Marriage and Family Therapists build social perceptiveness, service orientation and complex problem solving 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 Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses (86%).
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 | Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses | 86% | $97,550Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses” | Not compared | None |
| 2 | Recreational Therapists | 84% | $61,960 | −7% | None |
| 3 | Art Therapists | 83% | $77,930Pay for the broader BLS group “Therapists, All Other” | Not compared | None |
| 4 | Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary | 83% | $77,570 | +16% | None |
| 5 | Occupational Therapists | 82% | $100,330 | +50% | None |
| 6 | Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary | 82% | $80,340 | +20% | None |
| 7 | Speech-Language Pathologists | 81% | $97,870 | +46% | None |
| 8 | Genetic Counselors | 79% | $100,040 | +49% | None |
| 9 | Education Teachers, Postsecondary | 78% | $75,350 | +13% | None |
| 10 | Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary | 78% | $84,290 | +26% | None |
Compared with Marriage and Family Therapists, median $66,940. 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 marriage and family 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.
86% skill match · $97,550 (broader BLS group)
Management of Financial Resources · Management of Material Resources · Time Management
84% skill match · $61,960 · −7% pay
Management of Material Resources · Management of Financial Resources · Quality Control Analysis
83% skill match · $77,930 (broader BLS group)
Equipment Selection · Programming · Management of Material Resources
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses (86% skill match, median $97,550), Recreational Therapists (84% skill match, median $61,960) and Art Therapists (83% skill match, median $77,930), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 18 pay more than marriage and family therapists at the median. The biggest increases: Occupational Therapists (+50%, $100,330), Genetic Counselors (+49%, $100,040) and Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary (+47%, $98,070).
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.