Art Therapists vs Occupational Therapists
Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index
A factual, source-backed comparison of Art Therapists and Occupational Therapists on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”
At a glance
| Dimension | Art Therapists | Occupational Therapists |
|---|---|---|
| Median pay | $65,010 | $98,340 |
| Employment | 19,320 | 152,280 |
| Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection | Growing fast (+11.5%) | Growing fast (+13.8%) |
| Annual openings · BLS projection | 4,100 | 10,200 |
| Typical education · O*NET | Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree). | Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree). |
| AI exposure · published exposure studies | Low · 30th pct | Low · 32nd pct |
| Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk | 32nd pct · 20% of tasks | 32nd pct · 20% of tasks |
| Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index | — | Automation-leaning (50.0%) |
| Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman | — | No |
Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.
Skills
Shared: Therapy and Counseling, Psychology, Social Perceptiveness, Sociology and Anthropology, Customer and Personal Service, Active Listening, Speaking, Oral Comprehension, Written Comprehension, Oral Expression, Problem Sensitivity, Near Vision, Speech Clarity, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Judgment and Decision Making, Written Expression, Deductive Reasoning, Inductive Reasoning, Speech Recognition, Active Learning, Service Orientation, Fluency of Ideas, Education and Training, Writing, English Language, Complex Problem Solving, Coordination, Time Management, Originality, Learning Strategies, Instructing, Category Flexibility, Selective Attention, Systems Analysis.
Specific to Art Therapists
- Fine Arts
- Philosophy and Theology
- Persuasion
- Negotiation
Specific to Occupational Therapists
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Information Ordering
- Biology
- Operations Analysis
Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).
Tools & technology
Shared: Graphics or photo imaging software , Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Electronic mail software , Word processing software , Data base user interface and query software , Internet browser software .
Specific to Art Therapists
Full profiles
This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Art Therapists or Occupational Therapists — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.
More comparisons
Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.
- Art Therapists vs Music Therapists
- Art Therapists vs Recreational Therapists
- Art Therapists vs Marriage and Family Therapists
- Art Therapists vs Clinical and Counseling Psychologists
- Art Therapists vs Occupational Therapy Assistants
- Art Therapists vs Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
- Art Therapists vs Mental Health Counselors
- Art Therapists vs Occupational Therapy Aides
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Singulariki. "Art Therapists vs Occupational Therapists." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/art-therapists-vs-occupational-therapists
Singulariki. (2026). Art Therapists vs Occupational Therapists. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/art-therapists-vs-occupational-therapists
@misc{singulariki-art-therapists-vs-occupational-therapists,
title = {Art Therapists vs Occupational Therapists},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/compare/art-therapists-vs-occupational-therapists}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.