AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 29-1243.00
Will AI replace Pediatric Surgeons?
Pediatric Surgeons: AI can already handle 3 of 18 tasks; the work mostly needs a standard-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 18 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Pediatric Surgeons, from most to least exposed. 3 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analyze patient's medical history, medication allergies, physical condition, and examination results to verify operation's necessity and to determine best procedure. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Consult with patient's other medical care specialists, such as cardiologist and endocrinologist, to determine if surgery is necessary. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Provide consultation and surgical assistance to other physicians and surgeons. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Describe preoperative and postoperative treatments and procedures, such as sedatives, diets, antibiotics, or preparation and treatment of the patient's operative area, to parents or guardians of the patient. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Examine instruments, equipment, and operating room to ensure sterility. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Follow established surgical techniques during the operation. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Inform parents and guardians of child's health problems and surgical procedures through various channels, such as in-person and telecommunication systems. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Prepare case histories. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Refer patient to medical specialist or other practitioners when necessary. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Conduct research to develop and test surgical techniques that can improve operating procedures and outcomes. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Direct and coordinate activities of nurses, assistants, specialists, residents, and other medical staff. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Manage surgery services, including planning, scheduling and coordination, determination of procedures, or procurement of supplies and equipment. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Perform transplantation operations, such as organ transplants, on fetuses, infants, children, and adolescents. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Operate on fetuses, infants, children, and adolescents to correct deformities, repair injuries, prevent and treat diseases, or improve or restore patients' functions. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Examine fetuses, infants, children, and adolescents, and diagnose health issues to determine need for intervention, such as surgery. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Examine patient to obtain information on medical condition and surgical risk. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Interpret results of preoperative tests and physical examinations. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Monitor patient's recovery, making follow-up visits and using postoperative assessment techniques, such as blood and imaging tests. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 18 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 18 of 18. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
A standard-tier model or lower covers 67% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 78% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 22% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 1,190
- Median annual wage
- $559,030
- Middle half of earners
- $336,380 to $583,200
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +1.5%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Pediatricians, General 76% skill overlap, about 9 months to move Exposure38
- Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric 72% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure48
- Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric 62% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure46
- Dermatologists 60% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure39
- Neurologists 59% skill overlap, about 15 months to move Exposure34
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Pediatric Surgeons and AI
Will AI replace Pediatric Surgeons?
AI already handles 3 of the 18 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 44 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +1.5% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Pediatric Surgeons?
44 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 18 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 18 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Pediatric Surgeons tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Analyze patient's medical history, medication allergies, physical condition, and examination results to verify operation's necessity and to determine best procedure; Consult with patient's other medical care specialists, such as cardiologist and endocrinologist, to determine if surgery is necessary; Provide consultation and surgical assistance to other physicians and surgeons. They are the tasks that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A standard-tier model or lower covers 67% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 22% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Pediatric Surgeons, and what do they earn?
1,190 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $559,030 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +1.5% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Pediatric Surgeons. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/pediatric-surgeons
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