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Models

Model garments or other apparel and accessories for prospective buyers at fashion shows, private showings, or retail establishments. May pose for photos to be used in magazines or advertisements. May pose as subject for paintings, sculptures, and other types of artistic expression.

3,780 people do this job in the US. $48,470 a year.

now
2%

of the working time. Estimate.

Kinds of work
  • 2%
  • 0%
  • 98%
0%

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: 2% 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, 2%. Today's estimate: 2%.

0%5%10%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: 2% within reachGPT-5, August 2025: 2% within reachGemini 3 Pro, November 2025: 2% within reachClaude Opus 4.5, November 2025: 2% within reachGPT-5.2, December 2025: 2% within reachClaude Opus 4.6, February 2026: 2% within reachClaude Mythos Preview (early), April 2026: 2% within reachToday (estimate), September 2026: 2% 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 . 10 tasks from .

TaskKind
Pose for artists and photographers.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 48%1.7 h25 min to 3.3 hStays with people
Work closely with photographers, fashion coordinators, directors, producers, stylists, make-up artists, other models, and clients to produce the desired looks, and to finish photo shoots on schedule.Done more than yearly by most who do it.18%2.5 h50 min to 5.8 hStays with people
Pose as directed, or strike suitable interpretive poses for promoting and selling merchandise or fashions during appearances, filming, or photo sessions.Done more than monthly by most who do it.18%2.5 h50 min to 6.7 hStays with people
Assemble and maintain portfolios, print composite cards, and travel to go-sees to obtain jobs.Done more than yearly by most who do it.9%3.3 h1.3 h to 6.7 hStays with people
Follow strict routines of diet, sleep, and exercise to maintain appearance.Done daily by most who do it.3%50 min25 min to 1.7 hStays with people
Apply makeup to face and style hair to enhance appearance, considering such factors as color, camera techniques, and facial features.Done more than weekly by most who do it.1%50 min25 min to 1.7 hStays with people
Gather information from agents concerning the pay, dates, times, provisions, and lengths of jobs.Done more than monthly by most who do it.0.7%17 min8 min to 38 min100%Half by now
Record rates of pay and durations of jobs on vouchers.Done daily by most who do it.0.7%8 min4 min to 17 min100%Half by now
Report job completions to agencies and obtain information about future appointments.Done more than monthly by most who do it.0.6%13 min4 min to 25 min100%Half by now
Dress in sample or completed garments, and select accessories.Done more than monthly by most who do it.0.2%17 min8 min to 38 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).