Occupational Therapy Aides build service orientation, social perceptiveness and coordination 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 Psychiatric Technicians (90%).
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 | Psychiatric Technicians | 90% | $45,130 | +15% | None |
| 2 | Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses | 88% | $64,400 | +64% | None |
| 3 | Nursing Assistants | 87% | $42,260 | +8% | None |
| 4 | Psychiatric Aides | 84% | $44,910 | +15% | None |
| 5 | Medical Assistants | 79% | $45,690 | +17% | None |
| 6 | Registered Nurses | 77% | $97,550 | +149% | Bachelor's degree |
| 7 | Respiratory Therapists | 77% | $82,280 | +110% | None |
| 8 | Recreational Therapists | 76% | $61,960 | +58% | Bachelor's degree |
| 9 | Acute Care Nurses | 76% | $97,550Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses” | Not compared | Bachelor's degree |
| 10 | Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors | 76% | $47,160 | +20% | None |
Compared with Occupational Therapy Aides, median $39,160. 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 occupational therapy aides (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.
90% skill match · $45,130 · +15% pay
Management of Personnel Resources · Systems Analysis · Social Perceptiveness
88% skill match · $64,400 · +64% pay
Systems Analysis · Management of Personnel Resources · Systems Evaluation
87% skill match · $42,260 · +8% pay
Service Orientation
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Psychiatric Technicians (90% skill match, median $45,130), Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses (88% skill match, median $64,400) and Nursing Assistants (87% skill match, median $42,260), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 17 pay more than occupational therapy aides at the median. The biggest increases: Registered Nurses (+149%, $97,550), Respiratory Therapists (+110%, $82,280) and Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses (+64%, $64,400).
19 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.