Occupation · SOC 29-1071.00
Provide healthcare services typically performed by a physician, under the supervision of a physician. Conduct complete physicals, provide treatment, and counsel patients. May, in some cases, prescribe medication. Must graduate from an accredited educational program for physician assistants.
Also called: Certified Physician Assistant (PA-C) · Family Practice Physician Assistant · Physician Assistant (PA) · Physician's Assistant · Cardiology Physician Assistant · Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant (Emergency Medicine PA) · Orthopaedic Physician Assistant · Orthopedic Physician Assistant · Surgical Critical Care Physician Assistant (Surgical Critical Care PA) · Surgical Physician Assistant (Surgical PA) · Advanced Practice Provider (AAP) · Anesthetic Assistant
Job family: Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
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A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Task areas where people work with AI — iterating, learning, or checking — staying in the loop rather than handing the task off.
Task areas where a human was still judged necessary in a large share of observed conversations — not a safety ruling, an observed-need signal.
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
38th-percentile task overlap — yet about 12,000 openings a year (+20.4% projected, BLS), and observed AI use leans 7307% copilot, not hand-off (AEI) . What exposure means →
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Moderate | 51st | 0.1 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Moderate | 59th | 0.8 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Low | 11th | 0.1 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.0), with simple added tooling (β 0.4), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.8). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 0.1 · 31st percentile among occupations · Low
Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.
| Interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal. | 3.5% |
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | Growing fast · +20.4% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 12,000 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 162,700 → 195,800 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Paramedical Practitioners · 2240 | 23% | Not exposed |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
How people actually apply AI to this occupation's tasks, from Claude.ai (Free and Pro) conversations in the Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15. This is one AI assistant's consumer sample — not all AI, not the whole workforce. Autonomy and the collaboration mix are model-rated estimates; figures below the sample floor are hidden.
| Augmentation vs. automation | 73.1% working with AI · 17.7% handed to AI |
| Most common way people use AI here | Learning · you ask AI to explain or teach |
| Typical AI autonomy | 4.0 / 5 · higher = AI acts more independently |
| Used for work (vs. personal / coursework) | 7.6% |
The role's most common tasks in AI conversations, each tagged with how people work with the AI on it. “Usage” is the share of observed conversations, not of the job.
| Task | How | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal. | Learning | 4.0% |
| Instruct and counsel patients about prescribed therapeutic regimens, normal growth and development, family planning, emotional problems of daily living, and health maintenance. | Learning | 0.8% |
| Examine patients to obtain information about their physical condition. | Learning | 0.6% |
Tasks where the model most often judged that a person remained necessary — a useful read on the current boundary, not a guarantee.
| Instruct and counsel patients about prescribed therapeutic regimens, normal growth and development, family planning, emotional problems of daily living, and health maintenance. | 95.2% | |
| Examine patients to obtain information about their physical condition. | 90.9% | |
| Interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal. | 77.9% |
Example prompts phrased from the tasks people most often delegate to AI in this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index). Each shows the underlying measured task and its share of observed AI use. They are suggested phrasings of real tasks — starting points, not endorsed instructions.
Help me interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal. From: Interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal. · 4.0% of measured AI use · learning
Help me instruct and counsel patients about prescribed therapeutic regimens, normal growth and development, family planning, emotional problems of daily living, and health maintenance. From: Instruct and counsel patients about prescribed therapeutic regimens, normal growth and development, family planning, emotional problems of daily living, and health maintenance. · 0.8% of measured AI use · learning
Help me examine patients to obtain information about their physical condition. From: Examine patients to obtain information about their physical condition. · 0.6% of measured AI use · learning
All 12 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
Newer responsibilities O*NET has flagged as growing for this occupation.
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
| Medicine and Dentistry | 5.0 | |
| Biology | 4.8 | |
| English Language | 4.6 | |
| Psychology | 4.6 | |
| Therapy and Counseling | 4.5 | |
| Customer and Personal Service | 4.2 | |
| Education and Training | 4.0 | |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 3.6 | |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.5 | |
| Chemistry | 3.5 | |
| Mathematics | 3.4 |
| Reading Comprehension | 4.1 | |
| Critical Thinking | 4.1 | |
| Active Listening | 4.0 | |
| Writing | 4.0 | |
| Speaking | 4.0 | |
| Active Learning | 3.9 | |
| Monitoring | 3.9 | |
| Science | 3.6 |
| Oral Comprehension | 4.1 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 4.1 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 4.1 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.1 | |
| Written Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Oral Expression | 4.0 | |
| Written Expression | 4.0 | |
| Information Ordering | 4.0 | |
| Speech Recognition | 4.0 | |
| Speech Clarity | 4.0 | |
| Near Vision | 3.9 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.4 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.3 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 4.0 | |
| Service Orientation | 4.0 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 4.0 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.9 | |
| Coordination | 3.3 | |
| Persuasion | 3.3 | |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.3 | |
| Time Management | 3.3 |
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
| Example | Category | |
|---|---|---|
| Epic Systems | Medical software | Hot technology In demand |
| eClinicalWorks EHR software | Medical software | Hot technology |
| MEDITECH software | Medical software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft Excel | Spreadsheet software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft Office software | Office suite software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft Outlook | Electronic mail software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft Word | Word processing software | Hot technology |
| ChartWare EMR | Medical software | |
| Electronic medical record EMR software | Medical software | |
| Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS | Medical software | |
| Medical condition coding software | Medical software | |
| Medical procedure coding software | Medical software | |
| Patient management software | Medical software | |
| Patient records software for personal digital assistants PDAs | Storage media loading software | |
| Teleconferencing software | Video conferencing software | |
| Teleradiology systems | Medical software | |
| Web browser software | Internet browser software |
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
What to study: Dental, Medical, and Veterinary Residency Programs , Health Professions and Related Programs . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| Master's Degree | 81.1% | |
| First Professional Degree | 13.5% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 5.4% |
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
| Integrity | 10.0 | |
| Cautiousness | 9.0 | |
| Intellectual Curiosity | 8.0 | |
| Cooperation | 7.0 | |
| Achievement Orientation | 6.0 | |
| Social Orientation | 5.0 | |
| Self-Control | 4.0 |
| Health Care Service | 6.7 | |
| Medical Science | 4.9 | |
| Social Service | 4.9 | |
| Life Science | 4.7 | |
| Teaching/Education | 3.9 |
| Social | 5.9 | |
| Investigative | 4.9 | |
| Conventional | 4.5 | |
| Realistic | 4.0 |
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $95,240 |
| 25th percentile | $113,770 |
| Median (50th) | $133,260 |
| 75th percentile | $160,160 |
| 90th percentile | $182,200 |
| People employed | 155,540 |
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 143,290 | $132,820 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 3,820 | $127,900 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 2,140 | $157,590 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | 1,680 | $165,470 |
| Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists · National industry | 800 | $136,650 |
| Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers · National industry | 760 | $141,240 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector | 450 | $127,870 |
| Offices of Chiropractors · National industry | 400 | $135,240 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | 380 | $117,220 |
| Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities · National industry | 320 | — |
| Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians) · National industry | 160 | $131,940 |
| Finance and Insurance · Sector | 40 | $134,840 |
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 6.15× | 143,290 |
| Offices of Chiropractors · National industry | 2.72× | 400 |
| Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers · National industry | 2.43× | 760 |
| Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists · National industry | 1.66× | 800 |
| Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities · National industry | 1.23× | 320 |
| Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians) · National industry | 0.66× | 160 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | 0.63× | 1,680 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 0.28× | 3,820 |
Part of the Healthcare & Human Services career cluster.
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
Options the data surfaces for Physician Assistants — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
How people typically prepare for this work.
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 43rd percentile of 427 international occupations.
Physician Assistants show 38th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 12,000 annual U.S. openings
Physician Assistants show 38th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 12,000 annual U.S. openings • Physician Assistants rank in the 38th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 12,000 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be growing fast (+20.4%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $133,260, across about 155,540 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) • Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 73% looks like augmentation (drafting, iterating, checking) rather than hands-off automation — from a Claude.ai usage sample, not a census. (2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2) Source: Singulariki — "Physician Assistants". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-1071-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
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.
Singulariki. "Physician 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; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-1071-00
Singulariki. (2026). Physician Assistants. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-1071-00
@misc{singulariki-role-29-1071-00,
title = {Physician Assistants},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-1071-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.