Surgical Assistants
Also called: CSFA (Certified Surgical First Assistant), RNFA (Registered Nurse First Assistant), Surgical First Assistant, Surgical Technician (Surgical Tech)Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons. May, in accordance with state laws, help surgeons to make incisions and close surgical sites, manipulate or remove tissues, implant surgical devices or drains, suction the surgical site, place catheters, clamp or cauterize vessels or tissue, and apply dressings to surgical site.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 2 of its 28 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 6.1% 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, 3.3% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other healthcare practitioners and technical occupations”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 5.0 hires for every 10 job openings in health care and social assistance, which employs about 97% 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 | $41,710 | $37,910 to $45,900 | 470 |
| Alaska | $61,210 | $60,400 to $75,510 | 60 |
| Arizona | $111,170 | $50,590 to $132,730 | not published |
| Arkansas | $49,600 | $36,800 to $78,790 | 80 |
| California | $62,540 | $59,630 to $72,030 | 1,210 |
| Colorado | $107,440 | $104,820 to $125,260 | not published |
| Connecticut | $67,580 | $52,250 to $89,590 | 320 |
| District of Columbia | $123,390 | $71,200 to $145,780 | 90 |
| Florida | $62,550 | $51,420 to $89,560 | 1,260 |
| Georgia | $49,520 | $43,740 to $65,450 | 840 |
| Hawaii | $54,190 | $54,190 to $95,520 | 70 |
| Idaho | $56,460 | $51,690 to $60,240 | not published |
| Illinois | $80,210 | $80,210 to $80,210 | 2,300 |
| Indiana | $56,620 | $44,670 to $75,650 | 690 |
| Iowa | $66,030 | $55,280 to $66,660 | 30 |
| Kansas | $57,810 | $44,320 to $69,770 | 180 |
| Kentucky | $84,600 | $55,300 to $115,030 | 480 |
| Maryland | $58,130 | $49,620 to $86,580 | 670 |
| Massachusetts | $56,430 | $51,650 to $58,370 | not published |
| Michigan | $56,430 | $37,960 to $81,110 | 560 |
| Minnesota | $75,950 | $67,080 to $89,950 | 360 |
| Mississippi | $50,810 | $39,910 to $61,820 | 120 |
| Missouri | $49,400 | $47,330 to $60,580 | 510 |
| Montana | $67,370 | $56,610 to $85,810 | 100 |
| Nebraska | $53,190 | $47,010 to $75,410 | 80 |
| Nevada | $100,820 | $85,130 to $114,380 | 230 |
| New Hampshire | $77,670 | $62,300 to $119,750 | 130 |
| New Jersey | $90,710 | $64,140 to $143,490 | not published |
| New Mexico | $62,010 | $46,870 to $69,040 | 130 |
| New York | $60,070 | $54,440 to $63,730 | 470 |
| North Carolina | $59,920 | $49,520 to $67,210 | 670 |
| Ohio | $77,450 | $48,120 to $99,380 | 970 |
| Oklahoma | $40,160 | $38,590 to $70,640 | 220 |
| Oregon | $80,450 | $72,640 to $108,710 | 220 |
| Pennsylvania | $60,550 | $50,410 to $83,570 | 240 |
| Puerto Rico | $30,160 | $23,670 to $31,630 | 90 |
| Rhode Island | $61,900 | $61,900 to $67,440 | not published |
| South Carolina | $85,580 | $50,630 to $108,200 | 480 |
| Tennessee | $81,640 | $73,000 to $96,720 | 750 |
| Texas | $64,930 | $43,370 to $94,730 | 2,840 |
| Utah | $44,990 | $36,320 to $50,980 | 290 |
| Virginia | $78,910 | $51,030 to $103,860 | 1,000 |
| Washington | $65,440 | $53,460 to $86,890 | 100 |
| West Virginia | $50,870 | $48,200 to $63,740 | 280 |
| Wisconsin | $78,030 | $61,760 to $95,730 | 810 |
Nationally: $66,800. 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 2 of its 28 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures. | Not published |
| Not much | Maintain an unobstructed operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Pass instruments or supplies to surgeon during procedure. | Not published |
| Not much | Assist members of surgical team with gowning or gloving. | Not published |
| Not much | Coordinate or participate in the positioning of patients, using body stabilizing equipment or protective padding to provide appropriate exposure for the procedure or to protect against nerve damage or circulation impairment. | Not published |
| Not much | Gather, arrange, or assemble instruments or supplies. | Not published |
See all 28 tasks
| Not much | Determine availability of necessary equipment or supplies for operative procedures. | Not published |
| Not much | Obtain or inspect sterile or non-sterile surgical equipment, instruments, or supplies. | Not published |
| Not much | Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field. | Not published |
| Not much | Prepare and apply sterile wound dressings. | Not published |
| Not much | Verify the identity of patient or operative site. | Not published |
| Not much | Assist with patient resuscitation during cardiac arrest or other life-threatening events. | Not published |
| Not much | Assess skin integrity or other body conditions upon completion of the procedure to determine if damage has occurred from body positioning. | Not published |
| Not much | Assist in applying casts, splints, braces, or similar devices. | Not published |
| Not much | Operate sterilizing devices. | Not published |
| Not much | Adjust and maintain operating room temperature, humidity, or lighting, according to surgeon's specifications. | Not published |
| Not much | Clamp, ligate, or cauterize blood vessels to control bleeding during surgical entry, using hemostatic clamps, suture ligatures, or electrocautery equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Apply sutures, staples, clips, or other materials to close skin, facia, or subcutaneous wound layers. | Not published |
| Not much | Assist in the insertion, positioning, or suturing of closed-wound drainage systems. | Not published |
| AI + software | Discuss with surgeon the nature of the surgical procedure, including operative consent, methods of operative exposure, diagnostic or laboratory data, or patient-advanced directives or other needs. | Not published |
| Not much | Remove patient hair or disinfect incision sites to prepare patient for surgery. | Not published |
| Not much | Monitor patient intra-operative status, including patient position, vital signs, or volume and color of blood. | Not published |
| Not much | Insert or remove urinary bladder catheters. | Not published |
| AI + software | Coordinate with anesthesia personnel to maintain patient temperature. | Not published |
| Not much | Transport patients to operating room. | Not published |
| Not much | Incise tissue layers in lower extremities to harvest veins. | Not published |
| Not much | Postoperatively inject a subcutaneous local anesthetic agent to reduce pain. | Not published |
| Not much | Assist in volume replacement or autotransfusion techniques. | 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 28 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 28 tasks fall under 16 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.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assist healthcare practitioners during medical procedures | |||
| Administer basic health care or medical treatments | |||
| Treat injuries, illnesses, or diseases | |||
| Monitor health conditions of humans or animals | |||
| Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care | |||
| Operate medical equipment | |||
| Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance | |||
| Verify personal information |
Show all 16 activities
| Evaluate patient or client condition or treatment options | |||
| Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment | |||
| Follow standard healthcare safety procedures to protect patient and staff members | |||
| Replenish inventories of materials, equipment, or products | |||
| Administer emergency medical treatment | |||
| Prepare medical equipment or work areas for use | |||
| Clean medical equipment or facilities | |||
| Transport patients or clients |
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 surgical assistants 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 2,244 moves out
- 1 Registered Nurses High +5.6% 14%
- 2 Medical and Health Services Managers High +24.2% 14%
- 3 Teachers and Instructors, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 4 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 5 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Very high -6.0% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 2,348 moves in
- 1 Registered Nurses High +5.6% 15%
- 2 Medical and Health Services Managers High +24.2% 10%
- 3 Nursing Assistants Low +2.6% 8%
- 4 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 5 Teachers and Instructors, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 3%
The resume data uses 2010 occupation codes. This occupation comes from “Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other”, which today also includes “Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars” and the occupation still called “Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other”, so these figures cover those too. Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 1% less than high school
- 9% high school
- 11% some college
- 9% associate's
- 34% bachelor's
- 31% master's
- 3% professional degree
- 3% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other healthcare practitioners and technical occupations” · 1,333 people surveyed.
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other healthcare practitioners and technical occupations”
1 program: Surgical Technology/Technologist.
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
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