Art Therapists build social perceptiveness, service orientation and judgment and decision making 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 Marriage and Family Therapists (89%).
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 | Marriage and Family Therapists | 89% | $66,940 | — | None |
| 2 | Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | 84% | $60,280 | — | None |
| 3 | Healthcare Social Workers | 79% | $67,880 | — | None |
| 4 | Rehabilitation Counselors | 78% | $46,850 | — | None |
| 5 | Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary | 75% | $78,620 | — | None |
| 6 | Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary | 73% | $77,570 | — | None |
| 7 | Special Education Teachers, Preschool | 73% | $64,830 | — | None |
| 8 | Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary | 73% | $80,340 | — | None |
| 9 | Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors | 72% | $64,330 | — | None |
| 10 | Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 72% | $59,550 | — | None |
Compared with Art Therapists, 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 art therapists (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.
89% skill match · $66,940
Negotiation · Persuasion · Operations Analysis
84% skill match · $60,280
Coordination · Persuasion · Complex Problem Solving
79% skill match · $67,880
Coordination · Operations Analysis · Operation and Control
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Marriage and Family Therapists (89% skill match, median $66,940), Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers (84% skill match, median $60,280) and Healthcare Social Workers (79% skill match, median $67,880), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
None of the 25 closest matches pays more than art therapists at the national median (BLS May 2025). Higher-paying moves usually need more training.
25 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
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.