Career Explorer Production
Human edge, growing
Medical appliance technicians
Construct, maintain, or repair medical supportive devices such as braces, orthotics and prosthetic devices, joints, arch supports, and other surgical and medical appliances.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 89% 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 +3.5% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on emotional intelligence and physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $48,030
- Job growth to 2035
- +3.5%
- Openings a year
- 1,300
- People doing it (2025)
- 11,300
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Read documents or materials to inform work processes
- Prepare mixtures or solutions
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Fabricate medical devices
- Take physical measurements of patients or clients
- Position workpieces or materials on equipment
What the work looks like
- Take patients' body or limb measurements for use in device construction.
- Repair, modify, or maintain medical supportive devices, such as artificial limbs, braces, or surgical supports, according to specifications.
- Polish artificial limbs, braces, or supports, using grinding and buffing wheels.
- Construct or receive casts or impressions of patients' torsos or limbs for use as cutting and fabrication patterns.
- Read prescriptions or specifications to determine the type of product or device to be fabricated and the materials and tools required.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as the adoption of additive manufacturing technologies makes the fabrication process of orthoses and prostheses more labor efficient.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Skincare specialistsHuman edge, growing, Index 97, +8.8%
- Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologistsHuman edge, growing, Index 98, +7.7%
- Animal trainersHuman edge, growing, Index 94, +4.2%
- Exercise trainers and group fitness instructorsHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +7.3%
Also known as: Certified Orthotist (CO), Certified Prosthetist (CP), Orthotic Technician (Orthotic Tech), Prosthetic Technician (Prosthetic Tech), Certified Pedorthotist, Hearing Aid Repair Technician (Hearing Aid Repair Tech), Laboratory Technician (Lab Tech), Orthopedic Technician (Orthopedic Tech).
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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.