Headline risk
1%
Very Low RiskPhysicians, pathologists
United States AI Work Index tracks this occupation on the shared structural baseline and then layers on local demand resilience, wages, and confidence.
Why This Score
Share of job tasks that overlap with current AI capabilities
Median annual wage
Projected employment change over 10 years
Typical preparation needed for this occupation
Occupation profile
Diagnose diseases and conduct lab tests using organs, body tissues, and fluids. Includes medical examiners.
Task evidence
100% weighted task match · 14% effective coverage
Scores combine AI task overlap, human advantages, and local demand. How it works
United States Now
Median Wage
—
Employment 2024
12.6K
Projected Change (2024–34)
4.2%
Openings (2024–34)
0.4K
Wage distribution
Demand outlook
Overall employment of physicians and surgeons is projected to grow 3 percent from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
Role Profile
Tasks
- 1. Diagnose diseases or study medical conditions, using techniques such as gross pathology, histology, cytology, cytopathology, clinical chemistry, immunology, flow cytometry, or molecular biology. AI use: 0%
- 2. Examine microscopic samples to identify diseases or other abnormalities. AI use: 92%
- 3. Write pathology reports summarizing analyses, results, and conclusions. AI use: 0%
- 4. Identify the etiology, pathogenesis, morphological change, and clinical significance of diseases. AI use: 0%
- 5. Communicate pathologic findings to surgeons or other physicians. AI use: 0%
- 6. Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in pathology. AI use: 72%
Technologies
Requirements
Work context
Worker profile
Median age 45.6 · 929K employed
Under 25: 0% · 25–54: 75% · 55+: 25%
Related
No direct US role match is available yet for this occupation.
Source coverage
10/11 source families · O*NET 30.2 / OEWS 2024 / ORS 2025 / OOH 2025-08-28 / Projections 2024-34 / CPS 2025 / Anthropic task penetration
Mapping quality
title_match · employment series present
Narrative & sources
Physicians and surgeons diagnose and treat injuries or illnesses and address health maintenance.
Physicians and surgeons work in both clinical and nonclinical settings. Clinical settings include physicians' offices and hospitals; nonclinical settings include government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and insurance companies.
Physicians and surgeons typically need a bachelor’s degree as well as a medical degree, which takes an additional 4 years to complete. Depending on their specialty, they also need 3 to 9 years in internship and residency programs. Subspecialization includes additional training in a fellowship of 1 to 3 years.
Wages for physicians and surgeons are among the highest of all occupations, with a median wage equal to or greater than $239,200 per year.
Overall employment of physicians and surgeons is projected to grow 3 percent from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
Published limitations
This page shows the local country layer, not realised individual job outcomes. The global structural baseline is shared across countries; only the local demand and wage layer changes here.
Built from O*NET occupation descriptions, task statements, technology skills, work context, Job Zones, Anthropic task penetration, BLS OEWS wages, BLS projection tables, BLS ORS requirements, BLS OOH narrative content, BLS skills data, and BLS CPS occupation age tables.