Psychiatric Technicians build social perceptiveness, coordination and service orientation 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 Occupational Therapy Assistants (92%).
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 | Occupational Therapy Assistants | 92% | $72,300 | +60% | None |
| 2 | Psychiatric Aides | 90% | $44,910 | 0% | None |
| 3 | Physical Therapist Assistants | 88% | $68,380 | +52% | None |
| 4 | Occupational Therapy Aides | 88% | $39,160 | −13% | None |
| 5 | Recreational Therapists | 85% | $61,960 | +37% | Bachelor's degree |
| 6 | Acute Care Nurses | 82% | $97,550Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses” | Not compared | Bachelor's degree |
| 7 | Registered Nurses | 82% | $97,550 | +116% | Bachelor's degree |
| 8 | Nursing Assistants | 78% | $42,260 | −6% | None |
| 9 | Speech-Language Pathology Assistants | 77% | $48,430Pay for the broader BLS group “Healthcare Support Workers, All Other” | Not compared | None |
| 10 | Physical Therapist Aides | 76% | $35,240 | −22% | None |
Compared with Psychiatric Technicians, median $45,130. 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 psychiatric technicians (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.
92% skill match · $72,300 · +60% pay
Equipment Maintenance · Management of Material Resources · Time Management
90% skill match · $44,910 · 0% pay
Management of Financial Resources · Management of Material Resources · Operation and Control
88% skill match · $68,380 · +52% pay
Equipment Selection · Operations Monitoring · Equipment Maintenance
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Occupational Therapy Assistants (92% skill match, median $72,300), Psychiatric Aides (90% skill match, median $44,910) and Physical Therapist Assistants (88% skill match, median $68,380), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 13 pay more than psychiatric technicians at the median. The biggest increases: Registered Nurses (+116%, $97,550), Special Education Teachers, Secondary School (+65%, $74,260) and Occupational Therapy Assistants (+60%, $72,300).
12 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.