Is it the night shift, or the work itself?
Some RTs love the airway work and can't sustain the nights, the staffing or one department's culture. Others are tired of the work itself. The fix is different, so tick what's true for you.
There are no wrong answers. Most RTs tick a mix.
Most RT burnout comes from department conditions
A 26-center study in Respiratory Care surveyed roughly 1,100 RTs in early 2021: 79% reported burnout. Inadequate staffing, being unable to finish assigned work and a burnout climate in the department raised the risk, while not providing direct patient care cut it sharply.
| Answer | Share |
|---|---|
| Mild burnout | 37% |
| Moderate burnout | 32% |
| Severe burnout | 10% |
| No burnout reported | 21% |
The 2025 follow-up collected 1,033 responses and found 70% still met the burnout threshold. The risk factors read like department conditions (workload, incivility, 31 to 50 ICU hours a week), and the protective ones were feeling valued, a caring manager and satisfaction with pay. That is why a different department sometimes solves what looks like a career problem.
13 careers respiratory therapists move into, ranked by what you want
Pick what matters most. The list re-ranks. Pay is the US median compared with the respiratory therapist median of $82,280. Open any row for why it fits and the first step.
Pay: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 medians where an occupation exists. “Skills carried over” and “Fit” are our editorial ratings.
What 4,288 experienced career changers told us
Government data tells you what each career pays. It can't tell you what holds experienced people back or what they want next. These answers come from 4,288 MyPassion.ai quiz takers with four or more years of work experience, across every profession, January 29, 2026 to September 24, 2026. We publish a single profession only once at least 100 people from it have taken the quiz, and respiratory therapists aren't there yet.
What this means for you: not knowing which direction to pick is the most common struggle, ahead of being bored in the current job. The exit finder above narrows the field; the quiz below is built for the direction question.
Source: MyPassion.ai Career Changer Index 2026, self-reported answers from quiz takers with 4+ years of experience or returning after a break, January 29, 2026 to September 24, 2026. n = 4,288; each card shows its own base.
The quiz matches what you enjoy and what you're good at to specific careers, with salary data for each. Under 10 minutes, free.
Take the free quiz →What your RT experience is worth off the floor
Recruiters outside the department can't read "vent management". They can read what it proves about you.
Three ways to make the switch
How you leave matters as much as where you go. RT work makes testing easy, because PRN shifts keep you licensed and paid.
Add an NBRC exam on top of your RRT and move into a lab, education or specialist role. The cheapest move on the list.
Keep PRN shifts and try a slice of the new work: precept students, ride along with a device rep, cover a PFT shift. Taper nights as the new work grows.
An RN bridge program or PA school. Both widen scope and pay; nursing shares many of the bedside pressures you may be leaving.
Where these jobs are posted
Hospital RT postings show floor jobs. Search by the title and the type of employer instead.
Search "pulmonary function technologist", "sleep technologist", "asthma educator" at hospital outpatient departments and pulmonary practices.
Search "clinical specialist", "clinical education", "respiratory sales" at ventilator and home respiratory equipment makers.
Search "home respiratory therapist", "clinical liaison" at home medical equipment companies and post-acute providers.
Search "director of clinical education", "RT program faculty" at community colleges and universities.
Search "clinical analyst", "research coordinator" at hospital systems and EMR vendors.
Does your CV still work?
For roles near the bedside, mostly yes. Use one rule: show the work you want to be hired for.
Labs, specialist and home care roles. Lead with your RRT, NBRC credentials, units and years.
Leadership, sales, education. Rewrite precepting, protocols and projects as results.
Informatics and research. Add one documented system or protocol project.
Which credential opens which exit?
The NBRC issues eight credentials, and several are built as add-ons for people who already hold the CRT or RRT. CRT or RRT holders qualify directly for the CPFT and RPFT; the SDS needs three months as an RRT or six as a CRT; the AE-C is open to any licensed CRT or RRT; the ACCS needs the RRT held for at least a year.
Respiratory therapists must be licensed in every state except Alaska, according to the AARC, so an active license is worth keeping whatever you choose.
- Add an NBRC exam to change the week
PFT, sleep and asthma educator credentials move you to booked, mostly daytime work for an exam fee and study time.
- Keep your license and PRN shifts while you test
They keep you paid and licensed while you try a new rung.
- Skip new credentials for sales, leadership and informatics
Those hire on your RRT and years; ACCS helps for device clinical specialist roles.
What happened to RTs who left the bedside
Paraphrased from public Reddit threads, usernames removed. Each card links to its thread.
Left the bedside for a desk role and calls it an ordinary working week now, but says the move brought introductions to colleagues around the world that the hospital never would have. Their advice: stay within the respiratory world your education built.
Left the bedside to be a clinical liaison with a busy territory, hated the constant after-hours calls, texts and emails, and went back to the bedside after about three months.
Knows RTs who left the bedside for durable medical equipment, EMR companies such as Epic, and equipment sales, and plans to go into research or teaching themselves.
Questions respiratory therapists ask before switching
What are good alternative careers for a respiratory therapist?
They split by how much new schooling you need. With no new degree: pulmonary function testing, sleep medicine, asthma education, clinical education, department leadership and equipment sales. With a bridge program: registered nursing. With a full new degree: physician assistant.
Can a respiratory therapist work in a sleep lab without going back to school?
Yes. The NBRC's Sleep Disorders Specialist exam is open to RRTs after three months and CRTs after six, so the credential sits on top of the one you hold. Many sleep studies run overnight, so check whether a role is scoring or night technologist.
How common is burnout among respiratory therapists?
Common. A 2021 multicenter study in Respiratory Care found 79% of responding RTs reported burnout, and a 2025 follow-up of 1,033 therapists found 70% still met the threshold. The strongest risk factors were department conditions: workload, incivility and being unable to finish work.
Is going from respiratory therapist to nurse a good move?
It's the most common bridge: the clinical overlap is large and O*NET lists registered nurses among the closest related occupations. It raises scope and the pay ceiling. The trade-off is that bedside nursing shares many of the pressures RTs leave: staffing gaps, twelve-hour shifts and critical care intensity.
What respiratory therapy jobs are not at the bedside?
Pulmonary function labs, sleep lab scoring, asthma and COPD education, clinical education and faculty roles, department management, and clinical specialist or sales roles with equipment makers. Several reuse NBRC credentials you can add without new schooling.
Do RT exits pay more or less?
It depends on the direction. Department director, faculty, equipment sales and nursing have BLS medians above the RT median of $82,280. Lab technologist and educator roles usually pay less, in exchange for daytime hours.
Can I go back to the bedside later?
Yes, and PRN shifts while you work elsewhere keep your license and skills current, so a return is a schedule change.
How do I decide which move fits me?
Separate the job from the shift. If you love the airway work and can't sustain the nights, look at a daytime lab or education role. If you're tired of the work itself, look at sales, leadership or a new field.
Answer a few questions and get matched careers with salary data and a first step for each.
Start the free quiz →Related guides
Sources
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (pay)
- O*NET OnLine, Respiratory Therapists (related occupations)
- Burnout among respiratory therapists, Respiratory Care, 2021
- Prevalence of Emotional Exhaustion Among Respiratory Therapists, Respiratory Care, 2026
- NBRC, Sleep Disorders Specialty examination
- AARC, quick facts about respiratory therapists
- Reddit, "Respiratory therapist who left bedside" (r/respiratorytherapy, 2023)
- Reddit, "Other careers? Leaving respiratory" (r/respiratorytherapy, 2021)
- Reddit, "Has anyone left respiratory?" (r/respiratorytherapy, 2022)
- MyPassion.ai Career Changer Index 2026 (quiz takers with 4+ years of experience)