Physician assistants
SOC Code: 29-1071
Physician assistants carries a 37% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $133,260 and +20.4% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 162,700 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 37% AI exposure, Physician assistants sits 0 points above the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 59% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
81/100
Physician assistants, 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 A+ $133,260
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth A+ +20.4%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) D 37% 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 Physician assistants in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Graduate credential among the thinner entry shelves
Physician assistants is in the Graduate band (113 of 832) with BLS pace Much faster (31/832). Graduate entry is a minority shelf - pairing it with much faster growth is the standing that separates this SOC from bachelor-dominated neighbors.
Where Physician assistants sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Physician assistants sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
37% Around the middle lower than 41% 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.
Physician assistants vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Physician assistants 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
Physician assistants's Medium 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 below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
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 29-1071) 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 Physician assistants 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 Physician assistants. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Make tentative diagnoses and decisions about management and treatment of patients.
- 2. Interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal.
- 3. Prescribe therapy or medication with physician approval.
- 4. Obtain, compile, and record patient medical data, including health history, progress notes, and results of physical examination.
- 5. Examine patients to obtain information about their physical condition.
- 6. Control anesthesia levels during procedures.
- 7. Administer or order diagnostic tests, such as x-ray, electrocardiogram, and laboratory tests.
- 8. Assist anesthesiologists in monitoring of patients, including electrocardiogram (EKG), direct arterial pressure, central venous pressure, arterial blood gas, hematocrit, or routine measurement of temperature, respiration, blood pressure or heart rate.
- 9. Instruct and counsel patients about prescribed therapeutic regimens, normal growth and development, family planning, emotional problems of daily living, and health maintenance.
- 10. Provide airway management interventions including tracheal intubation, fiber optics, or ventilary support.
Key Skills Required
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Monitoring
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Active Learning
- Operations Monitoring
- Time Management
- Service Orientation
Knowledge Areas
- Medicine and Dentistry
- English Language
- Chemistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mathematics
- Biology
- Education and Training
- Computers and Electronics
- Mechanical
- Public Safety and Security
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Physician assistants?
Physician assistants has an AI exposure score of 37%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Physician assistants?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Physician assistants is projected to grow by 20.4% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 162,700 workers.
What skills are needed for Physician assistants?
Key skills for Physician assistants include Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Monitoring, and others. Typical entry-level education is Master's degree.
How much do Physician assistants earn?
The median annual wage for Physician assistants is $133,260, 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 Physician assistants?
The typical entry-level education for Physician assistants is Master's degree. 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 Physician assistants?
Physician assistants 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
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Physician assistants: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (37% here).
- Aircraft cargo handling supervisors · AI exposure 37%
- Bakers · AI exposure 37%
- Cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment operators and tenders · AI exposure 37%
- Construction and building inspectors · AI exposure 37%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+20.4% here).
- Psychiatric technicians · growth +20.0%
- Ophthalmic medical technicians · growth +19.8%
- Computer and information research scientists · growth +19.7%
- Operations research analysts · growth +21.5%
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 45 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Physician assistants' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Physician assistants 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).