Career Explorer Healthcare support
Human edge, growing
Orderlies
Transport patients to areas such as operating rooms or x-ray rooms using wheelchairs, stretchers, or moveable beds. May maintain stocks of supplies or clean and transport equipment. Psychiatric orderlies are included in Psychiatric Aides.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 98% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by +4.0% by 2035, 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)
- $38,290
- Job growth to 2035
- +4.0%
- Openings a year
- 7,200
- People doing it (2025)
- 52,800
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Assist healthcare practitioners during medical procedures
- Clean medical equipment or facilities
- Move materials, equipment, or supplies
What the work looks like
- Lift or assist others to lift patients to move them on or off beds, examination tables, surgical tables, or stretchers.
- Transport patients to treatment units, testing units, operating rooms, or other areas, using wheelchairs, stretchers, or moveable beds.
- Disinfect or sterilize equipment or supplies, using germicides or sterilizing equipment.
- Clean equipment, such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, or portable medical equipment, documenting needed repairs or maintenance.
- Respond to emergency situations, such as emergency medical calls, security calls, or fire alarms.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- PhlebotomistsHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +6.8%
- Medical equipment preparersHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +10.8%
- Home health and personal care aidesHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +18.1%
- Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workersHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +5.3%
Also known as: Patient Care Assistant (PCA), Patient Care Technician (PCT), Patient Transporter, Transporter, Attendant, Operating Room Assistant, Orderly, Patient Escort.
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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.