To be eligible for a wider range of recreation therapist jobs that offer more responsibility and a higher salary, you should take the certification examination offered by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification. This exam is given twice a year in May and November. Or you can take two more years of graduate school after graduating from college in a master s degree program in therapeutic recreation. To maintain your certification, you must obtain 100 continuing education credits by taking graduate classes in therapeutic recreation from your local college or community college. Every year, you must pay a fee to keep your certification.
Some states also offer licensing examinations or programs for recreation therapists.
As a recreation therapist, you can work in many different settings with all kinds of people. Some of these settings include hospitals, nursing homes, schools and public agencies. You will work closely with nurses, doctors and other therapists as an important part of a medical team. You may treat a certain group of people such as kids or adolescents, or you may work with a mixed group of adults and elderly persons. Then you would make a wonderful recreation therapist.