Phlebotomists
Draw blood for tests, transfusions, donations, or research. May explain the procedure to patients and assist in the recovery of patients with adverse reactions.
143,540 people do this job in the US. $45,230 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 14%
- 0%
- 86%
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, 8%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 14%. Today's estimate: 14%.
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 .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Train other medical personnel in phlebotomy or laboratory techniques.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 17% | 1.7 h50 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Monitor blood or plasma donors during and after procedures to ensure health, safety, and comfort.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 12% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Organize or clean blood-drawing trays, ensuring that all instruments are sterile and all needles, syringes, or related items are of first-time use.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Conduct standards tests, such as blood alcohol, blood culture, oral glucose tolerance, glucose screening, blood smears, or peak and trough drug levels tests.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Process blood or other fluid samples for further analysis by other medical professionals.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Draw blood from veins by vacuum tube, syringe, or butterfly venipuncture methods.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 8 min4 min to 21 min | Stays with people | |
| Document route of specimens from collection to laboratory analysis and diagnosis.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Collect fluid or tissue samples, using appropriate collection procedures.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min8 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Collect specimens at specific time intervals for tests, such as those assessing therapeutic drug levels.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 10 min4 min to 17 min | Stays with people | |
| Enter patient, specimen, insurance, or billing information into computer.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 7 min3 min to 13 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Transport specimens or fluid samples from collection sites to laboratories.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Dispose of blood or other biohazard fluids or tissue, in accordance with applicable laws, standards, or policies.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 7 min3 min to 17 min | 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).