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Orderlies vs Surgical Assistants

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Orderlies and Surgical Assistants on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Orderlies Surgical Assistants
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$37,700
$60,290
Employment · BLS OEWS
53,020
22,860
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
0th pct
2nd pct

At a glance

Dimension Orderlies Surgical Assistants
Median pay $37,700 $60,290
Employment 53,020 22,860
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+3.3%) About average (+5.1%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 7,800 1,600
Typical education · O*NET Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 0th pct Low · 2nd pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk — —
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman — —

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Customer and Personal Service, Oral Comprehension, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Oral Expression, Problem Sensitivity, Speech Recognition, Near Vision, Active Listening, Speech Clarity, Speaking, Manual Dexterity, English Language, Coordination, Deductive Reasoning, Inductive Reasoning, Finger Dexterity, Critical Thinking, Written Comprehension, Written Expression, Information Ordering, Category Flexibility, Multilimb Coordination, Writing, Monitoring, Judgment and Decision Making, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Control Precision, Reading Comprehension.

Specific to Orderlies

  • Trunk Strength
  • Static Strength
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Extent Flexibility
  • Explosive Strength
  • Dynamic Strength
  • Stamina
  • Gross Body Equilibrium

Specific to Surgical Assistants

  • Medicine and Dentistry
  • Visual Color Discrimination
  • Selective Attention
  • Biology
  • Perceptual Speed
  • Education and Training
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Operations Monitoring

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Medical software .

Specific to Orderlies

Specific to Surgical Assistants

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Orderlies or Surgical Assistants — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Orderlies vs Surgical Assistants." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/orderlies-vs-surgical-assistants

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Orderlies vs Surgical Assistants. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/orderlies-vs-surgical-assistants

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-orderlies-vs-surgical-assistants,
  title  = {Orderlies vs Surgical Assistants},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/orderlies-vs-surgical-assistants}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.