Music Therapists

Plan, organize, direct, or assess clinical and evidenced-based music therapy interventions to positively influence individuals' physical, psychological, cognitive, or behavioral status.

Most important skills

Social Perceptiveness
Active Listening
Reading Comprehension
Speaking
Critical Thinking
Service Orientation
Learning Strategies
Monitoring

Key knowledge

Psychology
Therapy and Counseling
Fine Arts
English Language
Customer and Personal Service
Sociology and Anthropology
Education and Training
Computers and Electronics

What the work involves

Adapt existing or develop new music therapy assessment instruments or procedures to meet an individual client's needs.
Analyze data to determine the effectiveness of specific treatments or therapy approaches.
Analyze or synthesize client data to draw conclusions or make recommendations for therapy.
Assess client functioning levels, strengths, and areas of need in terms of perceptual, sensory, affective, communicative, musical, physical, cognitive, social, spiritual, or other abilities.
Communicate client assessment findings and recommendations in oral, written, audio, video, or other forms.
Confer with professionals on client's treatment team to develop, coordinate, or integrate treatment plans.
Customize treatment programs for specific areas of music therapy, such as intellectual or developmental disabilities, educational settings, geriatrics, medical settings, mental health, physical disabilities, or wellness.
Design music therapy experiences, using various musical elements to meet client's goals or objectives.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Artistic, Investigative.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: Bachelor's Degree (73.1% of respondents)
Related experience: Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (38.5%)
On-the-job training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (42.3%)
Preparation level: O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Licensing: Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.

Check before planning

Licensing for Music Therapists is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Projection education uses SOC 29-1129 (detailed_parent); it may describe a broader group.

Limits

Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	High	Higher on contact with others than 76% of occupations compared	73% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others”
Dealing with the public	Moderate	Higher on dealing with the public than 52% of occupations compared	35% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Teamwork	Moderate	Lower on teamwork than 51% of occupations compared	42% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important”
Freedom to make decisions	Very high	Higher on freedom to make decisions than 86% of occupations compared	62% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom”
Time pressure	Very low	Lower on time pressure than 81% of occupations compared	42% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day”
Conflict situations	High	Higher on conflict situations than 64% of occupations compared	38% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	Very high	Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 82% of occupations compared	40% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day”
Consequence of error	Very low	Lower on consequence of error than 88% of occupations compared	38% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: very low
Conflict situations: high
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
Consequence of error: very low

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions