Nurse Midwives vs Occupational Therapist: $134K vs $100K Median Pay

Nurse Midwives vs Occupational Therapist: what changes?

Consider Nurse Midwives if you want to diagnose and coordinate all aspects of the birthing process, either independently or as part of a healthcare team. Consider Occupational Therapist if you would rather assess, plan, and organize rehabilitative programs that help build or restore vocational, homemaking, and daily living skills, as well as general independence, to persons with disabilities or developmental…. Both list master's degree; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Nurse Midwives and Occupational Therapist. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Nurse Midwives

National median pay (2025): $134,040
Route into the job: Master's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Provide prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, or newborn care to patients.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 400

Know before you choose

This is a small national occupation (8,200 jobs in 2025), so location and employer concentration can matter more than the national median suggests.

See the full Nurse Midwives brief

Occupational Therapist

National median pay (2025): $100,330
Route into the job: Master's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Test and evaluate patients' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 10,000

Know before you choose

The work routinely happens in close physical proximity to other people; personal space is limited.

See the full Occupational Therapist brief

How the national numbers differ

Occupational Therapist has the edge on annual openings

Occupational Therapist is at 10,000 annual openings, compared with 400 annual openings for Nurse Midwives.

Nurse Midwives has the edge on median pay

Nurse Midwives is at $134,040, compared with $100,330 for Occupational Therapist.

Occupational Therapist has the edge on projected growth

Occupational Therapist is at 14.8% projected growth, compared with 11.5% projected growth for Nurse Midwives.

54.7/ 100

Nurse Midwives

69.8/ 100

Occupational Therapist

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence