Also called: Mental Health Social Workers
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers build social perceptiveness, coordination 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 (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 | Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses | 89% | $97,550Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses” | Not compared | None |
| 2 | Clinical Nurse Specialists | 84% | $97,550Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses” | Not compared | None |
| 3 | Occupational Therapists | 84% | $100,330 | +66% | None |
| 4 | Recreational Therapists | 83% | $61,960 | +3% | None |
| 5 | Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary | 83% | $77,570 | +29% | None |
| 6 | Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary | 81% | $80,340 | +33% | None |
| 7 | Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary | 81% | $80,250 | +33% | None |
| 8 | Speech-Language Pathologists | 80% | $97,870 | +62% | None |
| 9 | Special Education Teachers, Secondary School | 80% | $74,260 | +23% | None |
| 10 | Education Teachers, Postsecondary | 79% | $75,350 | +25% | None |
Compared with Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers, median $60,280. 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 mental health and substance abuse social workers (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 · $97,550 (broader BLS group)
Time Management · Instructing · Judgment and Decision Making
84% skill match · $97,550 (broader BLS group)
Operations Monitoring · Troubleshooting · Operations Analysis
84% skill match · $100,330 · +66% pay
Troubleshooting · Instructing · Operations Analysis
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses (89% skill match, median $97,550), Clinical Nurse Specialists (84% skill match, median $97,550) and Occupational Therapists (84% skill match, median $100,330), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 20 pay more than mental health and substance abuse social workers at the median. The biggest increases: Occupational Therapists (+66%, $100,330), Genetic Counselors (+66%, $100,040) and Speech-Language Pathologists (+62%, $97,870).
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.