Dentists (General) build judgment and decision making, service orientation and social perceptiveness 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 Clinical Research Coordinators (61%).
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 | Clinical Research Coordinators | 61% | $167,220Pay for the broader BLS group “Natural Sciences Managers” | Not compared | None |
| 2 | Medical Dosimetrists | 58% | $147,470 | −14% | None |
| 3 | Natural Sciences Managers | 54% | $167,220 | −2% | None |
| 4 | Dental Assistants | 50% | $48,070 | −72% | None |
| 5 | Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | 50% | $107,310 | −37% | None |
| 6 | Athletic Trainers | 49% | $62,520 | −63% | None |
| 7 | Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site Managers | 49% | $141,900Pay for the broader BLS group “Managers, All Other” | Not compared | None |
| 8 | Water Resource Specialists | 48% | $167,220Pay for the broader BLS group “Natural Sciences Managers” | Not compared | None |
| 9 | Chief Executives | 48% | $213,990 | +25% | None |
| 10 | Financial Managers | 47% | $166,570 | −3% | None |
Compared with Dentists, General, median $170,950. 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 dentists (general) (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.
61% skill match · $167,220 (broader BLS group)
Programming
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
58% skill match · $147,470 · −14% pay
Programming
54% skill match · $167,220 · −2% pay
Operations Analysis · Technology Design · Programming
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 Clinical Research Coordinators (61% skill match, median $167,220), Medical Dosimetrists (58% skill match, median $147,470) and Natural Sciences Managers (54% skill match, median $167,220), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 1 pay more than dentists (general) at the median. The biggest increases: Chief Executives (+25%, $213,990).
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.