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Athletic Trainers

Evaluate and treat musculoskeletal injuries or illnesses. Provide preventive, therapeutic, emergency, and rehabilitative care.

30,500 people do this job in the US. $62,520 a year.

now
28%

of the working time. Estimate.

Kinds of work
  • 46%
  • 14%
  • 40%
5%

Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.

Half the desk work within reach
Already

On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.

Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030

0%25%50%75%100%2027202820292030NowDesk work: 46% of the time
Chosen to Ceiling: the share
DateNow
NowEnd of 2030

What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .

At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.

How far this has come

With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 22%. Today's estimate: 28%.

0%10%20%30%40%2023202420252026GPT-4, March 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4 Turbo (Nov 2023), November 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4o, May 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (June 2024), June 2024: 0% within reacho1-preview, September 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (Oct 2024), October 2024: 0% within reacho1, December 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.7 Sonnet, February 2025: 1% within reacho3, April 2025: 3% within reachGPT-5, August 2025: 5% within reachGemini 3 Pro, November 2025: 7% within reachClaude Opus 4.5, November 2025: 7% within reachGPT-5.2, December 2025: 9% within reachClaude Opus 4.6, February 2026: 9% within reachClaude Mythos Preview (early), April 2026: 22% within reachToday (estimate), September 2026: 28% within reach
Each step is a new best model measured by METR, four in five; the dashed end is today's estimate. Point at a dot for the model.

A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.

The tasks

Sorted by . 23 tasks from .

TaskKind
Plan or implement comprehensive athletic injury or illness prevention programs.Done more than weekly by most who do it. 16%4.2 h1.7 h to 1 work day30%Half by Dec 2026
Develop training programs or routines designed to improve athletic performance.Done more than weekly by most who do it. 14%2.1 h50 min to 4.2 h72%Half by now
Care for athletic injuries, using physical therapy equipment, techniques, or medication.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 14%38 min17 min to 1.3 hStays with people
Perform general administrative tasks, such as keeping records or writing reports.Done several times a day by most who do it. AI observed on this task.8%38 min13 min to 1.3 h98%Half by now
Conduct an initial assessment of an athlete's injury or illness to provide emergency or continued care and to determine whether they should be referred to physicians for definitive diagnosis and treatment.Done several times a day by most who do it. 8%33 min17 min to 1.1 hStays with people
Teach sports medicine courses to athletic training students.Done yearly or less by most who do it.7%2.5 h1.3 h to 4.2 hStays with people
Travel with athletic teams to be available at sporting events.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 5%5 h2.5 h to 1.3 work daysStays with people
Instruct coaches, athletes, parents, medical personnel, or community members in the care and prevention of athletic injuries.Done daily by most who do it. 5%38 min13 min to 1.3 hStays with people
Conduct research or provide instruction on subject matter related to athletic training or sports medicine.Done yearly or less by most who do it. 4%3.3 h50 min to 1 work day28%Half by Feb 2027
Assess and report the progress of recovering athletes to coaches or physicians.Done daily by most who do it. 3%17 min8 min to 38 min100%Half by now
Clean and sanitize athletic training rooms.Done daily by most who do it. 3%25 min13 min to 50 minStays with people
Evaluate athletes' readiness to play and provide participation clearances when necessary and warranted.Done daily by most who do it. 2%21 min8 min to 50 minStays with people

Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.

Jobs that share skills with this one

From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.

Where this job works

The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).

Where the most of these jobs are

The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).