Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Orthotists and Prosthetists
Design, measure, fit, and adapt orthopedic braces, appliances or prostheses, such as limbs or facial parts for patients with disabling conditions.
Also called: Certified Orthotist (CO), Certified Pedorthist, Certified Prosthetist (CP), Certified Prosthetist Orthotist (CPO), Licensed Orthotist, LPO (Licensed Prosthetist Orthotist)
- Median pay in Greater Boston
- $90,160
- $43.35/hr
- Jobs in Greater Boston
- 220
- Massachusetts 2024–2034
- +10.7%
- 20 openings a year
- Typical U.S. entry requirement
- Master's degree
- plus Internship/residency
Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.
Pay range in Greater Boston
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $69,870 | $75,100 | $90,160 | $107,020 | $124,250 |
10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.
What you’d do
- Fit, test, and evaluate devices on patients, and make adjustments for proper fit, function, and comfort.
- Instruct patients in the use and care of orthoses and prostheses.
- Maintain patients' records.
- Examine, interview, and measure patients to determine their appliance needs and to identify factors that could affect appliance fit.
- Select materials and components to be used, based on device design.
- Design orthopedic and prosthetic devices, based on physicians' prescriptions and examination and measurement of patients.
AI and this job
AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.
Moderate exposure45 of 100
The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:
- AIOE 48
- Language-model AIOE 50
- GPTs-are-GPTs 36
Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)
AI exposure for this job is moderate, and observed AI use is little or none so far. AI tools could help with record keeping, with sorting measurement information, and with comparing materials and components. The hands-on work of examining patients, fitting and adjusting devices, and teaching people to use them relies on skilled people.
Likely to change
- Keeping and organizing patient records
- Comparing materials and components for a design
Still relies on people
- Fitting and adjusting devices on patients
- Teaching patients to use and care for devices
Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.
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Training near Boston
College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).
No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.
Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.
Related occupations
Talk to a career coach
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