Will AI replace dermatologists?

Unlikely, though parts of the work are changing. About 1h 10m of an 8-hour shift goes to tasks touched by AI that people use as a helper. The other 6h 50m (85%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 6.8% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

AI shows up regularly in 2 of 18 tasks, about 1h 10m of a typical shift. The biggest ones:

• Record patients' health histories. (49m a shift, people use AI to help)
• Read current literature, talk with colleagues, and participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in dermatology. (22m a shift, people use AI to help)

Not in workplaces like this one, based on a 2026 review of robot deployments. For 8 physical tasks, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

6h 50m of a typical shift, or 85%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Diagnose and treat skin conditions such as acne, dandruff, athlete's foot, moles, psoriasis, or skin cancer. (1h 16m a shift)
• Conduct complete skin examinations. (54m a shift)
• Perform skin surgery to improve appearance, make early diagnoses, or control diseases such as skin cancer. (54m a shift)
• Diagnose and treat pigmented lesions such as common acquired nevi, congenital nevi, dysplastic nevi, Spitz nevi, blue nevi, or melanoma. (38m a shift)
• Counsel patients on topics such as the need for annual dermatologic screenings, sun protection, skin cancer awareness, or skin and lymph node self-examinations. (32m a shift)

Much of it comes down to where and how the work happens. In-person, hands-on and high-stakes work is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 99% talk face to face with others every day
• 98% say dealing with the public is very or extremely important
• 93% carry high or very high responsibility for other workers' safety

On Indeed, job postings in the Physicians & Surgeons sector are at 202% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 8.8% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 400 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $328,730 a year ($158.04 an hour), 545% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $102,810 and $578,560 or more a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects growth of 6.8% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 13,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 400 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 11,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.01% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 648th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 13,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is a doctoral degree: about 56% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 5 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: graduate degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Service Orientation, Science, Social Perceptiveness, Critical Thinking
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 6h 50m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Cisco Webex, eClinicalWorks EHR software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Word
• Learn to use AI well on the tasks where it already shows up in this job (listed above)

These use similar skills, with less of a typical shift touched by AI or robots. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Hospitalists (0m touched, $266k median pay)
• Podiatrists (0m touched, $160k median pay)
• Chiropractors (22m touched, $79k median pay)
• Physician Assistants (35m touched, $136k median pay)
• Physical Therapists (7m touched, $103k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 2 observed in real AI use, 16 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.