Music Directors and Composers build judgment and decision making, coordination and persuasion 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 Art Directors (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 | Art Directors | 86% | $114,850 | +56% | None |
| 2 | Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers | 84% | $76,910Pay for the broader BLS group “Writers and Authors” | Not compared | None |
| 3 | Writers and Authors | 77% | $76,910 | +4% | None |
| 4 | Film and Video Editors | 76% | $75,420 | +2% | None |
| 5 | Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes | 76% | $82,890 | +12% | None |
| 6 | Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary | 75% | $78,620 | +7% | Graduate degree |
| 7 | Public Relations Specialists | 73% | $74,750 | +1% | None |
| 8 | Graphic Designers | 72% | $62,960 | −15% | None |
| 9 | Advertising and Promotions Managers | 72% | $133,660 | +81% | None |
| 10 | Music Therapists | 71% | $77,930Pay for the broader BLS group “Therapists, All Other” | Not compared | None |
Compared with Music Directors and Composers, median $73,710. 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 music directors and composers (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 · $114,850 · +56% pay
Operations Analysis · Time Management · Quality Control Analysis
84% skill match · $76,910 (broader BLS group)
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
77% skill match · $76,910 · +4% pay
Time Management
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Art Directors (86% skill match, median $114,850), Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers (84% skill match, median $76,910) and Writers and Authors (77% skill match, median $76,910), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 17 pay more than music directors and composers at the median. The biggest increases: Marketing Managers (+126%, $166,790), Public Relations Managers (+99%, $146,910) and Advertising and Promotions Managers (+81%, $133,660).
23 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones. 2 usually need a graduate degree: Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary and Set and Exhibit Designers.
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.