Family Therapist Jobs Among Top Careers

Family therapist jobs (Click here) are among the best careers available.

At the end of last year, U.S. News & World Report named marriage and family therapists as one of the 50 Best Careers of 2010. Jobs included on the list cover a broad range of industries and a variety of educational requirements

Marriage and family therapists work with couples, families, or individuals to examine the mental health issues that take place within a family. They may address such problems as adult schizophrenia, substance abuse, anorexia, or marital conflict.

There are currently more than 1.8 million people receiving some form of treatment from a marriage and family therapist. The occupation is now considered to be a core mental health profession, along with social work, psychiatric nursing, psychology, and psychiatry.

Employment of marriage and family therapists is expected to increase by 14 percent between 2008 and 2018. That growth will in part come from a more widespread acceptance of the occupation causing more people to seek counseling.

Applicants who have a doctorate degree or a higher-level degree will have a better chance of getting hired for a marriage and family therapist position. This level of degree also makes it easier for employers to take on management positions or become teachers or researchers.

Marriage and family therapists work in a variety of settings, including prisons, universities, inpatient facilities, and private practices. The median salary for this occupation is $45,000, with the bottom 10 percent of workers earning less than $28,000 per year and the top 10 percent of employees earning more than $71,000 per year.

The top 10 Best Careers of 2010 include:

1. X-Ray technician
2. Veterinarian
3. Meteorologist
4. Computer software engineer
5. Firefighter
6. Special education teacher
7. Financial adviser
8. Meeting planner
9. Funeral director
10. Multimedia artist

The list was compiled based on data from the U.S. Department of Labor's job growth projections for 2008 to 2018. The jobs that were chosen are expected to grow faster than average and pay an above-average median income.