Adapted Physical Education Specialists build instructing, social perceptiveness and service orientation skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Recreational Therapists (83%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Recreational Therapists | 83% | $61,960 | — | None |
| 2 | Occupational Therapy Assistants | 79% | $72,300 | — | None |
| 3 | Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors | 79% | $61,540 | — | None |
| 4 | Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | 79% | $77,270 | — | Graduate degree |
| 5 | Psychiatric Technicians | 76% | $45,130 | — | None |
| 6 | Speech-Language Pathology Assistants | 75% | $48,430Pay for the broader BLS group “Healthcare Support Workers, All Other” | Not compared | None |
| 7 | Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 75% | $59,550 | — | None |
| 8 | Occupational Therapists | 75% | $100,330 | — | Graduate degree |
| 9 | Tutors | 75% | $43,350 | — | None |
| 10 | Self-Enrichment Teachers | 75% | $46,800 | — | None |
Compared with Adapted Physical Education Specialists, median —. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as adapted physical education specialists (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
83% skill match · $61,960
Operations Analysis · Operation and Control · Persuasion
79% skill match · $72,300
Operation and Control · Equipment Maintenance · Operations Monitoring
79% skill match · $61,540
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Recreational Therapists (83% skill match, median $61,960), Occupational Therapy Assistants (79% skill match, median $72,300) and Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors (79% skill match, median $61,540), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
None of the 25 closest matches pays more than adapted physical education specialists at the national median (BLS May 2025). Higher-paying moves usually need more training.
17 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones. 8 usually need a graduate degree: Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary, Occupational Therapists and Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.