Occupational Therapist vs Registered Nurse: Which Field Is Better?

Dimension	Occupational Therapist	Registered Nurse
Median pay	$98,340	$93,600
Projected growth (2024–34)	13.8%	4.9%
Annual openings	10,200	189,100
2024 employment	160,000	3,391,000
2034 projected employment	182,100	3,557,100
Self-employed share	2.2%	0.5%
Typical entry education	Master's degree	Bachelor's degree
Related work experience	None	None
On-the-job training	None	None

Dimension

Occupational Therapist

Registered Nurse

Median pay

$98,340

$93,600

Projected growth (2024–34)

13.8%

4.9%

Annual openings

10,200

189,100

2024 employment

160,000

3,391,000

2034 projected employment

182,100

3,557,100

Self-employed share

2.2%

0.5%

Typical entry education

Master's degree

Bachelor's degree

Related work experience

None

On-the-job training

None

Occupational Therapist: main tradeoff

Strong projected growth and broad care settings, with graduate education and licensure as the main entry costs.

Registered Nurse: main tradeoff

Employment security is exceptional, but workload, burnout, and retention are central career risks rather than footnotes.

Which should you choose?

Occupational Therapist has the higher national median pay in the BLS data. Occupational Therapist has the higher projected 2024–2034 growth rate. The larger decision is whether you prefer the training path, work style, and occupation-specific tradeoffs of Occupational Therapist or Registered Nurse.