Will AI replace veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers?

Not on current evidence. Less than 30 minutes of a typical shift goes to tasks that AI or robots are doing today. The other 7h 47m (97%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 9.1% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

AI shows up regularly in 1 of 28 tasks, about 13m of a typical shift. The biggest ones:

• Write reports, maintain research information, or perform clerical duties. (13m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)

Not in workplaces like this one, based on a 2026 review of robot deployments. 8 more tasks have only been done in factory setups built around the machine, so they stay with people here. For 13 physical tasks, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

7h 47m of a typical shift, or 97%, 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:

• Clean and maintain kennels, animal holding areas, examination or operating rooms, or animal loading or unloading facilities to control the spread of disease. (1h 13m a shift)
• Hold or restrain animals during veterinary procedures. (47m a shift)
• Assist veterinarians in examining animals to determine the nature of illnesses or injuries. (33m a shift)
• Perform office reception duties, such as scheduling appointments or helping customers. (33m a shift)
• Clean, maintain, and sterilize instruments or equipment. (27m a shift)

On Indeed, job postings in the Medical Technician sector are at 125% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), down 2.6% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 23,000 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 $38,150 a year ($18.34 an hour), 25% below the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $30,120 and $49,150 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer.

BLS projects growth of 9.1% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 144,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 23,000 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 127,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.08% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 243rd largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 144,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is a high school diploma: about 78% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 2 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: high school diploma, some training. 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, Writing, Active Listening, Time Management
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 7h 47m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint
• Learn to use AI well on the tasks where it already shows up in this job (listed above)

These use similar skills. 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:

• Veterinary Technologists and Technicians (7m touched, $47k median pay)
• Animal Caretakers (7m touched, $35k median pay)
• Surgical Assistants (0m touched, $67k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 1 observed in real AI use, 27 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.