Career Explorer Healthcare (clinical)
Human edge, growing
Anesthesiologists
Administer anesthetics and analgesics for pain management prior to, during, or after surgery.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 85% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by +3.6% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on ethical judgement and emotional intelligence.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $391,490
- Job growth to 2035
- +3.6%
- Openings a year
- 1,100
- People doing it (2025)
- 41,500
- Usual route in
- Doctorate or professional degree, then an internship or residency
Where people already use AI for this work
- Assist others to access additional services or resources
- Advise patients or clients on medical issues
- Research healthcare issues
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care
- Assist healthcare practitioners during medical procedures
- Monitor health conditions of humans or animals
What the work looks like
- Examine patient, obtain medical history, and use diagnostic tests to determine risk during surgical, obstetrical, and other medical procedures.
- Administer anesthetic or sedation during medical procedures, using local, intravenous, spinal, or caudal methods.
- Record type and amount of anesthesia and patient condition throughout procedure.
- Monitor patient before, during, and after anesthesia and counteract adverse reactions or complications.
- Decide when patients have recovered or stabilized enough to be sent to another room or ward or to be sent home following outpatient surgery.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as the anesthesia care team model becomes more common and practice autonomy of nurse anesthetists expands, allowing for greater utilization of nurse anesthetists relative to anesthesiologists.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Nurse practitionersGrows with AI, Index 88, +41.0%
- Nurse anesthetistsHuman edge, growing, Index 95, +9.7%
- OptometristsHuman edge, growing, Index 89, +9.5%
- Physician assistantsHuman edge, growing, Index 97, +21.1%
Also known as: Anesthesiologist MD (Anesthesiologist Medical Doctor), Anesthesiology Resident, Pediatric Anesthesiologist, Physician, Attending Anesthesiologist, Cardiothoracic Anesthesiologist, Critical Care Anesthesiologist, Medical Doctor (MD).
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.