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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Nuclear Medicine Technologists?
Task-level automation exposure for Nuclear Medicine Technologists: 17 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
31%
weighted task index
17 of 17 tasks scored
Median Salary
$101,370 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
17,080 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+4.4%
employment change
800 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 50 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$52,930 – $162,380
Highest medians
California $162,380
Washington $126,200
Hawaii $125,650
New Jersey $124,280
Oregon $122,100
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $52,930
Kansas $64,610
West Virginia $76,460
Wyoming $81,900
South Dakota $82,010
State figures come from the 29-2033 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 31%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 46%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 38%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 14%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 62/100
High
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
17 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 14%
2 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 16%
3 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 71%
12 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Emerging & rewritten tasks
Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.
- New 07/2013 · Incumbent
Schedule patients for nuclear medicine exams and procedures.
Constituent Tasks
#15239 · Core · 5% automatable
Administer radiopharmaceuticals or radiation intravenously to detect or treat diseases, using radioisotope equipment, under direction of a physician.
physical manipulation — Administering imaging substances is hands-on clinical procedure
Administer medical substances for imaging or other procedures.
#4149 · Core · 23% automatable
Detect and map radiopharmaceuticals in patients' bodies, using a camera to produce photographic or computer images.
physical manipulation — Patient positioning and scanner operation hands-on
Create advanced digital images of patients using computer imaging systems. Operate diagnostic imaging equipment.
#4153 · Core · 30% automatable
Process cardiac function studies, using computer.
physical manipulation — Processing requires physical handling of imaging media
Process x-rays or other medical images.
#4148 · Core · 72% automatable
Calculate, measure, and record radiation dosage or radiopharmaceuticals received, used, and disposed, using computer and following physician's prescription.
data analysis — Routine medical calculations; human checks inputs
Calculate numerical data for medical activities. Record patient medical histories.
#4155 · Core · 66% automatable
Record and process results of procedures.
text generation — Healthcare forms processed digitally; human verifies edge cases
Record patient medical histories. Process healthcare paperwork.
#4152 · Core · 30% automatable
Produce a computer-generated or film image for interpretation by a physician.
physical manipulation — Processing requires physical handling of imaging media
Process x-rays or other medical images.
#4156 · Core · 25% automatable
Prepare stock radiopharmaceuticals, adhering to safety standards that minimize radiation exposure to workers and patients.
decision support — AI recalls protocols; execution and accountability are human
Follow protocols or regulations for healthcare activities. Prepare medications or medical solutions.
#4150 · Core · 40% automatable
Explain test procedures and safety precautions to patients and provide them with assistance during test procedures.
interpersonal — Results delivery needs empathy and clinical judgment
Explain medical procedures or test results to patients or family members.
#15240 · Core · 20% automatable
Perform quality control checks on laboratory equipment or cameras.
visual inspection — Hands-on examination of medical instruments
Examine medical instruments or equipment to ensure proper operation.
#4154 · Core · 33% automatable
Dispose of radioactive materials and store radiopharmaceuticals, following radiation safety procedures.
decision support — AI recalls protocols; execution and accountability are human
Monitor the handling of hazardous materials or medical wastes. Follow protocols or regulations for healthcare activities.
#4158 · Core · 55% automatable
Gather information on patients' illnesses and medical history to guide the choice of diagnostic procedures for therapy.
information retrieval — History extraction aided; patient interaction human
Gather medical information from patient histories.
#4157 · Core · 8% automatable
Maintain and calibrate radioisotope and laboratory equipment.
physical manipulation — Physical lab equipment maintenance
Maintain medical laboratory equipment.
#4159 · Core · 20% automatable
Measure glandular activity, blood volume, red cell survival, or radioactivity of patient, using scanners, Geiger counters, scintillometers, or other laboratory equipment.
physical manipulation — Physical operation of sample analysis instruments
Operate laboratory equipment to analyze medical samples.
#4160 · Core · 28% automatable
Train or supervise student or subordinate nuclear medicine technologists.
interpersonal — Provider training is clinical, hands-on, accountable
Train medical providers. Supervise patient care personnel.
#4161 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Position radiation fields, radiation beams, and patient to allow for most effective treatment of patient's disease, using computer.
physical manipulation — Hands-on medical equipment adjustment
Adjust settings or positions of medical equipment. Position patients for treatment or examination.
#4162 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Add radioactive substances to biological specimens, such as blood, urine, or feces, to determine therapeutic drug or hormone levels.
physical manipulation — Manual specimen preparation
Prepare biological specimens for laboratory analysis.
#4163 · Supplemental · 35% automatable
Develop treatment procedures for nuclear medicine treatment programs.
decision support — Protocols need clinical accountability and context
Determine protocols for medical procedures.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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