Respiratory Care

Higher education
You can apply your credits toward a bachelor’s degree in community health or health administration at the University of Illinois. You can also specialize by earning advanced degrees in such fields as intensive respiratory care and newborn care. Other options include an education degree for teaching respiratory care or a business degree for a career in respiratory department management, personnel, or administration.

Employment opportunities
Respiratory therapists are needed throughout the hospital in newborn nurseries, pediatric wards, medical and surgical areas, emergency rooms, outpatient departments, and intensive and coronary care units. In addition to treating disease, respiratory therapists can be involved in education, newborn care, home care, clinical supervision, departmental management, and therapeutic decision making.

Job outlook
Advances in medical technology, overall population growth, and a rising proportion of older persons have made respiratory care a rapidly growing field. Both in the nation and state, employment for respiratory therapists is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2014.

Earning potential
Locally, entry-level salaries range from $32,289 to $44,987 per year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual wage nationwide for respiratory therapists was about $46,270 per year in 2005. Graduates have reported local starting salaries averaging $15.52/hour.

Career advancement
With experience and additional education, you can advance to supervisory, managerial, or administrative positions or become a respiratory therapy education program instructor.

Career choices with your degree:
• Emergency transport respiratory therapist
• Home health care respiratory therapist
• Hospital respiratory therapist
• Neonatal respiratory therapist
• Skilled nursing facility respiratory therapist

With experience and/or further education you may go on to:
• Cardiopulmonary technologist
• Educator
• Manager
• Researcher
• Supervisor