Medical Transcriptionists
Also called: Medical Scribe, Medical Transcriptionist, Radiology Transcriptionist, TranscriptionistTranscribe medical reports recorded by physicians and other healthcare practitioners using various electronic devices, covering office visits, emergency room visits, diagnostic imaging studies, operations, chart reviews, and final summaries. Transcribe dictated reports and translate abbreviations into fully understandable form. Edit as necessary and return reports in either printed or electronic form for review and signature, or correction.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 5 of its 15 tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 4.4% 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, 4.2% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 5.0 hires for every 10 job openings in health care and social assistance, which employs about 62% 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 | $35,340 | $30,560 to $42,270 | 410 |
| Alaska | $48,360 | $35,140 to $53,870 | 110 |
| Arizona | $36,550 | $34,600 to $45,710 | 700 |
| Arkansas | $35,100 | $30,640 to $40,610 | 280 |
| California | $45,050 | $38,650 to $53,040 | 5,860 |
| Colorado | $43,080 | $37,510 to $56,810 | 610 |
| Connecticut | $48,190 | $45,980 to $55,950 | 390 |
| Delaware | $34,070 | $31,200 to $34,820 | not published |
| District of Columbia | $45,110 | $37,460 to $46,910 | 70 |
| Florida | $42,050 | $35,610 to $49,340 | 2,650 |
| Georgia | $28,330 | $24,530 to $43,680 | 950 |
| Hawaii | $44,310 | $33,570 to $48,530 | not published |
| Idaho | $38,140 | $35,400 to $45,920 | 400 |
| Illinois | $45,490 | $36,070 to $50,840 | 970 |
| Indiana | $41,400 | $27,850 to $47,860 | 790 |
| Iowa | $45,010 | $39,350 to $48,040 | 180 |
| Kansas | $35,390 | $28,530 to $45,910 | 420 |
| Kentucky | $39,000 | $30,230 to $44,260 | 690 |
| Louisiana | $38,040 | $35,040 to $39,800 | 420 |
| Maine | $48,600 | $42,380 to $54,980 | 80 |
| Maryland | $39,900 | $32,580 to $47,030 | 230 |
| Massachusetts | $36,910 | $36,440 to $40,800 | 400 |
| Michigan | $37,280 | $33,280 to $45,230 | 1,130 |
| Minnesota | $50,030 | $47,480 to $57,680 | 270 |
| Mississippi | $38,600 | $29,300 to $43,490 | 300 |
| Missouri | $37,480 | $34,540 to $46,010 | 310 |
| Montana | $41,340 | $38,400 to $47,210 | 80 |
| Nebraska | $45,880 | $40,340 to $50,030 | 230 |
| Nevada | $39,350 | $37,470 to $50,370 | 210 |
| New Jersey | $39,020 | $34,010 to $44,930 | 1,710 |
| New Mexico | $37,480 | $33,570 to $44,300 | 210 |
| New York | $43,260 | $38,330 to $46,200 | 2,710 |
| North Carolina | $39,300 | $28,140 to $44,860 | 1,020 |
| North Dakota | $44,660 | $33,700 to $45,670 | 120 |
| Ohio | $37,060 | $29,960 to $46,050 | 680 |
| Oklahoma | $27,740 | $23,130 to $37,440 | 560 |
| Oregon | $46,280 | $39,560 to $55,950 | 510 |
| Pennsylvania | $41,510 | $32,070 to $47,870 | 1,130 |
| Puerto Rico | $31,200 | $27,040 to $34,180 | 140 |
| Rhode Island | $34,790 | $31,880 to $44,300 | 80 |
| South Carolina | $33,870 | $31,970 to $43,280 | 390 |
| South Dakota | $46,070 | $40,000 to $51,540 | 240 |
| Tennessee | $44,720 | $36,410 to $50,790 | 1,450 |
| Texas | $42,900 | $29,330 to $46,160 | 7,520 |
| Utah | $39,630 | $37,020 to $45,030 | 210 |
| Vermont | $33,030 | $32,060 to $33,030 | not published |
| Virginia | $35,130 | $29,980 to $38,710 | not published |
| Washington | $38,690 | $35,780 to $49,090 | 620 |
| West Virginia | $37,440 | $34,790 to $43,900 | 90 |
| Wisconsin | $49,150 | $46,120 to $52,980 | 590 |
| Wyoming | $48,100 | $48,040 to $60,480 | 40 |
Nationally: $40,410. 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 5 of its 15 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Return dictated reports in printed or electronic form for physician's review, signature, and corrections and for inclusion in patients' medical records. | Not published |
| Not much | Translate medical jargon and abbreviations into their expanded forms to ensure the accuracy of patient and health care facility records. | Not published |
| Not much | Transcribe dictation for a variety of medical reports, such as patient histories, physical examinations, emergency room visits, operations, chart reviews, consultation, or discharge summaries. | Not published |
| Not much | Identify mistakes in reports and check with doctors to obtain the correct information. | Not published |
| Not much | Produce medical reports, correspondence, records, patient-care information, statistics, medical research, and administrative material. | Not published |
| AI + software | Perform data entry and data retrieval services, providing data for inclusion in medical records and for transmission to physicians. | Not published |
See all 15 tasks
| Not much | Review and edit transcribed reports or dictated material for spelling, grammar, clarity, consistency, and proper medical terminology. | Not published |
| Not much | Distinguish between homonyms and recognize inconsistencies and mistakes in medical terms, referring to dictionaries, drug references, and other sources on anatomy, physiology, and medicine. | Not published |
| AI alone | Perform a variety of clerical and office tasks, such as handling incoming and outgoing mail, completing and submitting insurance claims, typing, filing, or operating office machines. | Not published |
| Not much | Decide which information should be included or excluded in reports. | Not published |
| AI + software | 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. | under 0.01% |
| AI alone | Take dictation using shorthand, a stenotype machine, or headsets and transcribing machines. | Not published |
| AI + software | Receive patients, schedule appointments, and maintain patient records. | Not published |
| Not much | Receive and screen telephone calls and visitors. | Not published |
| Not much | Answer inquiries concerning the progress of medical cases, within the limits of confidentiality laws. | under 0.01% |
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 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 7 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.
- #3 Respond to customer problems or inquiries
- #30 Perform administrative or clerical activities
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare health or medical documents | |||
| Perform administrative or clerical activities | |||
| Maintain health or medical records | |||
| Respond to customer problems or inquiries | |||
| Explain medical information to patients or family members | |||
| Execute financial transactions | |||
| Schedule appointments |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- A document or report80%
- An email or message4%
- An explanation or answer2%
- Data or a spreadsheet2%
- An analysis or summary1%
How they worked with Claude
73% 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 medical transcriptionists 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 18,493 moves out
- 1 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Very high -6.0% 9%
- 2 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 7%
- 3 Medical Records and Health Information Technicians (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 4 First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers Very high +0.1% 4%
- 5 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 25,599 moves in
- 1 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Very high -6.0% 11%
- 2 Office Clerks, General Very high -6.0% 5%
- 3 Medical Records and Health Information Technicians (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 4 Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants Very high +4.8% 5%
- 5 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 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
- 17% high school
- 39% postsecondary certificate
- 34% some college
- 11% associate's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 16 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 17% high school
- 24% some college
- 12% associate's
- 40% bachelor's
- 6% master's
- 1% professional degree
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 511 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 this occupation
1 program: Medical Transcription/Transcriptionist.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
18.9% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | <0.5% | 19.1% |
| a certification | not published | |
| an educational certificate | not published |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
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 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTIONIST). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Medical Transcriptionists” 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/31-9094.00