Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
Conduct research dealing with the understanding of human diseases and the improvement of human health. Engage in clinical investigation, research and development, or other related activities.
172,340 people do this job in the US. $103,410 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 79%
- 14%
- 6%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 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, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 0%. Today's estimate: 1%.
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 . 14 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Study animal and human health and physiological processes.Done daily by most who do it. | 12% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.7 work weeks | 1%Half by Oct 2028 | |
| Write and publish articles in scientific journals.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 12% | 1 work week2.1 work days to 2.8 work weeks | 0%Half by Oct 2028 | |
| Investigate cause, progress, life cycle, or mode of transmission of diseases or parasites.Done daily by most who do it. | 12% | 1 work week1 work day to 4.2 work weeks | 0%Half by Jun 2029 | |
| Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease.Done daily by most who do it. | 12% | 1.7 work weeks2.1 work days to 4.2 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Conduct research to develop methodologies, instrumentation, and procedures for medical application, analyzing data and presenting findings to the scientific audience and general public.Done daily by most who do it. | 12% | 3.3 work weeks4.2 work days to 2.4 work months | 0%Half by Dec 2029 | |
| Write applications for research grants.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 12% | 1 work week2.1 work days to 3.5 work weeks | 0%Half by Nov 2028 | |
| Standardize drug dosages, methods of immunization, and procedures for manufacture of drugs and medicinal compounds.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 10% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 3.3 work weeks | 0%Half by Apr 2029 | |
| Evaluate effects of drugs, gases, pesticides, parasites, and microorganisms at various levels.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 2.1 work days | 10%Half by May 2027 | |
| Prepare and analyze organ, tissue, and cell samples to identify toxicity, bacteria, or microorganisms or to study cell structure.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 4.2 h1.7 h to 1.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Teach principles of medicine and medical and laboratory procedures to physicians, residents, students, and technicians.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 2% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Use equipment such as atomic absorption spectrometers, electron microscopes, flow cytometers, or chromatography systems.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 1% | 2.5 h50 min to 1 work day | Stays with people | |
| Follow strict safety procedures when handling toxic materials to avoid contamination.Done daily by most who do it. | 0.8% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays 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).