Psychiatrists
Also called: Adult Psychiatrist, Attending Psychiatrist, Child Psychiatrist, Medical Doctor (MD)Diagnose, treat, and help prevent mental disorders.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 9 of its 12 tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 7.2% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 0.6% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other physicians”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 5.0 hires for every 10 job openings in health care and social assistance, which employs about 83% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.5.0 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $342,170 | $118,600 to $393,920 | 50 |
| Arizona | $249,720 | $204,870 to $327,350 | 380 |
| Arkansas | $124,750 | $75,340 to $291,200 | 150 |
| California | $353,500 | $173,990 to $414,640 | 5,420 |
| Colorado | $266,370 | $228,210 to $313,920 | 270 |
| Connecticut | $326,670 | $135,190 to $404,850 | 560 |
| Delaware | $279,410 | $187,270 to $304,990 | 100 |
| District of Columbia | $183,080 | $71,550 to $289,360 | 310 |
| Florida | $316,200 | $179,670 to $474,250 | 1,930 |
| Georgia | $237,480 | $103,200 to $318,110 | 470 |
| Hawaii | $289,990 | $280,380 to $290,040 | 170 |
| Idaho | $75,470 | $75,470 to $237,340 | 110 |
| Illinois | $258,740 | $166,750 to $379,160 | 870 |
| Indiana | $284,110 | $232,380 to $357,000 | 410 |
| Iowa | $295,270 | $151,560 to $360,900 | 170 |
| Kansas | $278,100 | $217,360 to $314,500 | 60 |
| Kentucky | $237,770 | $132,450 to $288,780 | 160 |
| Louisiana | $345,040 | $215,770 to $373,130 | 90 |
| Maine | $300,180 | $248,140 to $316,490 | 80 |
| Maryland | $305,320 | $229,860 to $411,740 | 460 |
| Massachusetts | not published | not published | 1,060 |
| Michigan | $291,850 | $190,630 to $364,230 | 560 |
| Minnesota | $336,410 | $279,600 to $382,210 | 580 |
| Mississippi | $213,680 | $127,880 to $330,650 | 110 |
| Missouri | $312,680 | $260,600 to $466,780 | 240 |
| Nebraska | $135,180 | $53,160 to $339,880 | 180 |
| Nevada | $210,030 | $100,880 to $249,080 | 90 |
| New Hampshire | $246,140 | $76,030 to $294,770 | 90 |
| New Jersey | $194,070 | $155,310 to $341,570 | 1,290 |
| New Mexico | $227,730 | $224,920 to $248,940 | not published |
| New York | $265,890 | $101,460 to $333,870 | 4,130 |
| North Carolina | $168,880 | $133,240 to $266,850 | 620 |
| Ohio | $244,990 | $171,140 to $311,190 | 690 |
| Oklahoma | $271,640 | $224,490 to $333,320 | 80 |
| Oregon | $314,880 | $257,780 to $336,410 | 430 |
| Pennsylvania | $278,970 | $235,240 to $342,920 | 830 |
| Rhode Island | $287,610 | $145,790 to $304,210 | 270 |
| South Carolina | $237,250 | $155,250 to $272,230 | 200 |
| South Dakota | $226,180 | $201,330 to $341,360 | 60 |
| Tennessee | $214,880 | $76,870 to $312,950 | 410 |
| Texas | $228,460 | $104,290 to $305,530 | 1,690 |
| Utah | $299,670 | $286,770 to $321,560 | 260 |
| Vermont | $302,770 | $221,000 to $409,950 | 80 |
| Virginia | $295,010 | $215,150 to $322,890 | 370 |
| Washington | $304,920 | $175,900 to $332,330 | 360 |
| West Virginia | $63,320 | $63,320 to $334,250 | 90 |
| Wisconsin | $331,070 | $196,700 to $349,230 | 550 |
Nationally: $281,870. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 9 of its 12 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AI + software | Gather and maintain patient information and records, including social or medical history obtained from patients, relatives, or other professionals. | Not published |
| AI + software | Collaborate with physicians, psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, or other professionals to discuss treatment plans and progress. | Not published |
| AI + software | Analyze and evaluate patient data or test findings to diagnose nature or extent of mental disorder. | Not published |
| Not much | Prescribe, direct, or administer psychotherapeutic treatments or medications to treat mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders. | Not published |
| AI + software | Design individualized care plans, using a variety of treatments. | Not published |
| AI + software | Teach, take continuing education classes, attend conferences or seminars, or conduct research and publish findings to increase understanding of mental, emotional, or behavioral states or disorders. | Not published |
See all 12 tasks
| AI + software | Review and evaluate treatment procedures and outcomes of other psychiatrists or medical professionals. | Not published |
| Not much | Examine or conduct laboratory or diagnostic tests on patients to provide information on general physical condition or mental disorder. | Not published |
| AI alone | Advise or inform guardians, relatives, or significant others of patients' conditions or treatment. | under 0.01% |
| AI alone | Counsel outpatients or other patients during office visits. | under 0.01% |
| AI alone | Prepare and submit case reports or summaries to government or mental health agencies. | Not published |
| Not much | Serve on committees to promote or maintain community mental health services or delivery systems. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 2 of the 12 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 12 tasks fall under 15 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #4 Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
- #20 Present research or technical information
- #26 Research healthcare issues
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analyze health or medical data | |||
| Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise | |||
| Present research or technical information | |||
| Research healthcare issues | |||
| Explain medical information to patients or family members | |||
| Advise patients or clients on medical issues | |||
| Collect information about patients or clients | |||
| Develop patient or client care or treatment plans |
Show all 15 activities
| Prepare health or medical documents | |||
| Examine people or animals to assess health conditions or physical characteristics | |||
| Administer therapeutic treatments | |||
| Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care | |||
| Serve on organizational committees | |||
| Maintain health or medical records | |||
| Prescribe medical treatments or devices |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- An explanation or answer53%
- Advice or a recommendation19%
- An analysis or summary12%
- A document or report9%
- An email or message2%
How they worked with Claude
9% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for psychiatrists specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 1,712 moves out
- 1 Medical and Health Services Managers High +24.2% 16%
- 2 Postsecondary Teachers, All Other Very high +2.0% 14%
- 3 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 13%
- 4 Registered Nurses High +5.6% 10%
- 5 Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary Very high +17.9% 5%
Where people moved in from
of 1,910 moves in
- 1 Medical and Health Services Managers High +24.2% 15%
- 2 Registered Nurses High +5.6% 12%
- 3 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 11%
- 4 Postsecondary Teachers, All Other Very high +2.0% 10%
- 5 Physicians and Surgeons, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 5% master's
- 2% professional doctorate
- 34% research doctorate
- 59% post-doctoral training
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 39 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 83% professional degree
- 17% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other physicians” · 10,590 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other physicians”
2 programs: Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/29-1223.00