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 →Orthotists and Prosthetists
Occupation · SOC 29-2091.00
Design, measure, fit, and adapt orthopedic braces, appliances or prostheses, such as limbs or facial parts for patients with disabling conditions.
Also called: Certified Orthotist (CO) · Certified Prosthetist (CP) · Certified Prosthetist Orthotist (CPO) · Orthotist · Certified Pedorthist · LPO (Licensed Prosthetist Orthotist) · Licensed Orthotist · Orthotic Practitioner · Prosthetic Practitioner · Prosthetist · American Board Certified Orthotist (ABC Orthotist) · Artificial Limb Fitter
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-29-2091-00/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.
- Growing fast employment outlook (+13.3% by 2034)
- 900 openings/yr
- Low AI exposure
- Median pay $78,310/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
30th-percentile task overlap — yet about 900 openings a year (+13.3% 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 | 49th | 0.1 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Moderate | 37th | 0.4 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Low | 11th | 0.1 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.2), with simple added tooling (β 0.3), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.4). 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 0.0 · 1st percentile among occupations · Low
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.
| Show and explain orthopedic and prosthetic appliances to healthcare workers. | 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 | Growing fast · +13.3% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 900 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 10,100 → 11,500 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
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.
Orthotists and Prosthetists sits at the 27th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure rose from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
18% mean task exposure (2025)
27th percentile of 427 placed occupations
+2 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Medical and Dental Prosthetic Technicians · 3214 | 18% | 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.
Tasks
All 15 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Fit, test, and evaluate devices on patients, and make adjustments for proper fit, function, and comfort. Core · importance 4.8
- Instruct patients in the use and care of orthoses and prostheses. Core · importance 4.8
- Maintain patients' records. Core · importance 4.8
- Examine, interview, and measure patients to determine their appliance needs and to identify factors that could affect appliance fit. Core · importance 4.7
- Select materials and components to be used, based on device design. Core · importance 4.6
- Design orthopedic and prosthetic devices, based on physicians' prescriptions and examination and measurement of patients. Core · importance 4.5
- Repair, rebuild, and modify prosthetic and orthopedic appliances. Core · importance 4.5
- Construct and fabricate appliances, or supervise others constructing the appliances. Core · importance 4.4
- Make and modify plaster casts of areas to be fitted with prostheses or orthoses to guide the device construction process. Core · importance 4.4
- Confer with physicians to formulate specifications and prescriptions for orthopedic or prosthetic devices. Core · importance 4.0
- Show and explain orthopedic and prosthetic appliances to healthcare workers. Core · importance 4.0
- Train and supervise support staff, such as orthopedic and prosthetic assistants and technicians. Core · importance 3.9
- Update skills and knowledge by attending conferences and seminars. Core · importance 3.8
- Research new ways to construct and use orthopedic and prosthetic devices. Core · importance 3.7
- Publish research findings or present them at conferences and seminars. Supplemental · importance 2.8
Work activities
- Collect medical information from patients, family members, or other medical professionals.
- Examine patients to assess general physical condition.
- Measure the physical or physiological attributes of patients.
- Adjust prostheses or other assistive devices.
- Instruct patients in the use of assistive equipment.
- Design medical devices or appliances.
- Record patient medical histories.
- Fabricate medical devices.
- Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
- Supervise medical support personnel.
- Train medical providers.
- Maintain medical or professional knowledge.
- Conduct research to increase knowledge about medical issues.
- Present medical research reports.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Knowledge
| Customer and Personal Service | 4.6 | |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 4.3 | |
| Design | 4.0 | |
| Therapy and Counseling | 4.0 | |
| English Language | 3.9 | |
| Psychology | 3.9 | |
| Mechanical | 3.8 | |
| Education and Training | 3.8 | |
| Production and Processing | 3.8 | |
| Administration and Management | 3.7 | |
| Engineering and Technology | 3.6 | |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.5 | |
| Physics | 3.5 | |
| Administrative | 3.5 |
Essential skills
| Reading Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Active Listening | 4.0 | |
| Writing | 4.0 | |
| Speaking | 4.0 | |
| Critical Thinking | 4.0 | |
| Active Learning | 3.8 | |
| Monitoring | 3.4 |
Abilities
| Oral Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Written Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Oral Expression | 4.0 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 4.0 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 4.0 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.0 | |
| Near Vision | 4.0 | |
| Written Expression | 3.9 | |
| Visualization | 3.9 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.8 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.6 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.6 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.4 | |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.3 |
Transferable skills
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.8 | |
| Service Orientation | 3.8 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.8 | |
| Coordination | 3.3 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.3 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Showing the top 40 of 42.
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 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
- Master's 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 . 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.
| Master's Degree | 90.0% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 5.0% | |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 5.0% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Work styles
| Dependability | 8.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 7.0 | |
| Integrity | 6.0 | |
| Cautiousness | 5.0 | |
| Cooperation | 4.0 | |
| Achievement Orientation | 3.0 |
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Realistic | 6.0 | |
| Investigative | 5.1 | |
| Social | 4.3 | |
| Conventional | 3.6 |
Interest areas
| Health Care Service | 5.8 | |
| Engineering | 4.9 | |
| Mechanics/Electronics | 4.2 | |
| Medical Science | 3.5 | |
| Social Service | 3.4 | |
| Teaching/Education | 3.4 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $46,220 |
| 25th percentile | $59,990 |
| Median (50th) | $78,310 |
| 75th percentile | $98,880 |
| 90th percentile | $118,730 |
| People employed | 9,930 |
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 | 3,980 | $74,690 |
| Manufacturing · Sector | 2,820 | $83,220 |
| Retail Trade · Sector | 1,330 | $71,150 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 620 | $77,930 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 110 | $73,970 |
| Educational Services · Sector | — | $71,640 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing · Sector | 3.43× | 2,820 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 2.67× | 3,980 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 1.59× | 620 |
| Retail Trade · Sector | 1.32× | 1,330 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 0.19× | 110 |
Related occupations
Part of the Healthcare & Human Services career cluster.
- Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric · 29-1242.00 Compare →
- Medical Appliance Technicians · 51-9082.00 Compare →
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians · 29-1229.04 Compare →
- Podiatrists · 29-1081.00 Compare →
- Audiologists · 29-1181.00 Compare →
- Orthodontists · 29-1023.00 Compare →
- Physical Therapist Assistants · 31-2021.00 Compare →
- Paramedics · 29-2043.00 Compare →
- Physical Therapists · 29-1123.00 Compare →
- Prosthodontists · 29-1024.00 Compare →
- Pediatric Surgeons · 29-1243.00 Compare →
- Anesthesiologists · 29-1211.00 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 Orthotists and Prosthetists — 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.
- Master's degree · typical entry level
- Job zone 5 — Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Health Professions and Related Programs · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 27th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Orthotists and Prosthetists show 30th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 900 annual U.S. openings
- Orthotists and Prosthetists rank in the 30th 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 900 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 (+13.3%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $78,310, across about 9,930 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Orthotists and Prosthetists show 30th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 900 annual U.S. openings • Orthotists and Prosthetists rank in the 30th 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 900 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 (+13.3%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $78,310, across about 9,930 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Orthotists and Prosthetists". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2091-00 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
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- 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. "Orthotists and Prosthetists." 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-29-2091-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Orthotists and Prosthetists. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2091-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-29-2091-00,
title = {Orthotists and Prosthetists},
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-29-2091-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.