Medical transcriptionists
SOC Code: 31-9094
Medical transcriptionists carries a 68% AI exposure score (Very High automation risk), with a median annual wage of $37,550 and -4.9% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 43,900 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 68% AI exposure, Medical transcriptionists sits 31 points above the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 97% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
9/100
Medical transcriptionists, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage F $37,550
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F -4.9%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) F 68% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Medical transcriptionists in the Very High band.
Credential × growth standing
Associate / award entry with a named growth shelf
Entry credential Associate / award covers 99 of 832 occupations; BLS places this one in Slow growth (245/832). Mid-credential standing - thicker than graduate shelves, thinner than HS-dominated mass.
Where Medical transcriptionists sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Medical transcriptionists sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
68% Higher than most higher than 97% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Medical transcriptionists vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Medical transcriptionists is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Medical transcriptionists's Very High automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score in the 40–70% range indicates meaningful automation pressure on specific task categories, but the role as a whole still requires human judgment for coordination, exception handling, or client interaction.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 31-9094) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Medical transcriptionists be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Medical transcriptionists. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Return dictated reports in printed or electronic form for physician's review, signature, and corrections and for inclusion in patients' medical records.
- 2. Produce medical reports, correspondence, records, patient-care information, statistics, medical research, and administrative material.
- 3. Identify mistakes in reports and check with doctors to obtain the correct information.
- 4. Review and edit transcribed reports or dictated material for spelling, grammar, clarity, consistency, and proper medical terminology.
- 5. Transcribe dictation for a variety of medical reports, such as patient histories, physical examinations, emergency room visits, operations, chart reviews, consultation, or discharge summaries.
- 6. Distinguish between homonyms and recognize inconsistencies and mistakes in medical terms, referring to dictionaries, drug references, and other sources on anatomy, physiology, and medicine.
- 7. Set up and maintain medical files and databases, including records such as x-ray, lab, and procedure reports, medical histories, diagnostic workups, admission and discharge summaries, and clinical resumes.
- 8. Translate medical jargon and abbreviations into their expanded forms to ensure the accuracy of patient and health care facility records.
- 9. Perform data entry and data retrieval services, providing data for inclusion in medical records and for transmission to physicians.
- 10. Receive patients, schedule appointments, and maintain patient records.
Key Skills Required
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Time Management
- Active Learning
- Social Perceptiveness
Knowledge Areas
- English Language
- Administrative
- Computers and Electronics
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- Telecommunications
- Administration and Management
- Mathematics
- Biology
- Education and Training
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Medical transcriptionists?
Medical transcriptionists has an AI exposure score of 68%, indicating a very high level of automation risk. Some tasks in this role can be augmented or partially automated by AI, but core responsibilities require human judgment.
What is the job outlook for Medical transcriptionists?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Medical transcriptionists is projected to decline by 4.9% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 43,900 workers.
What skills are needed for Medical transcriptionists?
Key skills for Medical transcriptionists include Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Writing, and others. Typical entry-level education is Postsecondary nondegree award.
How much do Medical transcriptionists earn?
The median annual wage for Medical transcriptionists is $37,550, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Medical transcriptionists?
The typical entry-level education for Medical transcriptionists is Postsecondary nondegree award. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves None. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Medical transcriptionists?
Medical transcriptionists roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Very High automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. A majority of tasks in this occupation are susceptible to AI automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Medical transcriptionists: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (68% here).
- Compliance officers · AI exposure 69%
- Insurance claims and policy processing clerks · AI exposure 69%
- Life, physical, and social science technicians, all other · AI exposure 69%
- Loan officers · AI exposure 69%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (-4.9% here).
- Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals · growth -5.0%
- First-line supervisors of retail sales workers · growth -5.0%
- Gambling cage workers · growth -5.0%
- Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers, recordkeeping · growth -4.8%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 49 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Medical transcriptionists' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Medical transcriptionists side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).