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Career Change Finder

Jobs for Former Massage Therapists

Massage 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 Physical Therapist Assistants (85%).

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. 1Physical Therapist Assistants
    85%
    Median pay
    $68,380
    Pay change
    +17%
    Extra educationNone
  2. 2Occupational Therapy Assistants
    85%
    Median pay
    $72,300
    Pay change
    +24%
    Extra educationNone
  3. 3Recreational Therapists
    80%
    Median pay
    $61,960
    Pay change
    +6%
    Extra educationBachelor's degree
  4. 4Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
    79%
    Median pay
    $64,400
    Pay change
    +10%
    Extra educationNone
  5. 5Registered Nurses
    73%
    Median pay
    $97,550
    Pay change
    +67%
    Extra educationBachelor's degree
  6. 6Exercise Physiologists
    70%
    Median pay
    $59,460
    Pay change
    +2%
    Extra educationBachelor's degree
  7. 7Physical Therapists
    70%
    Median pay
    $102,760
    Pay change
    +76%
    Extra educationGraduate degree
  8. 8Respiratory Therapists
    70%
    Median pay
    $82,280
    Pay change
    +41%
    Extra educationNone
  9. 9Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors
    68%
    Median pay
    $47,160
    Pay change
    −19%
    Extra educationNone
  10. 10Paramedics
    67%
    Median pay
    $60,600
    Pay change
    +4%
    Extra educationNone

Compared with Massage Therapists, median $58,450. 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 massage therapists (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).

Social Perceptiveness3.12
Service Orientation3.12
Judgment and Decision Making3.00
Complex Problem Solving2.88
Time Management2.75
Systems Analysis2.12

Skills to learn

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

  • Operations Monitoring
  • Coordination
  • Instructing
  • Operation and Control

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.

Physical Therapist Assistants

85% skill match · $68,380 · +17% pay

First step

  • Most common education: Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree (84% of workers).
  • A professional certification is often expected.
  • On-the-job training: over 3 months, up to and including 6 months.

Skills to add

Operations Monitoring · Quality Control Analysis · Operation and Control

Is this right for you?

  • Exposure to disease or infection
  • Mistakes can have serious consequences
  • Long hours on your feet

Occupational Therapy Assistants

85% skill match · $72,300 · +24% 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

Operations Monitoring · Instructing · Negotiation

Is this right for you?

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

Recreational Therapists

80% skill match · $61,960 · +6% pay

First step

  • Most common education: Bachelor's Degree (92% 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

Coordination · Instructing · Persuasion

Is this right for you?

  • Exposure to disease or infection
  • Tight deadlines are common

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 massage therapists 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 massage therapists ask

What jobs can former massage therapists do?

The closest matches are Physical Therapist Assistants (85% skill match, median $68,380), Occupational Therapy Assistants (85% skill match, median $72,300) and Recreational Therapists (80% skill match, median $61,960), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.

Which massage therapist career changes pay more?

Among the 25 matches, 14 pay more than massage therapists at the median. The biggest increases: Physical Therapists (+76%, $102,760), Occupational Therapists (+72%, $100,330) and Registered Nurses (+67%, $97,550).

Do former massage therapists need another degree?

13 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones. 4 usually need a graduate degree: Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Midwives.

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