← Career directory · Healthcare: doctors, nurses and therapists
Respiratory Therapists
Cares for patients who have trouble breathing, from premature babies to older adults.
Read the full guide
Respiratory therapists treat asthma, lung disease and emergencies, run ventilators in intensive care, and teach patients how to manage their breathing. Most work in hospitals.
Open the respiratory therapist guide
The guide checks the courses against your plan, with things to try each year. Free account needed.
High school courses that build toward it
- Physical Education · Health and PE
Builds working with customers and clients, which this job uses.
- Anatomy and Physiology · Science
Builds health and medicine, which this job uses.
- Child Development · Career and Technical
Builds teaching and training, which this job uses.
- Psychology · Social Studies
Builds psychology, which this job uses.
- English 10 · English
Builds reading and writing, which this job uses.
- Computer Science Principles · Computer Science
Builds computers and electronics, which this job uses.
Ranked by how much the job relies on what each course teaches, from O*NET's knowledge ratings. Your school's own courses and the counselor have the final word.
Respiratory Therapists on O*NET OnLine · O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections 2025.