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Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

Job family · SOC major group

Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations is one of the 23 SOC major groups — the top level of the U.S. Standard Occupational Classification, the official scheme every detailed occupation rolls up to. It contains 96 occupations employing about 25,237,230 people, with a median wage of $88,180 across its occupations. BLS projects employment in this family to change +5.8% between 2024 and 2034 , with roughly 1,505,300 openings a year.

Occupation groups in this family

This family divides into 3 SOC minor groups — tighter clusters of related occupations. Ranked by U.S. employment.

Occupations in this family

Exposure quadrant: AI task-overlap percentile vs Median pay AI task-overlap (horizontal) versus median pay (vertical), each as a percentile across all scored occupations, for 40 occupations in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations. Overlap measures shared tasks with AI, not automation. Lower overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · lower pay Lower overlap · lower pay Surgical Assistants Acupuncturists Surgical Technologists Dental Hygienists Emergency Medical Technicians Veterinary Technologists and Technicians Respiratory Therapists Dentists, General Anesthesiologist Assistants Radiation Therapists Art Therapists Athletic Trainers Neurodiagnostic Technologists Radiologic Technologists and Technicians Acute Care Nurses AI task-overlap percentile → ↑ Median pay
Each occupation in this family with both an AI task-overlap score and a wage, plotted by task-overlap percentile (horizontal) and median-pay percentile (vertical). Overlap measures shared tasks with AI, not automation.

Ranked by U.S. employment (BLS OEWS May 2024). Projected change is BLS 2024–34; AI exposure is the OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" human beta rating (share of an occupation's tasks where an LLM with tools could cut the time to do them by at least half).

Occupation Median pay Employment 2024–34 AI exposure
Acute Care Nurses $93,600 3,282,010 +4.9% 33%
Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses $93,600 3,282,010 +4.9% 33%
Clinical Nurse Specialists $93,600 3,282,010 +4.9% 33%
Critical Care Nurses $93,600 3,282,010 +4.9% 33%
Registered Nurses $93,600 3,282,010 +4.9% 33%
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses $62,340 632,430 +2.6% 25%
Pharmacy Technicians $43,460 487,920 +6.4% 43%
Pharmacists $137,480 328,870 +4.6% 40%
Allergists and Immunologists — 315,360 +2.5% 43%
Hospitalists — 315,360 +2.5% 43%
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians — 315,360 +2.5% 43%
Physicians, All Other — 315,360 +2.5% 43%
Preventive Medicine Physicians — 315,360 +2.5% 43%
Sports Medicine Physicians — 315,360 +2.5% 43%
Urologists — 315,360 +2.5% 43%
Nurse Practitioners $129,210 307,390 +40.1% 31%
Physical Therapists $101,020 248,630 +10.9% 34%
Radiologic Technologists and Technicians $77,660 223,460 +4.3% 28%
Dental Hygienists $94,260 219,070 +7.0% 9%
Medical Records Specialists $50,250 187,910 +7.1% 56%
Speech-Language Pathologists $95,410 178,790 +15.0% 39%
Emergency Medical Technicians $41,340 177,980 +5.1% 21%
Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other $48,790 174,060 +5.2% 57%
Neurodiagnostic Technologists $48,790 174,060 +5.2% 57%
Ophthalmic Medical Technologists $48,790 174,060 +5.2% 57%
Patient Representatives $48,790 174,060 +5.2% 57%
Anesthesiologist Assistants $133,260 155,540 +20.4% 10%
Physician Assistants $133,260 155,540 +20.4% 10%
Low Vision Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists $98,340 152,280 +13.8% 29%
Occupational Therapists $98,340 152,280 +13.8% 29%
Respiratory Therapists $80,450 136,420 +12.1% 19%
Psychiatric Technicians $42,590 136,300 +20.0% 34%
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians $45,980 131,320 +9.1% 15%
Surgical Technologists $62,830 113,890 +4.5% 2%
Dentists, General $172,790 113,490 +4.1% 23%
Family Medicine Physicians $238,380 107,950 +2.7% 38%
Paramedics $58,410 99,530 +5.0% 19%
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers $89,340 86,460 +13.0% 29%
Veterinarians $125,510 80,630 +9.6% 23%
Opticians, Dispensing $46,560 79,690 +2.9% 24%
Dietitians and Nutritionists $73,850 76,570 +5.5% 46%
Ophthalmic Medical Technicians $44,080 76,520 +19.8% 11%
General Internal Medicine Physicians $236,350 66,640 +3.3% 37%
Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians $67,260 61,180 +3.0% 17%
Nurse Anesthetists $223,210 50,350 +8.6% 13%
Pediatricians, General $210,130 42,960 +0.8% 37%
Anesthesiologists — 41,890 +3.2% 29%
Optometrists $134,830 41,890 +8.0% 5%
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists $88,180 41,530 +7.1% 22%
Chiropractors $79,000 37,630 +9.5% 32%
Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars $67,310 37,620 +14.7% 53%
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other $64,030 36,970 +3.6% 25%
Midwives $64,030 36,970 +3.6% 25%
Emergency Medicine Physicians — 33,680 +2.7% 35%
Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners, All Other $113,730 30,870 +2.0% 38%
Naturopathic Physicians $113,730 30,870 +2.0% 38%
Orthoptists $113,730 30,870 +2.0% 38%
Dietetic Technicians $37,040 29,950 +2.5% 41%
Athletic Trainers $60,250 28,950 +11.1% 41%
Radiologists — 26,290 +2.7% 51%
Psychiatrists — 24,800 +6.1% 52%
Surgeons, All Other — 24,080 +3.9% —
Surgical Assistants $60,290 22,860 +5.1% 4%
Obstetricians and Gynecologists — 19,900 +1.2% 30%
Art Therapists $65,010 19,320 +11.5% 50%
Music Therapists $65,010 19,320 +11.5% 50%
Therapists, All Other $65,010 19,320 +11.5% 50%
Radiation Therapists $101,990 18,700 +1.9% 17%
Cardiologists — 18,020 +4.1% 23%
Nuclear Medicine Technologists $97,020 16,960 +3.0% 26%
Recreational Therapists $60,280 15,060 +3.3% 36%
Audiologists $92,120 14,730 +9.5% 45%
Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric — 14,160 +4.1% 23%
Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric — 12,110 +4.3% 34%
Physicians, Pathologists — 11,800 +4.2% 32%
Hearing Aid Specialists $61,560 10,580 +18.4% 5%
Dermatologists — 10,080 +6.4% 32%
Orthotists and Prosthetists $78,310 9,930 +13.3% 19%
Podiatrists $152,800 9,520 +1.8% 29%
Acupuncturists $78,140 8,440 +6.8% 31%

Showing 80 of 96 occupations.

AI exposure across this family

Two published studies estimate how exposed each occupation is to AI. The OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" study rates the share of an occupation's tasks an LLM (with tools) could speed up by half or more; averaged across this family it is 30% — 48th percentile of the 23 families. The independent Felten/Raj/Seamans AI Occupational Exposure index averages 0.09 here.

Exposure measures where AI could assist tasks — it is not a prediction that these jobs will be automated. High exposure often means augmentation (faster work), and many high-exposure occupations are also projected to grow.

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. "Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/job-families/healthcare-practitioners-and-technical-occupations

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/job-families/healthcare-practitioners-and-technical-occupations

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-healthcare-practitioners-and-technical-occupations,
  title  = {Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/job-families/healthcare-practitioners-and-technical-occupations}
}

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