44,910 median · +1.9% projected

• Physical Therapist Assistants

  $68,380 median · +23% projected

• Occupational Therapy Aides

  $39,160 median · +3.6% projected

• Physical Therapist Aides

  $35,240 median · +4% projected

• Occupational Therapy Assistants

  $72,300 median · +21.5% projected

• Recreational Therapists

  $61,960 median · +4.8% projected