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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Surgical Technologists?
Task-level automation exposure for Surgical Technologists: 18 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
26%
weighted task index
18 of 18 tasks scored
Median Salary
$64,650 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
High
117,460 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+5.0%
employment change
7,100 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 52 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$30,600 – $82,640
Highest medians
Hawaii $82,640
Oregon $81,390
California $81,310
Massachusetts $80,870
Alaska $80,380
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $30,600
West Virginia $49,110
Alabama $49,420
Mississippi $49,810
New Mexico $51,780
State figures come from the 29-2055 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 26%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 27%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 43%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 4%
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 70/100
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
18 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) 24%
5 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 12%
2 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 64%
11 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 →Constituent Tasks
#15242 · Core · 3% automatable
Maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures.
physical manipulation — Maintaining sterile field requires hands
Maintain sterile operative fields.
#1959 · Core · 70% automatable
Count sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operation.
data analysis — Medical supply inventory records and thresholds automatable
Maintain inventory of medical supplies or equipment.
#1960 · Core · 5% automatable
Hand instruments and supplies to surgeons and surgeons' assistants, hold retractors and cut sutures, and perform other tasks as directed by surgeon during operation.
physical manipulation — Sterile hands-on surgical assistance
Assist healthcare practitioners during surgery.
#1961 · Core · 4% automatable
Scrub arms and hands and assist the surgical team to scrub and put on gloves, masks, and surgical clothing.
physical manipulation — Sterile hands-on surgical assistance
Assist healthcare practitioners during surgery. Maintain sterile operative fields.
#1964 · Core · 11% automatable
Wash and sterilize equipment, using germicides and sterilizers.
physical manipulation — Loading and operating sterilizing equipment by hand
Sterilize medical equipment or instruments. Clean medical equipment or facilities.
#15243 · Core · 7% automatable
Prepare patients for surgery, including positioning patients on the operating table and covering them with sterile surgical drapes to prevent exposure.
physical manipulation — Physically applying safety equipment to people
Protect patients or staff members using safety equipment. Position patients for treatment or examination.
#1965 · Core · 8% automatable
Prepare, care for, and dispose of tissue specimens taken for laboratory analysis.
physical manipulation — Manual specimen preparation
Prepare biological specimens for laboratory analysis.
#1969 · Core · 37% automatable
Monitor and continually assess operating room conditions, including patient and surgical team needs.
data analysis — Systems data monitored by AI; facilities need human oversight
Monitor facilities or operational systems. Monitor patient conditions during treatments, procedures, or activities.
#1967 · Core · 6% automatable
Prepare dressings or bandages and apply or assist with their application following surgery.
physical manipulation — Applying bandages and splints needs manual dexterity
Apply bandages, dressings, or splints. Assist healthcare practitioners during surgery.
#15244 · Core · 40% automatable
Clean and restock operating room, gathering and placing equipment and supplies and arranging instruments according to instructions, such as a preference card.
data analysis — Medical supply inventory records and thresholds automatable
Clean medical equipment or facilities. Maintain inventory of medical supplies or equipment.
#1963 · Core · 5% automatable
Provide technical assistance to surgeons, surgical nurses, or anesthesiologists.
physical manipulation — Sterile hands-on surgical assistance
Assist healthcare practitioners during surgery.
#1968 · Core · 18% automatable
Operate, assemble, adjust, or monitor sterilizers, lights, suction machines, or diagnostic equipment to ensure proper operation.
physical manipulation — Diagnostic instruments applied to patients by hand
Adjust settings or positions of medical equipment. Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment.
#1971 · Core · 70% automatable
Maintain supply of fluids, such as plasma, saline, blood, or glucose, for use during operations.
data analysis — Medical supply inventory records and thresholds automatable
Maintain inventory of medical supplies or equipment.
#24037 · Supplemental · 71% automatable
Schedule surgical procedures for patients.
decision support — Calendar scheduling automatable; exceptions need human judgment
Schedule appointments. Schedule patient procedures or appointments.
#15245 · Supplemental · 70% automatable
Order surgical supplies.
decision support — Medical supply ordering via systems; human approves
Order medical supplies or equipment.
#1972 · Supplemental · 62% automatable
Maintain files and records of surgical procedures.
interpersonal — Patient history requires live elicitation and judgment
Record patient medical histories.
#1970 · Supplemental · 28% automatable
Observe patients' vital signs to assess physical condition.
decision support — In-procedure patient monitoring is hands-on clinical work
Monitor patient conditions during treatments, procedures, or activities.
#24038 · Supplemental · 7% automatable
Transport patients to and from the operating room.
situated mobility — Physical escort and transportation of people
Provide escort or transportation. Move patients to or from treatment areas.
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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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