Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Surgical Technologists
Occupation · SOC 29-2055.00
Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons, registered nurses, or other surgical personnel. May help set up operating room, prepare and transport patients for surgery, adjust lights and equipment, pass instruments and other supplies to surgeons and surgeons' assistants, hold retractors, cut sutures, and help count sponges, needles, supplies, and instruments.
Also called: Certified Surgical Technologist (CST) · Operating Room Technician (OR Tech) · Surgical Technician · Surgical Technologist (Surgical Tech) · Certified Surgical Technician · Operating Room Surgical Technician (OR St) · Operating Room Technologist (OR Tech) · Surgical Scrub Technician · Surgical Scrub Technologist (Surgical Scrub Tech) · Cardiovascular Operating Room Technologist (CVOR Technologist) · Operating Room Surgical Technologist · Scrub Technician
Job family: Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-29-2055-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
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.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- About average employment outlook (+4.5% by 2034)
- 7,000 openings/yr
- Low AI exposure
- Median pay $62,830/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
15th-percentile task overlap — yet about 7,000 openings a year (+4.5% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
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.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Moderate | 36th | -0.5 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Low | 14th | 0.1 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Low | 5th | 0.0 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.0), with simple added tooling (β 0.1), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.1). 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.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
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 0.3 · 40th percentile among occupations · Moderate
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.
| Provide technical assistance to surgeons, surgical nurses, or anesthesiologists. | 0.2% |
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | About average · +4.5% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 7,000 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 115,600 → 120,800 |
“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 16 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures. Core · importance 4.9
- Count sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operation. Core · importance 4.9
- Scrub arms and hands and assist the surgical team to scrub and put on gloves, masks, and surgical clothing. Core · importance 4.8
- Prepare patients for surgery, including positioning patients on the operating table and covering them with sterile surgical drapes to prevent exposure. Core · importance 4.8
- Provide technical assistance to surgeons, surgical nurses, or anesthesiologists. Core · importance 4.8
- Hand instruments and supplies to surgeons and surgeons' assistants, hold retractors and cut sutures, and perform other tasks as directed by surgeon during operation. Core · importance 4.8
- Prepare, care for, and dispose of tissue specimens taken for laboratory analysis. Core · importance 4.7
- Wash and sterilize equipment, using germicides and sterilizers. Core · importance 4.7
- Monitor and continually assess operating room conditions, including patient and surgical team needs. Core · importance 4.7
- Operate, assemble, adjust, or monitor sterilizers, lights, suction machines, or diagnostic equipment to ensure proper operation. Core · importance 4.7
- Prepare dressings or bandages and apply or assist with their application following surgery. Core · importance 4.7
- Clean and restock operating room, gathering and placing equipment and supplies and arranging instruments according to instructions, such as a preference card. Core · importance 4.6
- Order surgical supplies. Core · importance 4.5
- Maintain supply of fluids, such as plasma, saline, blood, or glucose, for use during operations. Supplemental · importance 4.4
- Observe patients' vital signs to assess physical condition. Core · importance 4.2
- Maintain files and records of surgical procedures. Supplemental · importance 4.0
Emerging tasks
Newer responsibilities O*NET has flagged as growing for this occupation.
- Schedule surgical procedures for patients.
- Transport patients to and from the operating room.
Work activities
- Maintain sterile operative fields.
- Protect patients or staff members using safety equipment.
- Position patients for treatment or examination.
- Clean medical equipment or facilities.
- Maintain inventory of medical supplies or equipment.
- Order medical supplies or equipment.
- Assist healthcare practitioners during surgery.
- Sterilize medical equipment or instruments.
- Prepare biological specimens for laboratory analysis.
- Apply bandages, dressings, or splints.
- Adjust settings or positions of medical equipment.
- Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment.
- Monitor facilities or operational systems.
- Monitor patient conditions during treatments, procedures, or activities.
- Record patient medical histories.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Abilities
| Oral Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.8 | |
| Near Vision | 3.8 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.6 | |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.5 | |
| Selective Attention | 3.4 | |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.4 | |
| Oral Expression | 3.3 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.3 | |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.3 | |
| Number Facility | 3.1 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.1 | |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 3.1 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.1 | |
| Written Comprehension | 3.0 | |
| Written Expression | 3.0 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.0 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.0 |
Essential skills
| Monitoring | 3.8 | |
| Active Listening | 3.4 | |
| Speaking | 3.1 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.1 | |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.0 | |
| Active Learning | 3.0 | |
| Learning Strategies | 3.0 |
Knowledge
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.7 | |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 3.7 | |
| English Language | 3.5 | |
| Education and Training | 3.1 |
Transferable skills
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
Work context
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.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Education
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
- Typical entry-level education
- Postsecondary nondegree award · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
- Preparation level
- SVP (6.0 to < 7.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Health Professions and Related Programs . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 40.6% | |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 31.2% | |
| Some College Courses | 23.2% | |
| High School Diploma | 5.0% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Work styles
| Dependability | 7.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 6.0 | |
| Integrity | 5.0 | |
| Cautiousness | 4.0 | |
| Cooperation | 3.0 | |
| Self-Control | 2.5 | |
| Stress Tolerance | 2.4 |
Interest areas
| Health Care Service | 6.3 | |
| Physical/Manual Labor | 2.8 | |
| Medical Science | 2.7 | |
| Mechanics/Electronics | 2.1 |
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Realistic | 6.3 | |
| Conventional | 4.8 | |
| Social | 3.8 | |
| Investigative | 3.2 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $43,290 |
| 25th percentile | $51,740 |
| Median (50th) | $62,830 |
| 75th percentile | $77,140 |
| 90th percentile | $90,700 |
| People employed | 113,890 |
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.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 108,170 | $62,840 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 4,550 | $61,040 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | 3,830 | $60,590 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 450 | $70,690 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector | 210 | $51,180 |
| Offices of Optometrists · National industry | 180 | $45,730 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | 40 | $54,180 |
| Manufacturing · Sector | — | $78,880 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | — | $81,330 |
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).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 6.34× | 108,170 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | 1.96× | 3,830 |
| Offices of Optometrists · National industry | 1.6× | 180 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 0.68× | 4,550 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector | 0.1× | 210 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 0.04× | 450 |
Related occupations
Part of the Healthcare & Human Services career cluster.
- Surgical Assistants · 29-9093.00 Compare →
- Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians · 29-2031.00 Compare →
- Endoscopy Technicians · 31-9099.02 Compare →
- Medical Equipment Preparers · 31-9093.00 Compare →
- Radiologic Technologists and Technicians · 29-2034.00 Compare →
- Diagnostic Medical Sonographers · 29-2032.00 Compare →
- Ophthalmic Medical Technicians · 29-2057.00 Compare →
- Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians · 29-2012.00 Compare →
- Radiation Therapists · 29-1124.00 Compare →
- Histotechnologists · 29-2011.04 Compare →
- Anesthesiologist Assistants · 29-1071.01 Compare →
- Pediatric Surgeons · 29-1243.00 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 Surgical Technologists — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- Postsecondary nondegree award · typical entry level
- Job zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Health Professions and Related Programs · field of study
Zoom out
See where this work sits in the bigger picture.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Surgical Technologists show 15th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 7,000 annual U.S. openings
- Surgical Technologists rank in the 15th percentile (Low 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 7,000 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 about average (+4.5%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $62,830, across about 113,890 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Surgical Technologists show 15th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 7,000 annual U.S. openings • Surgical Technologists rank in the 15th percentile (Low 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 7,000 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 about average (+4.5%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $62,830, across about 113,890 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Surgical Technologists". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2055-00 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.
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
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Surgical Technologists." 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; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2055-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Surgical Technologists. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2055-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-29-2055-00,
title = {Surgical Technologists},
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; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2055-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.