Cardiologists

AI & job outlook

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.

Exposure to current AI

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.

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.0), with simple added tooling (β 0.3), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.7). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

How AI is actually used in this job

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.

Job outlook

Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.

“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.

Tasks

All 26 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

• Administer emergency cardiac care for life-threatening heart problems, such as cardiac arrest and heart attack.
• Advise patients and community members concerning diet, activity, hygiene, or disease prevention.
• Answer questions that patients have about their health and well-being.
• Calculate valve areas from blood flow velocity measurements.
• Compare measurements of heart wall thickness and chamber sizes to standards to identify abnormalities, using the results of an echocardiogram.
• Conduct electrocardiogram (EKG), phonocardiogram, echocardiogram, or other cardiovascular tests to record patients' cardiac activity, using specialized electronic test equipment, recording devices, or laboratory instruments.
• Conduct exercise electrocardiogram tests to monitor cardiovascular activity under stress.
• Conduct research to develop or test medications, treatments, or procedures that prevent or control disease or injury.
• Conduct tests of the pulmonary system, using a spirometer or other respiratory testing equipment.
• Design and explain treatment plans, based on patient information such as medical history, reports, and examination results.
• Diagnose cardiovascular conditions, using cardiac catheterization.
• Diagnose medical conditions of patients, using records, reports, test results, or examination information.
• Explain procedures and discuss test results or prescribed treatments with patients.
• Inject contrast media into patients' blood vessels.
• Monitor patient progress following cardiac surgery.
• Monitor patients' conditions and progress, and reevaluate treatments, as necessary.
• Observe ultrasound display screen, and listen to signals to record vascular information, such as blood pressure, limb volume changes, oxygen saturation, and cerebral circulation.
• Obtain and record patient information, including patient identification, medical history, and examination results.
• Operate diagnostic imaging equipment to produce contrast-enhanced radiographs of heart and cardiovascular system.
• Order medical tests, such as echocardiograms, electrocardiograms, and angiograms.
• Perform minimally invasive surgical procedures, such as implanting pacemakers and defibrillators.
• Perform vascular procedures, such as balloon angioplasty and stents.
• Prescribe heart medication to treat or prevent heart problems.
• Recommend surgeons or surgical procedures.
• Supervise or train cardiology technologists or students.
• Talk to other physicians about patients to create a treatment plan.

Work activities

• Treat medical emergencies.
• Provide health and wellness advice to patients, program participants, or caregivers.
• Advise communities or institutions regarding health or safety issues.
• Calculate numerical data for medical activities.
• Analyze test data or images to inform diagnosis or treatment.
• Test patient heart or lung functioning.
• Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment.
• Conduct research to increase knowledge about medical issues.
• Develop medical treatment plans.
• Confer with clients to discuss treatment plans or progress.
• Conduct diagnostic tests to determine patient health.
• Explain medical procedures or test results to patients or family members.
• Administer medical substances for imaging or other procedures.
• Monitor patient progress or responses to treatments.
• Assess physical conditions of patients to aid in diagnosis or treatment.
• Collect medical information from patients, family members, or other medical professionals.
• Record patient medical histories.
• Operate diagnostic imaging equipment.
• Order medical diagnostic or clinical tests.
• Operate on patients to treat conditions.
• Prescribe medications.
• Refer patients to other healthcare practitioners or health resources.
• Train medical providers.
• Supervise patient care personnel.
• Confer with other professionals to plan patient care.

Skills in demand

Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.

• Medical Software Specialized Skill

Tools & technology

How to get in

Job zone

Zone 5 — Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

Education

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Typical entry-level education

Doctoral or professional degree · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement

Related experience

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Preparation level

SVP (8.0 and above) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

What to study: Health Professions and Related Programs , Medical Residency/Fellowship Programs . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Work styles

Interest areas

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

Industries that employ this occupation

Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.

Where this work is most concentrated

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).

Related occupations

Part of the Healthcare & Human Services career cluster.

• Pediatric Surgeons · 29-1243.00 Compare →
• General Internal Medicine Physicians · 29-1216.00 Compare →
• Anesthesiologists · 29-1211.00 Compare →
• Urologists · 29-1229.03 Compare →
• Emergency Medicine Physicians · 29-1214.00 Compare →
• Radiologists · 29-1224.00 Compare →
• Neurologists · 29-1217.00 Compare →
• Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric · 29-1241.00 Compare →
• Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric · 29-1242.00 Compare →
• Family Medicine Physicians · 29-1215.00 Compare →
• Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians · 29-2031.00 Compare →
• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians · 29-1229.04 Compare →

Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.

What you can do with this

Options the data surfaces for Cardiologists — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

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.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

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

@misc{singulariki-role-29-1212-00,
  title  = {Cardiologists},
  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. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-1212-00}
}