Career Explorer Healthcare support
Human edge, growing
Medical assistants
Perform administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of a physician. Administrative duties may include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes. Clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and administering medications as directed by physician.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 89% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is moderate (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +12.9% by 2035, much faster than average. The work leans on emotional intelligence and ethical judgement.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $45,690
- Job growth to 2035
- +12.9%
- Openings a year
- 110,000
- People doing it (2025)
- 834,000
- Usual route in
- College certificate
Where people already use AI for this work
- Explain medical information to patients or family members
- Execute financial transactions
- Perform administrative or clerical activities
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Administer basic health care or medical treatments
- Maintain health or medical records
- Prepare medical equipment or work areas for use
What the work looks like
- Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height.
- Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies.
- Record patients' medical history, vital statistics, or information such as test results in medical records.
- Explain treatment procedures, medications, diets, or physicians' instructions to patients.
- Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- More of these jobs, as the adoption of team-based care models grows and healthcare providers increasingly delegate administrative duties and basic clinical tasks to medical assistants.
- Fewer of these jobs, as optometry practices increasingly rely on ophthalmic medical technicians for administrative and patient care support, reducing the need for medical assistants.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Home health and personal care aidesHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +18.1%
- Dental assistantsHuman edge, growing, Index 97, +7.4%
- Physical therapist assistantsHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +23.0%
- Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakersHuman edge, growing, Index 95, +9.1%
Also known as: Certified Medical Assistant (CMA), Chiropractor Assistant, Doctor's Assistant, Registered Medical Assistant (RMA), Clinical Medical Assistant, Health Assistant, Ophthalmic Assistant, Ophthalmological Assistant.
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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.