Physical Therapist vs Registered Nurse
Measured from each occupation's own live postings: two jobs people weigh together whose postings share too few skills for a readiness score, which is itself the finding. Posted pay is close to a wash. Everything on this page is read from the two occupations’ own live postings and refreshed every night.
The short answer
On pay, this one is close to even. Postings that state a salary put physical therapists at $64k–$125k and registered nurses at $65k–$116k, so the midpoints sit within $3k of each other. The difference between the two jobs is in the work and the skills, not the paycheck.
On skills, the two sets of postings share too few named skills for a readiness score in either direction. That is the finding: these are different jobs that people weigh together, usually for the pay, the hours or the way in, rather than because one leads to the other. The boards below show what each one is hiring for right now, and the quick answers cover the rest.
Physical Therapist
physical therapist jobs · physical therapist salary · physical therapist career guide · careers for physical therapists
Registered Nurse
registered nurse jobs · registered nurse salary · registered nurse career guide ·
Switching, both directions
Physical Therapist → Registered Nurse
Not scored: the two sets of postings share too few skills in this direction for an honest number. Run the instrument with your own skill set for a personal read.
Registered Nurse → Physical Therapist
Not scored: the two sets of postings share too few skills in this direction for an honest number. Run the instrument with your own skill set for a personal read.
Open physical therapist roles right now
The freshest physical therapist openings on the board, from company career pages and remote boards. Apply at the source.
Physiotherapeutin 40% +, unbefristet, Herbst/Winter 2026 | Physioswiss at Physio SwissHenggart, Zürich, Switzerland1d agoApply- Physiotherapeut/in - vielseitig, dynamisch, interdisziplinär | Physioswiss at Physio SwissZofingen, Aargau, Switzerland2d agoApply
- Dipl. Physiotherapeutin / Physiotherapeut (a) 40% at Hirslanden Klinik AarauAarau, Aargau, Switzerland2d agoApply
- Fisioterapista al 70/100% | Physioswiss at Physio SwissGordola, Ticino, Switzerland2d agoApply
Open registered nurse roles right now
The freshest registered nurse openings on the board. Same rules: live, tagged to the occupation, linking to the original posting.
- Dipl. Expertin / Experte Anästhesiepflege NDS 80-100% in Brugg gesucht - Deine Expertise für höchste Patientensicherheit at MediPersonalBrugg, Aargau, SwitzerlandTodayApply
RN - Clinical Field Reviewer at Mountain PacificUnited States · RemoteTodayApply
Dipl. Pflegefachfrau / Pflegefachmann HF at Kanton GraubündenCazis, Graubünden, SwitzerlandTodayApply- Fachperson Operationstechnik HF oder Dipl. Pflegefachfrau/-mann FA OP (80-100%) für anspruchsvolle OP-Einsätze in Winter at MediPersonalWinterthur, Zürich, SwitzerlandTodayApply
See the whole board for both
1,067 live roles across the two, freshest first, with posted pay and remote flags where the posting states them.
Related comparisons
- Medical Assistant vs Registered Nurse73% peak overlap
- Medical Assistant vs Physical Therapist54% peak overlap
- Nurse Practitioner vs Registered Nurse49% peak overlap
- Physical Therapist vs Physician42% peak overlap
- Psychologist vs Registered Nursepay compared
- Paramedic vs Registered Nursepay compared
Which one do your skills favor?
Run the instrument with your own skill set and both readiness numbers recompute for you. Free, no account.
Quick answers
Which pays more, physical therapist or registered nurse?
On pay, this one is close to even. Postings that state a salary put physical therapists at $64k–$125k and registered nurses at $65k–$116k, so the midpoints sit within $3k of each other. The difference between the two jobs is in the work and the skills, not the paycheck. By seniority and country: physical therapist salary and registered nurse salary.
Are physical therapist and registered nurse the same job?
On skills, the two sets of postings share too few named skills for a readiness score in either direction. That is the finding: these are different jobs that people weigh together, usually for the pay, the hours or the way in, rather than because one leads to the other.
How many physical therapist and registered nurse jobs are open right now?
Right now our board has 467 physical therapist openings and 600 registered nurse openings, each linking to the original posting. The board refreshes every night, so the counts move with the market. Hiring the most physical therapists at the moment: Physio Swiss (199), iPersonal (40), MediPersonal (17). For registered nurses: MediPersonal (321), Veterans Health Administration (98), NHS (17).
Method: each occupation’s salary band is the posted 25th to 75th percentile from its own corpus, counting only postings that state pay; readiness is coverage of the destination’s posting-skill weight; shared skills are read from the overlap waterfall. Pairs sharing too few skills are not scored in that direction. Job lists and counts are the live board. Refreshed with the nightly scrape.