School Psychologists build social perceptiveness, judgment and decision making and complex problem solving 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 Special Education Teachers, Secondary School (83%).
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 | Special Education Teachers, Secondary School | 83% | $74,260 | −23% | None |
| 2 | Marriage and Family Therapists | 82% | $66,940 | −30% | None |
| 3 | Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary | 82% | $80,340 | −16% | None |
| 4 | Genetic Counselors | 81% | $100,040 | +4% | None |
| 5 | Speech-Language Pathologists | 81% | $97,870 | +2% | None |
| 6 | Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors | 81% | $64,330 | −33% | None |
| 7 | Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary | 81% | $77,570 | −19% | None |
| 8 | Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses | 81% | $97,550Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses” | Not compared | None |
| 9 | Clinical Nurse Specialists | 77% | $97,550Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses” | Not compared | None |
| 10 | Law Teachers, Postsecondary | 76% | $128,500 | +34% | None |
Compared with School Psychologists, median $95,990. 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 school psychologists (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.
83% skill match · $74,260 · −23% pay
Management of Material Resources · Management of Financial Resources · Instructing
82% skill match · $66,940 · −30% pay
Operations Analysis · Management of Personnel Resources · Negotiation
82% skill match · $80,340 · −16% pay
Management of Material Resources · Operations Analysis · Management of Financial Resources
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Special Education Teachers, Secondary School (83% skill match, median $74,260), Marriage and Family Therapists (82% skill match, median $66,940) and Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary (82% skill match, median $80,340), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 9 pay more than school psychologists at the median. The biggest increases: Law Teachers, Postsecondary (+34%, $128,500), Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary (+12%, $107,310) and Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary (+10%, $105,870).
25 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.