← All 785 jobsFile 29-1125
Recreational Therapists
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 4.8% more of these jobs by 2035, faster than the 3.5% average.
Clinical work often uses specialised medical AI tools that consumer Copilot data does not see, so this file probably understates how much AI touches it.
- Rank
- #541 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +4.8% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $61,960 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 15,600 in the US, with about 1,400 openings a year
The work, 10 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Develop patient or client care or treatment plans22%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care14%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Train others on health or medical topics9%
AI does this in desk jobs, but in this one it is mostly hands-on.
Still yours: Monitor health conditions of humans or animals8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain health or medical records8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Collect information about patients or clients8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Administer therapeutic treatments8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Advise patients or clients on medical issues8%
AI performed this in about 1 in 746 Copilot conversations and completed it 96% of the time.
AI helps with this: Provide support or encouragement to others8%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 293 conversations, and it got them there 87% of the time.
Still yours: Prepare health or medical documents6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 105 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 1,400 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 47% of the workPhysical Therapist Assistants3% AI does, against 8% here+23% by 2035 · $68,380 · Associate’s degree
- Shares 28% of the workRadiation Therapists3% AI does, against 8% here+2.8% by 2035 · $105,310 · Associate’s degree
- Shares 44% of the workOccupational Therapy Aides0% AI does, against 8% here+3.6% by 2035 · $39,160 · High school diploma
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.07, higher than 18% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Clinical work often uses specialised medical AI tools that consumer Copilot data does not see, so this file probably understates how much AI touches it.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 29-1125 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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