Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Above-baseline growth SOC 29-2053

Psychiatric Technicians

Projected +20% employment change leads this card; pay sits next to Pediatric Surgeons, Physicians, All Other, Psychiatrists, Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Psychiatric Technicians: Pediatric Surgeons ($559K) , Physicians, All Other ($266K) , Psychiatrists ($282K) , Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric ($300K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Psychiatric Technicians publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 29-2053 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Provide nursing, psychiatric, or personal care to patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities
  2. 2. Administer oral medications or hypodermic injections, following physician's prescriptions and hospital procedures
  3. 3. Encourage patients to develop work skills and to participate in social, recreational, or other therapeutic activities that enhance interp…
  4. 4. Restrain violent, potentially violent, or suicidal patients by verbal or physical means as required
  5. 5. Lead prescribed individual or group therapy sessions as part of specific therapeutic procedures
  6. 6. Issue medications from dispensary and maintain records in accordance with specified procedures
  7. 7. Monitor patients' physical and emotional well-being and report unusual behavior or physical ailments to medical staff
  8. 8. Take and record measures of patients' physical condition, using devices such as thermometers or blood pressure gauges
  9. 9. Observe and influence patients' behavior, communicating and interacting with them and teaching, counseling, or befriending them
  10. 10. Aid patients in performing tasks, such as bathing or keeping beds, clothing, or living areas clean
  11. 11. Collaborate with or assist doctors, psychologists, or rehabilitation therapists in working with patients with cognitive, intellectual, or…
  12. 12. Interview new patients to complete admission forms, to assess their mental health status, or to obtain their mental health and treatment…

Psychiatric Technicians: O*NET ranks Social Perceptiveness first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 29-2053 - lead skill Social Perceptiveness at 4.1 ; lead knowledge Psychology. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Social Perceptiveness 4.1
  2. 2. Active Listening 4.0
  3. 3. Monitoring 4.0
  4. 4. Speaking 3.9
  5. 5. Coordination 3.9
  6. 6. Reading Comprehension 3.8
  7. 7. Critical Thinking 3.6
  8. 8. Service Orientation 3.6

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Psychology 4.2
  2. 2. Therapy and Counseling 4.1
  3. 3. English Language 4.1
  4. 4. Customer and Personal Service 4.0
  5. 5. Medicine and Dentistry 3.7
  6. 6. Education and Training 3.5
Projected employment change 2024-2034
↑ +20%
much faster than average (3.1%)
National median $45,130/yr
$45K
National median
15,900
Annual openings
156,960
Estimated US jobs
Pediatric Surgeons
Highest-pay peer · $559K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Postsecondary nondegree award
Related experience Less than 5 years

Top Paying States for Psychiatric Technicians

1. Oregon $59,820
2. Nebraska $57,370
3. New York $58,080
4. Alaska $51,650
5. Washington $52,470
6. Connecticut $55,500
7. District of Columbia $67,430
8. Massachusetts $52,000
9. New Jersey $54,040
10. Hawaii $55,150

Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations titles

  1. 1. Psychiatrists $281,870
  2. 2. Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric $300,080
  3. 3. Dermatologists $328,730
  4. 4. Physicians, All Other $265,930
  5. 5. Pediatric Surgeons $559,030
  6. 6. Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric $358,550

BLS projects +20% employment change for Psychiatric Technicians (2024-2034), much faster than average vs the all-occupations baseline of 3.1%. Published median pay is $45,130.

BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as typical entry education and less than 5 years related experience. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal employer rules. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Oregon at $59,820. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Pediatric Surgeons at $559,030. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Psychiatric Technicians pay-rank #69 in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

On the Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations median table (71 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Psychiatric Technicians lands at #69, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

Projected change +20% puts Psychiatric Technicians ahead of most peers. Open the state map or compare it directly against a slower-growing role.

Psychiatric Technicians salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 29-2053

Oregon · top state for Psychiatric Technicians

$60K published median

Nebraska · #2 state pay

$57K · behind Oregon

Pediatric Surgeons

Highest-pay peer vs Psychiatric Technicians · $559K

Physicians, All Other

Lower-pay peer beside Psychiatric Technicians · $266K

Compare Psychiatric Technicians

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Psychiatric Technicians with another occupation →

Growth and outlook next reads

Fastest-Growing Rankings

National projection leaders

Highest-Paying Careers

Where growth meets pay

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Psychiatric Technicians land on the Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations median table? ▼
Psychiatric Technicians is pay-rank #69 of 71 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Ophthalmic Medical Technicians ($46K), Pharmacy Technicians ($46K), Emergency Medical Technicians ($44K), Opticians, Dispensing ($47K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do psychiatric technicians do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Psychiatric Technicians. Leading ones include: Provide nursing, psychiatric, or personal care to patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities; Administer oral medications or hypodermic injections, following physician's prescriptions and hospital procedures; Encourage patients to develop work skills and to participate in social, recreational, or other therapeutic activities that enhance interp…; Restrain violent, potentially violent, or suicidal patients by verbal or physical means as required. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for psychiatric technicians? ▼
For SOC 29-2053, O*NET importance scores lead with Social Perceptiveness (4.1), Active Listening (4.0), Monitoring (4.0), Speaking (3.9). Knowledge areas emphasize Psychology, Therapy and Counseling, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Psychiatric Technicians? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $45,130 as the national median for Psychiatric Technicians. The published 10th-90th range is $35,090 to $60,750. Beside Pediatric Surgeons ($559,030), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
How fast is Psychiatric Technicians projected to grow? ▼
BLS Employment Projections put Psychiatric Technicians at +20% change for 2024-2034, with about 15,900 annual openings. Versus the all-occupations baseline (3.1%): much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Psychiatric Technicians? ▼
BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Psychiatric Technicians. Related-work-experience category: less than 5 years. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Psychiatric Technicians? ▼
Oregon ($59,820), Nebraska ($57,370), New York ($58,080) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Psychiatric Technicians card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 29-2053. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Psychiatric Technicians. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics