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Career Change Finder

Jobs for Former Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses

Also called: Licensed Practical Nurses

Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses build service orientation, social perceptiveness and coordination 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 Registered Nurses (90%).

Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers

Skills you enjoy

Pick the skills you want to keep using. The list re-ranks.

Sorted by skill match.

25 careers that use your skills

  1. 1Registered Nurses
    90%
    Median pay
    $97,550
    Pay change
    +51%
    Extra educationBachelor's degree
  2. 2Acute Care Nurses
    87%
    Median pay
    $97,550
    Pay change
    Not compared
    Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses”
    Extra educationBachelor's degree
  3. 3Occupational Therapy Assistants
    85%
    Median pay
    $72,300
    Pay change
    +12%
    Extra educationNone
  4. 4Critical Care Nurses
    85%
    Median pay
    $97,550
    Pay change
    Not compared
    Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses”
    Extra educationBachelor's degree
  5. 5Physical Therapist Assistants
    84%
    Median pay
    $68,380
    Pay change
    +6%
    Extra educationNone
  6. 6Surgical Assistants
    77%
    Median pay
    $66,800
    Pay change
    +4%
    Extra educationNone
  7. 7Medical Assistants
    77%
    Median pay
    $45,690
    Pay change
    −29%
    Extra educationNone
  8. 8Nursing Assistants
    76%
    Median pay
    $42,260
    Pay change
    −34%
    Extra educationNone
  9. 9Respiratory Therapists
    75%
    Median pay
    $82,280
    Pay change
    +28%
    Extra educationNone
  10. 10Exercise Physiologists
    74%
    Median pay
    $59,460
    Pay change
    −8%
    Extra educationBachelor's degree

Compared with Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses, median $64,400. 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.

Your transferable skills

How important each skill is in work as licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).

Service Orientation4.12
Social Perceptiveness4.00
Coordination4.00
Judgment and Decision Making3.62
Time Management3.62
Complex Problem Solving3.25

Skills to learn

The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.

  • Equipment Selection
  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Operations Monitoring

Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.

Your top 3 moves, up close

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.

Registered Nurses

90% skill match · $97,550 · +51% pay

First step

  • Most common education: Bachelor's Degree (56% of workers).
  • Usually needs a bachelor's degree — more preparation than your current job.
  • A professional certification is often expected.
  • On-the-job training: over 3 months, up to and including 6 months.

Skills to add

Quality Control Analysis · Equipment Selection · Operations Monitoring

Is this right for you?

  • Exposure to disease or infection
  • Tight deadlines are common
  • Mistakes can have serious consequences

Acute Care Nurses

87% skill match · $97,550 (broader BLS group)

First step

  • Most common education: Bachelor's Degree (57% of workers).
  • Usually needs a bachelor's degree — more preparation than your current job.
  • A professional certification is often expected.
  • On-the-job training: over 1 month, up to and including 3 months.

Skills to add

Equipment Selection · Complex Problem Solving · Quality Control Analysis

Is this right for you?

  • Exposure to disease or infection
  • Tight deadlines are common
  • Mistakes can have serious consequences

Occupational Therapy Assistants

85% skill match · $72,300 · +12% pay

First step

  • Most common education: Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree (92% of workers).
  • A professional certification is often expected.
  • On-the-job training: anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month.

Skills to add

Equipment Maintenance · Equipment Selection · Troubleshooting

Is this right for you?

  • Exposure to disease or infection
  • Tight deadlines are common
  • Long hours on your feet

Similar roles in the same field

If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.

Free help near you

Former licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses can get free career counseling, job search help and, if you qualify, help paying for training through American Job Centers, which are funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Find an American Job CenterFind training programs

Links go to CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Questions former licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses ask

What jobs can former licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses do?

The closest matches are Registered Nurses (90% skill match, median $97,550), Acute Care Nurses (87% skill match, median $97,550) and Occupational Therapy Assistants (85% skill match, median $72,300), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.

Which licensed practical and licensed vocational nurse career changes pay more?

Among the 25 matches, 11 pay more than licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses at the median. The biggest increases: Radiation Therapists (+64%, $105,310), Registered Nurses (+51%, $97,550) and Detectives and Criminal Investigators (+46%, $93,790).

Do former licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses need another degree?

17 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones. One usually needs a graduate degree: Clinical Nurse Specialists.

How is the skill match calculated?

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.

Keep exploring

Sources. Skills, tasks and education: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Data Sources & Licenses