Career Explorer Healthcare (clinical)
Human edge, steady
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
Care for ill, injured, or convalescing patients or persons with disabilities in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, private homes, group homes, and similar institutions. May work under the supervision of a registered nurse. Licensing required.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 82% 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 +3.0% by 2035, slower than average. The work leans on emotional intelligence and ethical judgement.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $64,400
- Job growth to 2035
- +3.0%
- Openings a year
- 51,800
- People doing it (2025)
- 667,000
- Usual route in
- College certificate
Where people already use AI for this work
- Explain medical information to patients or family members
- Analyze health or medical data
- Perform administrative or clerical activities
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Maintain health or medical records
- Administer basic health care or medical treatments
- Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care
What the work looks like
- Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action.
- Measure and record patients' vital signs, such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration.
- Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts.
- Provide basic patient care or treatments, such as taking temperatures or blood pressures, dressing wounds, treating bedsores, giving enemas or douches, rubbing with alcohol, massaging, or performing catheterizations.
- Answer patients' calls and determine how to assist them.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as the type of care delivered in these settings translates into a reduced need for licensed practical/vocational nurses, relative to other occupations.
- More of these jobs, as growing demand for healthcare services by veterans results in more demand for licensed practical/vocational nurses.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- ParamedicsHuman edge, growing, Index 88, +5.7%
- Respiratory therapistsHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +8.5%
- Emergency medical techniciansHuman edge, growing, Index 97, +5.8%
- Hearing aid specialistsHuman edge, growing, Index 89, +19.4%
Also known as: Charge Nurse, Clinic Nurse, Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN), Pediatric LPN (Pediatric Licensed Practical Nurse), Clinic Licensed Practical Nurse (Clinic LPN), Home Health Licensed Practical Nurse (Home Health LPN), Office Nurse, Private Duty Nurse.
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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.