Surgical Assistants
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · SOC 29-9093
AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.
Decision card
Career Evidence Passport
SOC 29-9093 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.
- SOC exposure
- 0.0%
- Low · Anthropic AEI
- Automation friction
- 43/100
- Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
- Wages
- $66,800
- H-1B offered wage $60,000; LCAs are filings.
- Projected openings
- —
- BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change +5.1%.
- Observed/proxy demand
- 1
- FY2025 certified LCAs; 445 postings in 2025.
Skill evidence
Transition context
- H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
- Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
- Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
- This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.
AI Exposure Analysis
Across AI measures
Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.
Top Skills
H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand
View full H-1B trends →Certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications naming this occupation, FY2016–FY2025. A descriptive high-skill labor-demand signal — employer filings, not visa approvals or individual outcomes. Note: one LCA can cover multiple worker positions.
O*NET occupation profile
What this work involves
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.
Common titles: Certified First Assistant (CFA), Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant (CRNFA), Certified Surgical Assistant (CSA), Certified Surgical First Assistant (CSFA), Certified Surgical Technician, Gastrointestinal Technician (GI Technician)
Representative Tasks
- •Verify the identity of patient or operative site.
- •Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures.
- •Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field.
- •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.
- •Maintain an unobstructed operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment.
Detailed Work Activities
- •Verify accuracy of patient information.
- •Maintain sterile operative fields.
- •Position patients for treatment or examination.
- •Protect patients or staff members using safety equipment.
- •Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment.
Tools & Technologies
Employment Projections & AI Exposure
Employment & Wage Trend
BLS OEWS, 2019–2025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.
Sector Comparison
| Metric | This Career | Sector Average |
|---|---|---|
| AI Exposure | 0.0% | 5.4% |
| Outlook | Average | 62% Bright |
| Median Salary | $66,800 | N/A |
| AI Resiliency | 100/100 | N/A |