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Health & Life Sciences

Occupational Therapist

ऑक्यूपेशनल थेरेपिस्ट

Helps children and adults manage the everyday activities that matter to them — self-care, school, work and play — after illness, injury, disability or developmental delay.

See when you could start working, and what it could pay

Pay in India today, estimated from job sites

About ₹3.3 lakh a yearAverage across all experience levels: the middle of 2 job sites' averages, which run from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹4.1 lakh a year.

Also see Glassdoor India(opens in a new tab).

These are job sites' estimates from salaries people report there. They aren't official figures and aren't a promise of pay; pay varies a lot by city and employer. We re-read each figure on the site's page before showing it (last checked 21 Oct 2026).

Class 11–12 stream
Science (PCB), Science (PCMB)
Key subjects
Biology, Physics, Psychology
Often valued in this work
Impact on others, Creativity & independence, Balance & flexibility

What the work looks like

  • Assessing how a person manages daily tasks, movement, senses and thinking
  • Planning therapy and adapting the home, classroom or workplace
  • Working with families, teachers, doctors and other therapists

The realities

Hands-on, people-focused work in hospitals, rehabilitation centres, schools, child-development clinics and private practice. Occupational therapy is a recognised profession under the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021.

The usual route in India

Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (BOT): four years of study plus a six-month internship, after Class 12 with Physics, Chemistry and Biology. A master's degree allows specialisation.

Entrance exams and tests

  • Common Entrance Test of the national rehabilitation institutes (BPT/BOT/BPO/BASLP)
  • State counselling and university admission tests

Other ways in

National institutes under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities fill all-India seats through a common entrance test, while state quotas usually go through state counselling. Course standards are being set under the NCAHP Act, so check the current prospectus for the internship length.

Entry routes and their official rules

Each route names the Class 11–12 subjects its official rules ask for. A closed route doesn't close the career: check the others. Rules change each year, so confirm with the official source before you decide.

  • Routes into this career

    Verification required

    Class 11–12 subjects: Not checked yet.

    Mentioned in our career library; we haven't checked it against an official source yet.

Sources and checks

Not yet expert-checked: Written by the Edukrish team and not yet reviewed by a counsellor or subject expert. Verify important details with official sources.

Written by the Edukrish team and not yet reviewed by a counsellor or subject expert. Exam names, eligibility and routes change, so always confirm with the official body before deciding.

Last updated

Your future as an occupational therapist

When you could start working, what the work could look like by then, and what it could pay.

No reliable pay data yet
Where are you now?

Pay data for

You could start working
2034in about 7 years · as occupational therapist
Pay in India
Job sites don't have pay by years of experience for this job in India from enough people yet, so we don't project it. Where a job site publishes today's average, it's near the top of the page.

How we work this out

Your pay over the career

Shown only where reliable data exists.

No reliable pay data for India yet

  • Job sites don't have pay by years of experience for this job in India from enough people yet (we need at least 50 salary profiles, updated in 2025 or later), so we don't project it. Where a job site publishes today's average, it's shown near the top of this page.

Your path from today

Four years of study plus a six-month internship, after Class 12 with Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

  1. Today

    Class 10 · 2026–27

  2. Finish Class 12

    May 2029

  3. BOT

    Aug 2029 – Jun 2033

  4. Internship

    Jun 2033 – Dec 2033

  5. First role: Occupational therapist

    Jan 2034

  6. Growing in the role

    2039 (5 years in)

  7. Senior roles, for some

    2044+ (10 years in)

  • Allied and healthcare course standards are being set under the NCAHP Act, 2021; check the current prospectus for the internship length.

A plan, not a promise: a repeated year, a break or a change of course moves these dates.

How we work this out: sources, assumptions and limits

Why “no reliable pay data yet”

  • Job sites don't have pay by years of experience for this job in India from enough people yet (we need at least 50 salary profiles, updated in 2025 or later), so we don't project it. Where a job site publishes today's average, it's shown near the top of this page.

Timeline assumptions

  • Today is in the 2026–27 school year (April to March).
  • One class per year, with no repeated year.
  • Class 12 results arrive around May; college intakes start on the months shown.
  • Admission in the first year you apply.
  • Courses take their standard length; a failed year or a break adds time.
  • The first job starts about a month after the last stage ends.

Sources

Read the full method