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Career Change Finder

Jobs for Former Psychiatric Aides

Psychiatric Aides build social perceptiveness, service orientation 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 (88%).

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. 1Psychiatric Technicians
    88%
    Median pay
    $45,130
    Pay change
    0%
    Extra educationCertificate or associate
  2. 2Occupational Therapy Assistants
    88%
    Median pay
    $72,300
    Pay change
    +61%
    Extra educationCertificate or associate
  3. 3Occupational Therapy Aides
    84%
    Median pay
    $39,160
    Pay change
    −13%
    Extra educationCertificate or associate
  4. 4Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
    82%
    Median pay
    $64,400
    Pay change
    +43%
    Extra educationCertificate or associate
  5. 5Physical Therapist Aides
    80%
    Median pay
    $35,240
    Pay change
    −22%
    Extra educationNone
  6. 6Physical Therapist Assistants
    78%
    Median pay
    $68,380
    Pay change
    +52%
    Extra educationCertificate or associate
  7. 7Medical Assistants
    74%
    Median pay
    $45,690
    Pay change
    +2%
    Extra educationCertificate or associate
  8. 8Speech-Language Pathology Assistants
    73%
    Median pay
    $48,430
    Pay change
    Not compared
    Pay for the broader BLS group “Healthcare Support Workers, All Other”
    Extra educationCertificate or associate
  9. 9Patient Representatives
    72%
    Median pay
    $50,290
    Pay change
    Not compared
    Pay for the broader BLS group “Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other”
    Extra educationCertificate or associate
  10. 10Registered Nurses
    71%
    Median pay
    $97,550
    Pay change
    +117%
    Extra educationBachelor's degree

Compared with Psychiatric Aides, median $44,910. 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 psychiatric aides (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).

Social Perceptiveness3.88
Service Orientation3.88
Coordination3.25
Complex Problem Solving3.12
Instructing3.12
Judgment and Decision Making3.12

Skills to learn

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

  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Systems Analysis
  • Coordination
  • Operations Analysis

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.

Psychiatric Technicians

88% skill match · $45,130 · 0% pay

First step

  • Most common education: Some College Courses (40% of workers).
  • Usually needs vocational training or an associate degree — more preparation than your current job.
  • A certification can help.
  • On-the-job training: over 3 months, up to and including 6 months.

Skills to add

Systems Analysis · Operations Analysis · Coordination

Is this right for you?

  • Dealing with conflict is part of the job
  • Long hours on your feet
  • May deal with aggressive people

Occupational Therapy Assistants

88% skill match · $72,300 · +61% pay

First step

  • Most common education: Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree (92% of workers).
  • Usually needs vocational training or an associate degree — more preparation than your current job.
  • A professional certification is often expected.
  • On-the-job training: anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month.

Skills to add

Systems Analysis · Time Management · Equipment Maintenance

Is this right for you?

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

Occupational Therapy Aides

84% skill match · $39,160 · −13% pay

First step

  • Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (37% of workers).
  • Usually needs vocational training or an associate degree — more preparation than your current job.
  • A certification can help.
  • On-the-job training: anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month.

Skills to add

Operations Analysis · Repairing · Equipment Maintenance

Is this right for you?

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

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 psychiatric aides 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 psychiatric aides ask

What jobs can former psychiatric aides do?

The closest matches are Psychiatric Technicians (88% skill match, median $45,130), Occupational Therapy Assistants (88% skill match, median $72,300) and Occupational Therapy Aides (84% skill match, median $39,160), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.

Which psychiatric aide career changes pay more?

Among the 25 matches, 12 pay more than psychiatric aides at the median. The biggest increases: Registered Nurses (+117%, $97,550), Occupational Therapy Assistants (+61%, $72,300) and Physical Therapist Assistants (+52%, $68,380).

Do former psychiatric aides need another degree?

7 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.

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