Army · 68L
Your Occupational Therapy Specialist experience maps to civilian jobs like Occupational Therapy Assistants—and well beyond. Explore the specific roles below, see what each pays and requires, and build from there.
These are the civilian jobs the U.S. Department of Labor maps to 68L, plus the roles most closely related to them—ordered from the closest match. Think of them as a floor, not a ceiling: see what each role involves and pays, start where your Occupational Therapy Specialist experience already fits, and build toward the rest.
$67,010/yr mediantypical $49k–$89k~46K U.S. jobs
★ Bright Outlook — Rapid growth
Typical entry: Associate degree, apprenticeship, or vocational training
Assist occupational therapists in providing occupational therapy treatments and procedures.
Why it fits: A direct Department of Labor match—your Occupational Therapy Specialist work maps straight onto the healthcare support side of this role.
$36,970/yr mediantypical $25k–$69k~4K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: Associate degree, apprenticeship, or vocational training
Under close supervision of an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant, perform only delegated, selected, or routine tasks in specific situations.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Occupational Therapy Specialist occupations on the healthcare support side—a natural next step.
$64,080/yr mediantypical $42k–$89k~104K U.S. jobs
★ Bright Outlook — Rapid growth
Typical entry: Associate degree, apprenticeship, or vocational training
Assist physical therapists in providing physical therapy treatments and procedures.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Occupational Therapy Specialist occupations on the healthcare support side—a natural next step.
$33,520/yr mediantypical $23k–$44k~42K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Under close supervision of a physical therapist or physical therapy assistant, perform only delegated, selected, or routine tasks in specific situations.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Occupational Therapy Specialist occupations on the healthcare support side—a natural next step.
$39,700/yr mediantypical $31k–$60k~116K U.S. jobs
★ Bright Outlook — Rapid growth
Typical entry: Associate degree, apprenticeship, or vocational training
Care for individuals with mental or emotional conditions or disabilities, following the instructions of physicians or other health practitioners.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Occupational Therapy Specialist occupations on the healthcare (clinical) side—a natural next step.
$77,960/yr mediantypical $59k–$104k~130K U.S. jobs
★ Bright Outlook — Rapid growth
Typical entry: Associate degree, apprenticeship, or vocational training
Assess, treat, and care for patients with breathing disorders.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Occupational Therapy Specialist occupations on the healthcare (clinical) side—a natural next step.
$59,730/yr mediantypical $46k–$78k~630K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: Associate degree, apprenticeship, or vocational training
Care for ill, injured, or convalescing patients or persons with disabilities in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, private homes, group homes, and similar institutions.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Occupational Therapy Specialist occupations on the healthcare (clinical) side—a natural next step.
Source: O*NET / DMDC Military Crosswalk and O*NET related-occupations data, August 2024. Pay is BLS OEWS (May 2023).
Use the level that reflects what you actually did—not rank alone. Two people with the same code and very different experience should not submit the same résumé.
Lead with hands-on tasks, tools, equipment, qualifications, safety discipline, and the conditions in which you performed. Do not inflate supervisory scope.
Add team leadership, training, inspections, work allocation, quality control, readiness, and the people or assets you directly supervised.
Emphasize multi-team operations, schedules, resource forecasting, safety systems, policy enforcement, advising leaders, and organization-level results.
A translated title isn't enough. These four moves turn Occupational Therapy Specialist experience into evidence a civilian hiring manager can act on.
List the systems, vehicles, equipment, and tools you personally operated as Occupational Therapy Specialist—plus qualifications, certifications, and the recurring high-stakes tasks you owned.
Soldiers led, dollar value of equipment you were accountable for, workload, readiness rates, and safety or quality outcomes. Scope beats adjectives.
For any target role, name the license, degree, or software it requires and start now—your GI Bill and credentialing assistance can cover most of it.
Recruiters rarely search “68L.” Search job boards by the equipment, skills, and outcomes above as much as by “Occupational Therapy Specialist.”
You don't have to make this jump alone. These programs exist specifically to move service members into civilian careers—most are free, and several pay you while you train.
Train or intern with a civilian employer during your last ~180 days on active duty—at full military pay.
Earn a paycheck while you train for a trade or technical role; USMAP can credit the military training you already have.
Corporate fellowships and hiring events that place transitioning service members and military spouses.
Free career training and nationally recognized certifications for service members, veterans, and spouses.
VA-funded high-tech training (IT, cyber, data, software) that does not touch your GI Bill entitlement.
Free local career centers plus certification and state-by-state license finders for any field.
How to use this: Treat these as targets, not limits. Your exact duties depend on your assignments, so lead with what you actually did—and remember that regulated careers require their own license, certification, or degree.