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 →Medical Appliance Technicians
Occupation · SOC 51-9082.00
Construct, maintain, or repair medical supportive devices such as braces, orthotics and prosthetic devices, joints, arch supports, and other surgical and medical appliances.
Also called: Lab Technician · Orthotic Technician · Orthotic and Prosthetic Technician (O and P Technician) · Prosthetics Technician · Certified Pedorthotist · Hearing Aid Repair Technician · Orthopedic Technician · Prosthetic Technician · Registered Prosthetic Orthotic Technician · Arch Support Maker · Arch Support Technician · Arch-Support Maker
Job family: Production Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-51-9082-00/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 (+3.7% by 2034)
- 1,500 openings/yr
- Low AI exposure
- Median pay $47,060/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
20th-percentile task overlap — yet about 1,500 openings a year (+3.7% 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 | 35th | -0.5 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Low | 25th | 0.2 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Low | 7th | 0.0 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.1), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.2). 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 0.5 · 45th percentile among occupations · Moderate
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 · +3.7% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 1,500 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 12,000 → 12,400 |
“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.
Medical Appliance Technicians 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.
- Drill and tap holes for rivets, and glue, weld, bolt, or rivet parts together to form prosthetic or orthotic devices. Core · importance 4.5
- Read prescriptions or specifications to determine the type of product or device to be fabricated and the materials and tools required. Core · importance 4.4
- Make orthotic or prosthetic devices, using materials such as thermoplastic and thermosetting materials, metal alloys and leather, and hand or power tools. Core · importance 4.4
- Bend, form, and shape fabric or material to conform to prescribed contours of structural components. Core · importance 4.4
- Construct or receive casts or impressions of patients' torsos or limbs for use as cutting and fabrication patterns. Core · importance 4.3
- Repair, modify, or maintain medical supportive devices, such as artificial limbs, braces, or surgical supports, according to specifications. Core · importance 4.3
- Cover or pad metal or plastic structures or devices, using coverings such as rubber, leather, felt, plastic, or fiberglass. Core · importance 4.2
- Test medical supportive devices for proper alignment, movement, or biomechanical stability, using meters and alignment fixtures. Core · importance 4.2
- Lay out and mark dimensions of parts, using templates and precision measuring instruments. Core · importance 4.2
- Fit appliances onto patients, and make any necessary adjustments. Core · importance 4.1
- Mix pigments to match patients' skin coloring, according to formulas, and apply mixtures to orthotic or prosthetic devices. Supplemental · importance 4.1
- Polish artificial limbs, braces, or supports, using grinding and buffing wheels. Core · importance 4.1
- Take patients' body or limb measurements for use in device construction. Core · importance 4.1
- Instruct patients in use of prosthetic or orthotic devices. Core · importance 4.0
- Service or repair machinery used in the fabrication of appliances. Core · importance 3.6
Emerging tasks
Newer responsibilities O*NET has flagged as growing for this occupation.
- Order parts or supplies for orthotic or prosthetic devices.
Work activities
- Measure clients to ensure proper product fit.
- Construct customized assistive medical or dental devices.
- Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements.
- Repair medical or dental assistive devices.
- Instruct patients in the use of assistive equipment.
- Cast molds of patient anatomies to create medical or dental devices.
- Adjust fabrics or other materials during garment production.
- Drill holes in parts, equipment, or materials.
- Operate welding equipment.
- Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.
- Inspect medical or dental assistive devices.
- Polish materials, workpieces, or finished products.
- Operate grinding equipment.
- Repair production equipment or tools.
- Mix ingredients to create specific finishes.
- Apply protective or decorative finishes to workpieces or products.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Knowledge
| Production and Processing | 3.9 | |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.7 | |
| English Language | 3.5 | |
| Mechanical | 3.4 | |
| Design | 3.3 | |
| Education and Training | 3.1 |
Essential skills
| Active Listening | 3.9 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.8 | |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.6 | |
| Speaking | 3.6 | |
| Monitoring | 3.3 | |
| Writing | 3.0 | |
| Active Learning | 3.0 |
Abilities
| Oral Comprehension | 3.9 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.9 | |
| Near Vision | 3.9 | |
| Oral Expression | 3.8 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.8 | |
| Visualization | 3.8 | |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.8 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.6 | |
| Finger Dexterity | 3.6 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.5 | |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.5 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.5 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.5 | |
| Control Precision | 3.4 | |
| Multilimb Coordination | 3.4 | |
| Written Comprehension | 3.3 |
Transferable skills
| Quality Control Analysis | 3.8 | |
| Troubleshooting | 3.6 | |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.5 | |
| Operations Monitoring | 3.5 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.4 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.3 | |
| Service Orientation | 3.1 | |
| Coordination | 3.0 | |
| Instructing | 3.0 | |
| Equipment Maintenance | 3.0 | |
| Repairing | 3.0 |
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
| Example | Category | |
|---|---|---|
| Autodesk AutoCAD | Computer aided design CAD 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 |
| Footmaxx Metascan software | Medical software | |
| Gait analysis software | Medical software | |
| Ohio Willow Wood OMEGA Tracer System | Computer aided design CAD software | |
| Orthotic fabrication software | Computer aided manufacturing CAM software | |
| Seattle Systems Shapemaker | Computer aided design CAD software | |
| SoftSource CADview | Computer aided design CAD software | |
| Vorum Research Corporation CANFIT-PLUS | Computer aided design CAD software |
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
- High school diploma or equivalent · 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) | 26.3% | |
| High School Diploma | 21.2% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 18.2% | |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 10.2% | |
| Master's Degree | 9.5% | |
| Some College Courses | 8.6% | |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 5.8% | |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 0.3% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Realistic | 7.0 | |
| Investigative | 4.0 | |
| Conventional | 3.7 | |
| Social | 3.2 |
Interest areas
| Engineering | 4.8 | |
| Mechanics/Electronics | 4.5 | |
| Health Care Service | 4.3 | |
| Physical/Manual Labor | 3.8 | |
| Medical Science | 2.6 | |
| Construction/Woodwork | 2.2 | |
| Mathematics/Statistics | 2.0 | |
| Personal Service | 2.0 | |
| Life Science | 1.9 |
Work styles
| Dependability | 3.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 2.8 | |
| Cautiousness | 2.3 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $36,560 |
| 25th percentile | $40,300 |
| Median (50th) | $47,060 |
| 75th percentile | $58,710 |
| 90th percentile | $74,570 |
| People employed | 11,490 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing · Sector | 7,140 | $46,450 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 1,760 | $50,910 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 1,120 | $57,620 |
| Retail Trade · Sector | 900 | $46,220 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 200 | $40,810 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | 170 | $40,040 |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing · Sector | — | $36,830 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | — | $47,310 |
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 | 7.51× | 7,140 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 2.49× | 1,120 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 1.02× | 1,760 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | 0.86× | 170 |
| Retail Trade · Sector | 0.77× | 900 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 0.3× | 200 |
Related occupations
Part of the Healthcare & Human Services career cluster.
- Dental Laboratory Technicians · 51-9081.00 Compare →
- Medical Equipment Repairers · 49-9062.00 Compare →
- Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians · 51-9083.00 Compare →
- Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters · 51-2041.00 Compare →
- Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic · 51-9195.00 Compare →
- Surgical Technologists · 29-2055.00 Compare →
- Calibration Technologists and Technicians · 17-3028.00 Compare →
- Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · 51-4122.00 Compare →
- Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers · 51-2022.00 Compare →
- Medical Equipment Preparers · 31-9093.00 Compare →
- Orthotists and Prosthetists · 29-2091.00 Compare →
- Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric · 29-1242.00 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 Medical Appliance Technicians — 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.
- High school diploma or equivalent · typical entry level
- Job zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium 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
Medical Appliance Technicians show 20th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 1,500 annual U.S. openings
- Medical Appliance Technicians rank in the 20th 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 1,500 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 (+3.7%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $47,060, across about 11,490 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Medical Appliance Technicians show 20th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 1,500 annual U.S. openings • Medical Appliance Technicians rank in the 20th 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 1,500 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 (+3.7%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $47,060, across about 11,490 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Medical Appliance Technicians". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-9082-00 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
- 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. "Medical Appliance Technicians." 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; 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-51-9082-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Medical Appliance Technicians. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-9082-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-51-9082-00,
title = {Medical Appliance Technicians},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; 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-51-9082-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.