Travel Therapy Job Market Update 2024/2025

The travel therapy industry has seen significant shifts in recent years, particularly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. As we approach the end of 2024, it’s essential to understand the current market conditions to make informed decisions about your career path. This post will delve into key aspects of the 2024 travel therapy job market, providing valuable insights for both current and aspiring travel therapists as we head into 2025.

We also recently covered this topic in detail on our podcast. You can listen to the November 2024 Travel Therapy Job Market Update podcast here.

A Strong Market for Many, But Challenges Remain

Overall, the travel therapy job market in 2024 has been strong for many disciplines, particularly for Physical Therapists (PTs) and Physical Therapist Assistants (PTAs). The demand for qualified PTs and PTA’s remains high, with hundreds of travel physical therapy job openings across the country. This presents a favorable opportunity to pursue travel physical therapy for new graduates and experienced therapists alike.

While the outlook for PTs and PTAs is promising, the market for other disciplines like Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) has been more nuanced. While there are still ample job opportunities, the overall market for these disciplines may not be as robust as it is for PTs and PTAs.

Key Market Trends:

• High Demand for PTs and PTAs: The demand for PTs and PTAs, especially in outpatient settings, has surged in 2024. This is attributed to several factors, including increased patient volume, therapist burnout (resulting in permanent therapists leaving the workforce), and the aging population.
• Steady Market for OTs and SLPs: While not as robust as the PT market, there are still strong opportunities for OTs and SLPs, particularly in skilled nursing facilities and schools.
• Challenging Market for COTAs: The job market for Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants (COTAs) remains challenging due to limited travel job openings nationwide.

Comparing to Pre-Pandemic Travel Job Market:

The current travel therapy job market has generally rebounded to pre-pandemic levels or even surpassed them in some cases. However, certain disciplines, particularly COTAs, have yet to fully recover.

Setting-Specific Demand:

• PT: High demand in all settings, particularly outpatient, skilled nursing, and hospitals
• OT: Strongest demand in skilled nursing, hospital, and schools
• SLP: High demand in schools and skilled nursing

Rate Considerations:

• Stable Rates: Travel therapy pay rates have remained relatively stable throughout 2024, with slight increases in some cases. Overall, rates are higher on average than pre-pandemic.
• Impact of MSPs and VMS: The increasing use of Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and Vendor Management Systems (VMS) by large healthcare organizations may lead to some standardization of rates, potentially impacting earning potential for travel therapists

Contract Cancellations:

Contract cancellations are relatively low, particularly for in-demand disciplines like PT. This is largely due to the high demand for qualified therapists and the difficulty in filling open positions. This means that pursuing travel therapy jobs is a stable career choice with low risk of having your contract cancelled for most disciplines.

Opportunities for New Graduates:

• PTs: The travel therapy job market is favorable for new graduate PTs due to high demand, meaning that new grad PTs will see many opportunities and can pursue Travel PT right after graduation.
• Other Disciplines: Opportunities for new graduates in other disciplines may be more limited depending on the specific job market conditions. There are opportunities available for new grad OTs, PTAs and COTAs, but often the jobs are more competitive in favor of experienced clinicians. This means that these new grads may have to be more open to different locations and settings in order to find consistent travel therapy jobs. Newer SLP-CCC’s will have many opportunities, while SLP-CF opportunities are more limited and are often only available for school positions in order to get the required supervision hours to obtain their CCC’s.
• Making the best decision for you: While there may be travel therapy jobs available and willing to hire a new graduate therapist, it’s crucial for any new graduate therapist to carefully assess your own readiness for travel therapy, ask questions during the interview to ensure a good clinical fit and job environment for a new grad, and choose positions that align with your skills and experience. This will help ensure a good overall experience as a new grad travel therapist, rather than a negative one.

Tips for Success in the Travel Therapy Job Market:

• Thorough Research: It’s essential to do your own research to learn the ins and outs of travel therapy before getting started. Check out all of the resources available on our site to learn more about travel therapy.
• Networking: We recommend interviewing and working with multiple companies/recruiters to be able to compare job options, pay, and benefits packages. We can help get you connected with some of the best recruiters based on your personal preferences via our Recruiter Recommendation form.
• Professional Development: Continuously enhance your skills and knowledge to remain competitive for travel therapy jobs for your discipline. If your discipline is more competitive, consider gaining additional experience in different settings before pursuing travel therapy.
• Adaptability and Flexibility: Be prepared to adapt to new environments and challenges as a travel therapist. Also depending on the job availability for your discipline, you may need to be more flexible and open to considering different settings and locations to ensure consistent contracts.

Conclusion:

The current travel therapy job market presents both opportunities and challenges for Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy disciplines. By understanding the current market trends, conducting thorough research, and developing a strong professional network, you can increase your chances of success when pursuing a career as a travel therapist.

We hope this provides valuable insights into the travel therapy job market as we finish out 2024 and head into 2025! Please reach out to us if you have questions or need help getting started as a travel therapist!

Related Articles:

• Travel Therapy 101: The Basics
• How to Become a Travel Therapist
• Why and How to Work with Multiple Travel Therapy Companies and Recruiters

Written by Jared Casazza, PT, DPT – Jared has been a traveling physical therapist since 2015. He has become an expert in the field of travel healthcare through his experience, research, and networking over nearly a decade.