Orthotists and Prosthetists
Also called: Certified Orthotist (CO), Certified Prosthetist (CP), Certified Prosthetist Orthotist (CPO), OrthotistDesign, measure, fit, and adapt orthopedic braces, appliances or prostheses, such as limbs or facial parts for patients with disabling conditions.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 6 of its 15 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 12.9% 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, 1.7% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Miscellaneous health technologists and technicians”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 5.0 hires for every 10 job openings in health care and social assistance, which employs about 46% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $76,400 | $55,020 to $90,710 | 100 |
| Arizona | $67,350 | $62,520 to $100,160 | 70 |
| Arkansas | $78,850 | $48,740 to $86,260 | 40 |
| California | $91,820 | $75,160 to $110,810 | 1,050 |
| Colorado | $76,720 | $59,430 to $88,030 | not published |
| Connecticut | $77,030 | $68,950 to $101,110 | not published |
| District of Columbia | $44,080 | $44,040 to $84,960 | 170 |
| Florida | $81,370 | $62,460 to $115,210 | 550 |
| Georgia | $75,920 | $53,820 to $101,630 | 110 |
| Illinois | $89,180 | $76,730 to $100,500 | 240 |
| Indiana | $66,180 | $57,080 to $75,170 | 120 |
| Iowa | $87,300 | $68,750 to $98,110 | 90 |
| Kansas | $74,030 | $46,730 to $77,550 | not published |
| Kentucky | $64,730 | $60,410 to $96,100 | 80 |
| Louisiana | $75,460 | $54,720 to $88,610 | 100 |
| Maine | $81,230 | $51,240 to $102,420 | 60 |
| Maryland | $95,030 | $70,880 to $153,680 | 90 |
| Massachusetts | $89,860 | $74,840 to $106,660 | 350 |
| Michigan | $75,810 | $46,280 to $98,560 | not published |
| Minnesota | $75,530 | $54,640 to $88,650 | 90 |
| Mississippi | $80,500 | $69,380 to $97,470 | 60 |
| Missouri | $78,100 | $57,180 to $83,410 | 250 |
| Nebraska | $61,290 | $58,720 to $81,270 | 110 |
| Nevada | $80,390 | $66,840 to $95,510 | 100 |
| New Hampshire | $70,400 | $58,250 to $85,210 | 130 |
| New Jersey | $118,950 | $76,500 to $132,890 | 240 |
| New Mexico | $62,970 | $49,620 to $81,790 | 70 |
| New York | $89,610 | $64,770 to $111,400 | 300 |
| North Carolina | $82,190 | $51,830 to $98,320 | 260 |
| North Dakota | $62,570 | $49,060 to $81,220 | 40 |
| Ohio | $64,870 | $47,600 to $102,420 | 390 |
| Oklahoma | $83,780 | $62,090 to $96,100 | 80 |
| Oregon | $93,790 | $69,040 to $108,990 | 120 |
| Pennsylvania | $81,460 | $56,370 to $96,040 | 430 |
| Puerto Rico | $65,360 | $31,210 to $82,560 | 60 |
| Rhode Island | $93,350 | $62,300 to $100,690 | not published |
| South Carolina | $79,990 | $59,180 to $95,730 | 230 |
| South Dakota | $80,760 | $76,400 to $103,380 | 40 |
| Tennessee | $65,170 | $57,300 to $84,930 | 250 |
| Texas | $77,220 | $61,630 to $95,790 | 500 |
| Utah | $96,530 | $89,130 to $96,610 | 70 |
| Virginia | $92,930 | $75,140 to $105,150 | 340 |
| Washington | $105,240 | $75,390 to $114,850 | 250 |
| West Virginia | $80,860 | $78,530 to $96,460 | 70 |
| Wisconsin | $89,710 | $75,100 to $111,250 | 140 |
Nationally: $81,110. 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 6 of its 15 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Fit, test, and evaluate devices on patients, and make adjustments for proper fit, function, and comfort. | Not published |
| Not much | Instruct patients in the use and care of orthoses and prostheses. | Not published |
| AI + software | Maintain patients' records. | Not published |
| Not much | Examine, interview, and measure patients to determine their appliance needs and to identify factors that could affect appliance fit. | Not published |
| Not much | Select materials and components to be used, based on device design. | Not published |
| Not much | Repair, rebuild, and modify prosthetic and orthopedic appliances. | Not published |
See all 15 tasks
| Not much | Construct and fabricate appliances, or supervise others constructing the appliances. | Not published |
| Not much | Make and modify plaster casts of areas to be fitted with prostheses or orthoses to guide the device construction process. | Not published |
| AI + software | Design orthopedic and prosthetic devices, based on physicians' prescriptions and examination and measurement of patients. | Not published |
| AI + software | Confer with physicians to formulate specifications and prescriptions for orthopedic or prosthetic devices. | Not published |
| Not much | Show and explain orthopedic and prosthetic appliances to healthcare workers. | Not published |
| AI + software | Update skills and knowledge by attending conferences and seminars. | Not published |
| Not much | Train and supervise support staff, such as orthopedic and prosthetic assistants and technicians. | Not published |
| AI + software | Research new ways to construct and use orthopedic and prosthetic devices. | Not published |
| AI + software | Publish research findings or present them at conferences and seminars. | 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. 0 of the 15 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 15 tasks fall under 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fabricate medical devices | |||
| Supervise personnel activities | |||
| Train others on health or medical topics | |||
| Adjust medical equipment to ensure adequate performance | |||
| Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise | |||
| Present research or technical information | |||
| Research healthcare issues | |||
| Design materials or devices |
Show all 13 activities
| Collect information about patients or clients | |||
| Examine people or animals to assess health conditions or physical characteristics | |||
| Train others to use equipment or products | |||
| Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care | |||
| Maintain health or medical records |
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 orthotists and prosthetists 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 1,941 moves out
- 1 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 11%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 6%
- 3 Medical and Health Services Managers High +24.2% 5%
- 4 Education Administrators, Postsecondary High +1.8% 4%
- 5 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 3,051 moves in
- 1 First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers Very high +0.1% 12%
- 2 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 9%
- 3 Education Administrators, Postsecondary High +1.8% 5%
- 4 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 5 Medical and Health Services Managers High +24.2% 3%
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% bachelor's
- 5% post-bachelor's certificate
- 90% master's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 20 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 3% less than high school
- 19% high school
- 29% some college
- 18% associate's
- 21% bachelor's
- 7% master's
- 2% professional degree
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Miscellaneous health technologists and technicians” · 1,374 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 “Miscellaneous health technologists and technicians”
2 programs: Orthotist/Prosthetist and Assistive/Augmentative Technology and Rehabilitation Engineering.
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
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 2 registered apprenticeships in this occupation (ORTHOTIST; PROSTHETIST (Medical serv)). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Orthotists and Prosthetists” there.
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/29-2091.00