Career Explorer Healthcare support
Human edge, steady
Pharmacy aides
Record drugs delivered to the pharmacy, store incoming merchandise, and inform the supervisor of stock needs. May operate cash register and accept prescriptions for filling.
In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 47% 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 -0.7% by 2035, expected to shrink. 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)
- $37,680
- Job growth to 2035
- -0.7%
- Openings a year
- 5,100
- People doing it (2025)
- 39,200
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Perform administrative or clerical activities
- Execute financial transactions
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Monitor resources or inventories
- Prescribe medical treatments or devices
- Stock supplies or products
What the work looks like
- Process medical insurance claims, posting bill amounts and calculating copayments.
- Answer telephone inquiries, referring callers to pharmacist when necessary.
- Prepare prescription labels by typing or operating a computer and printer.
- Operate cash register to process cash or credit sales.
- Prepare, maintain, and record records of inventories, receipts, purchases, or deliveries, using a variety of computer screen formats.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as consolidation of the retail pharmacy industry and patient use of mail-order/online pharmacies dampen demand for pharmacy aides in retail settings.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- OrderliesHuman edge, growing, Index 98, +4.0%
- Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workersHuman edge, growing, Index 96, +5.5%
- Pharmacy techniciansGrows with AI, Index 56, +6.4%
- Nursing assistantsHuman edge, steady, Index 88, +2.6%
Also known as: Pharmacy Assistant, Pharmacy Cashier, Pharmacy Clerk, Pharmacy Helper, Certified Pharmacist Assistant, Front Counter Clerk, Pharmacist Assistant, Pharmacy Ancillary.
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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.