← All 785 jobsFile 29-2055
Surgical Technologists
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 5% 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
- Joint #685 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +5% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $64,650 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 118,400 in the US, with about 7,100 openings a year
The work, 11 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: Assist healthcare practitioners during medical procedures37%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Replenish inventories of materials, equipment, or products14%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Clean medical equipment or facilities11%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Follow standard healthcare safety procedures to protect patient and staff members6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Prepare specimens or materials for testing6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance6%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 510 conversations, and it got them there 94% of the time.
Still yours: Operate medical equipment6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Administer basic health care or medical treatments5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Purchase goods or services4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 214 conversations, and it got them there 91% of the time.
Still yours: Monitor health conditions of humans or animals3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain health or medical records2%
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 7,100 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
The jobs closest to this one. None of them is much less exposed.
- Shares 53% of the workSurgical Assistants0% AI does, against 0% here+6.1% by 2035 · $66,800 · Postsecondary certificate
- Shares 41% of the workVeterinary Technologists and Technicians9% AI does, against 0% here+9.4% by 2035 · $47,380 · Associate’s degree
- Shares 37% of the workDental Assistants11% AI does, against 0% here+7.4% by 2035 · $48,070 · Postsecondary certificate
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Health front:
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 0.03, higher than 5% 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, 29-2055 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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