Career Opportunities in Respiratory Care

Seminole State College's A.S. Degree, Respiratory Care program helps prepare students for careers in the Respiratory Care industry.

Respiratory Care Practitioners

Respiratory Care Practitioners (RCPs) provide services in a variety of settings, including hospitals (medical and surgical wards), emergency and trauma centers, diagnostic laboratories, physician offices, pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation centers, and home care.

As the healthcare industry grows and changes, RCPs must grow and evolve as well. Opportunities are highly favorable for RCPs with neonatal and adult critical care skills. The aging population also will produce a substantial growth for RCPs. The demand for RCPs provided by the contract-care firms will continue and create a demand as well.

Job Outlook

Employment of respiratory therapists is projected to grow 13 percent from 2022 to 2032, much faster than the average for all occupations.

About 8,600 openings for respiratory therapists are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Pay

The median annual wage for respiratory therapists in Florida was $68,710 in May 2022.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Respiratory Therapists,
at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/respiratory-therapists.htm (visited November 03, 2023).