Recreational Therapists 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 Occupational Therapy Assistants (87%).
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 | 87% | $72,300 | +17% | None |
| 2 | Special Education Teachers, Preschool | 82% | $64,830 | +5% | None |
| 3 | Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers | 81% | $60,280 | −3% | Graduate degree |
| 4 | Physical Therapist Assistants | 81% | $68,380 | +10% | None |
| 5 | Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 81% | $59,550 | −4% | None |
| 6 | Psychiatric Technicians | 79% | $45,130 | −27% | None |
| 7 | Adapted Physical Education Specialists | 79% | $76,580Pay for the broader BLS group “Special Education Teachers, All Other” | Not compared | None |
| 8 | Special Education Teachers, Secondary School | 79% | $74,260 | +20% | None |
| 9 | Marriage and Family Therapists | 79% | $66,940 | +8% | Graduate degree |
| 10 | Healthcare Social Workers | 78% | $67,880 | +10% | Graduate degree |
Compared with Recreational Therapists, median $61,960. 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 recreational 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.
87% skill match · $72,300 · +17% pay
Operations Monitoring · Equipment Maintenance · Troubleshooting
82% skill match · $64,830 · +5% pay
81% skill match · $60,280 · −3% pay
Complex Problem Solving · Judgment and Decision Making · Programming
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Occupational Therapy Assistants (87% skill match, median $72,300), Special Education Teachers, Preschool (82% skill match, median $64,830) and Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers (81% skill match, median $60,280), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 16 pay more than recreational therapists at the median. The biggest increases: Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary (+30%, $80,250), Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary (+25%, $77,570) and Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary (+22%, $75,870).
17 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones. 8 usually need a graduate degree: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists 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.