Career
Marriage and family therapists
Treat mental and emotional struggles within couples and families.
$66,940
Median pay
+13.5%
Job growth, 2025–35
6,900
Openings a year
Master's degree
Typical education
6 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Ask questions that will help clients identify their feelings and behaviors.
- Encourage individuals and family members to develop and use skills and strategies for confronting their problems in a constructive manner.
- Develop and implement individualized treatment plans addressing family relationship problems, destructive patterns of behavior, and other personal issues.
- Maintain case files that include activities, progress notes, evaluations, and recommendations.
- Counsel clients on concerns, such as unsatisfactory relationships, divorce and separation, child rearing, home management, or financial difficulties.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on people & care, then ideas & analysis?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Ask questions that will help clients identify their feelings and behaviors.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Service Orientation.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
6 years of education after high school (master's degree), for a median of $66,940 a year and 6,900 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Social WorkSee the degree →
- Social WorkCIP 44.0701
- Marriage and Family Therapy/CounselingCIP 51.1505
- Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient CounselingCIP 51.1506
- Infant/Toddler Mental Health ServicesCIP 51.1510
- Medical Family Therapy/TherapistCIP 51.1511
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers$60,280 · +10.3%
- Mental Health Counselors
- Child, Family, and School Social Workers$59,550 · +4.4%
- Clinical and Counseling Psychologists$100,580 · +11.7%
- Healthcare Social Workers$67,880 · +8.5%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.