Skip to main content
Kraena Pre-Health
Career Library

Technical & Diagnostic

Respiratory Therapist (RT)

Manages breathing and ventilators — one of the most critical roles in intensive care.

Years after high school

2–4

Degree

Associate or bachelor's degree

Entrance exam

Program-specific

Median pay

$82,280 national median for respiratory therapists (BLS, May 2025).

What the job is actually like

You manage ventilators in the ICU, respond to codes and rapid responses, deliver breathing treatments, and are often the person the team looks to when a patient cannot breathe. Highly acute, highly respected within the hospital.

The path

  1. 012-year associate degree or 4-year bachelor's
  2. 02NBRC credentialing exams (CRT, then RRT)
  3. 03Optional specialty credentials in neonatal or adult critical care

Good fit if

  • You want critical care intensity without a decade of school
  • You are calm in emergencies

Think twice if

  • You prefer outpatient work and long-term patient relationships

Similar paths worth comparing

Radiologic Technologist

Produces the images physicians rely on to see inside the body.

View profile

Public Health (MPH)

Works on the health of whole populations rather than one patient at a time.

View profile

Diagnostic Medical Sonographer

Runs ultrasound imaging that physicians rely on to diagnose — strong pay for a two-year degree, with real patient contact.

View profile

All salary figures here are median annual wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 — the most recent full national dataset. 'Median' means half of workers earn more and half earn less. Three things to keep in mind: (1) pay varies enormously by state, city, setting, and experience — a nurse in California and a nurse in rural Alabama earn very different salaries; (2) training lengths are typical, not guaranteed, and programs differ; (3) these numbers change every year. Always verify current figures at bls.gov/ooh before making a decision. For context, the BLS median wage for all U.S. occupations was $50,980, while healthcare practitioner and technical occupations had a median of $86,530 — one of the reasons health care is such a stable field.