Music 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 Marriage and Family Therapists (82%).
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 | Marriage and Family Therapists | 82% | $66,940 | — | Graduate degree |
| 2 | Special Education Teachers, Preschool | 77% | $64,830 | — | None |
| 3 | Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | 76% | $60,280 | — | Graduate degree |
| 4 | Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education | 76% | $62,680 | — | None |
| 5 | Special Education Teachers, Secondary School | 76% | $74,260 | — | None |
| 6 | Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 75% | $59,550 | — | None |
| 7 | Speech-Language Pathology Assistants | 75% | $48,430Pay for the broader BLS group “Healthcare Support Workers, All Other” | Not compared | None |
| 8 | Healthcare Social Workers | 75% | $67,880 | — | Graduate degree |
| 9 | Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education | 74% | $63,970 | — | None |
| 10 | Special Education Teachers, Middle School | 74% | $66,810 | — | None |
Compared with Music Therapists, median —. 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 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.
82% skill match · $66,940
Operations Analysis · Complex Problem Solving · Coordination
77% skill match · $64,830
Instructing
76% skill match · $60,280
Complex Problem Solving · Coordination · Operations Analysis
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Marriage and Family Therapists (82% skill match, median $66,940), Special Education Teachers, Preschool (77% skill match, median $64,830) and Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers (76% skill match, median $60,280), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
None of the 25 closest matches pays more than music therapists at the national median (BLS May 2025). Higher-paying moves usually need more training.
18 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones. 7 usually need a graduate degree: Marriage and Family Therapists, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers and Healthcare Social Workers.
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.