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12 Dying Health Care Jobs Expected to Disappear in the Next 10 Years

These are the paperwork-heavy health care and office roles that automation is quietly phasing out

By Josh Koebert , Edited by Calista Headrick

Updated Oct. 14, 2026

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Every industry has a layer of work that exists to move paper, type notes, and keep records straight. In health care, that layer is thinning out as software and speech recognition swallow tasks that used to need a person at a keyboard.

The squeeze is landing on back-office and clerical work, not on the people in scrubs. Hands-on, patient-facing roles are still some of the fastest-growing work in the economy.

If your job sits on the administrative side, it is worth thinking now about where your skills could transfer. A flexible side gig or a way to make money from home can buy you breathing room while you retrain.

Editor's note: All salary data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Medical transcriptionists

Median annual salary: $40,410

Medical transcriptionists listen to dictation from physicians and turn it into formal reports such as patient histories and discharge summaries, then enter that information into electronic health records. Speech recognition software now drafts much of that text automatically, which shrinks the amount of human typing hospitals need to buy, leaving the growth projection at -4%.

Typical entry-level education is a postsecondary nondegree award, usually a certificate program covering medical terminology, anatomy, and grammar, though certification itself is optional.

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Medical records specialists

Median annual salary: $51,140

These workers compile, process, and maintain patient files, and often classify medical information using the industry's numerical coding systems. Employment here is still expanding, but automated coding tools are absorbing the routine end of the work, pushing the job toward auditing and quality review.

Typical entry-level education is a postsecondary nondegree award, though some enter with a high school diploma, and employers may require or prefer certification.

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Secretaries and administrative assistants

Median annual salary: $48,310

In the medical field, they transcribe dictation, prepare reports for physicians, take basic patient histories, arrange hospital admissions, and process insurance payments. Online scheduling, patient portals, and automated insurance processing keep chipping away at the routine parts of the role, leaving the projected growth at -2%.

Typical entry-level education is a high school diploma or equivalent, and graduates comfortable with word processing and spreadsheets usually qualify, with extra training for industry terminology.

Financial clerks

Median annual salary: $49,990

Billing and posting clerks calculate charges and generate bills, review documents such as charge slips and hospital records to determine what is owed, and contact customers about account information. Billing platforms now handle much of that cycle without a person touching it, leaving headcount flat and a growth rate at -4%.

Typical entry-level education is a high school diploma or equivalent, with no prior experience required and on-the-job training after hire.

Switchboard operators, including answering service

Median annual salary: $36,750

Switchboard operators run telephone systems to relay incoming, outgoing, and interoffice calls, supply information to callers, and record messages. Automated attendants and call-routing software have made the manual version of that job largely unnecessary.

Typical entry-level education is a high school diploma or equivalent, with short-term on-the-job training on the specific equipment and procedures.

Telephone operators

Median annual salary: $38,080

Telephone operators pull information from directories, handle special billing requests such as third-party charges and refunds, and assist callers who need help placing a call. Search tools and automated billing systems have taken over nearly all of that.

Typical entry-level education is a high school diploma or equivalent, with no prior experience required and short-term training on the job.

Data entry keyers

Median annual salary: $37,790

Data entry keyers operate keyboards and similar devices to input and verify information and prepare materials for printing. Scanning, digital intake forms, and software that reads documents directly have gutted demand for manual keying.

Typical entry-level education is a high school diploma or equivalent, with short-term on-the-job training on an employer's systems.

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File clerks

Median annual salary: $38,130

File clerks maintain electronic or paper records, entering and retrieving data, organizing files, and scanning documents into digital systems. Once records live in a searchable database, far fewer people are needed to keep them in order.

Typical entry-level education is a high school diploma or equivalent, with a few weeks of on-the-job training in clerical procedures and computer applications.

Word processors and typists

Median annual salary: $46,450

Word processors and typists turn rough drafts, corrected copy, or voice recordings into finished letters, reports, and forms, along with general clerical work. Almost everyone now types their own documents, and dictation software handles the rest.

Typical entry-level education is a high school diploma or equivalent, with short-term on-the-job training on an employer's software and procedures.

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks

Median annual salary: $50,670

These clerks compute, classify, and record financial data, enter transactions into software, produce reports such as balance sheets, and check figures for accuracy. Accounting platforms that sync with bank and billing feeds now do much of that reconciling automatically.

Typical entry-level education is some college without a degree, and some employers prefer accounting coursework while others hire high school graduates and train them.

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Office clerks, general

Median annual salary: $45,010

General office clerks handle a mix of duties, from answering phones and typing documents to filing records, scheduling appointments, sorting mail, and entering data. Practices that consolidate administrative functions into shared software need fewer generalists at the front of the office, leading to a -6% projected growth rate.

Typical entry-level education is a high school diploma or equivalent, with up to a month of on-the-job training in office procedures and equipment.

Receptionists

Median annual salary: $38,010

Projected growth: -2%

Receptionists answer phones, greet and check in visitors, schedule appointments, and enter information into databases while handling correspondence and filing. Self-check-in kiosks, online booking, and automated reminders are steadily absorbing the front-desk routine.

Typical entry-level education is a high school diploma or equivalent plus good communication skills, with a few days to a month of on-the-job training.

Bottom line

The common thread is paperwork. Work built around typing, filing, routing calls, and keying in data is losing ground, while roles that require being in the room with a patient keep expanding.

If your day is mostly repetitive documentation, it pays to build skills that sit closer to direct care or to the technology doing the replacing. That is where the stability is heading.

Moving early beats reacting late, and workers who start adding credentials now simply give themselves more options later. Taking stock of where you stand financially gives you room to make that shift on your own timeline.

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