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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Chemical Technicians?
Task-level automation exposure for Chemical Technicians: 16 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
37%
weighted task index
16 of 16 tasks scored
Median Salary
$60,390 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
57,540 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+4.9%
employment change
7,600 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 52 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$37,510 – $85,850
Highest medians
Louisiana $85,850
Alaska $79,380
Delaware $78,620
South Carolina $75,020
Missouri $68,550
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $37,510
Arkansas $45,230
New Hampshire $48,940
Utah $49,030
South Dakota $49,030
State figures come from the 19-4031 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 37%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 34%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 54%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 6%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 4/100
Low
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
16 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 14%
2 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 48%
8 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 38%
6 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#1537 · Core · 35% automatable
Conduct chemical or physical laboratory tests to assist scientists in making qualitative or quantitative analyses of solids, liquids, or gaseous materials.
physical manipulation — Chemical analysis requires instruments and hands
Analyze chemical compounds or substances.
#1541 · Core · 13% automatable
Maintain, clean, or sterilize laboratory instruments or equipment.
physical manipulation — Hands-on lab/technical equipment upkeep
Clean objects. Maintain laboratory or technical equipment.
#1535 · Core · 45% automatable
Monitor product quality to ensure compliance with standards and specifications.
visual inspection — Material quality often needs hands-on or visual inspection
Evaluate quality of materials or products.
#1536 · Core · 22% automatable
Set up and conduct chemical experiments, tests, and analyses, using techniques such as chromatography, spectroscopy, physical or chemical separation techniques, or microscopy.
physical manipulation — Chemical analysis requires instruments and hands
Analyze chemical compounds or substances. Set up laboratory or field equipment.
#1540 · Core · 8% automatable
Prepare chemical solutions for products or processes, following standardized formulas, or create experimental formulas.
physical manipulation — Physical solution preparation
Prepare compounds or solutions for products or testing.
#1538 · Core · 70% automatable
Compile and interpret results of tests and analyses.
data analysis — Interprets data; domain expert validates meaning
Interpret research or operational data.
#18477 · Core · 35% automatable
Provide and maintain a safe work environment by participating in safety programs, committees, or teams and by conducting laboratory or plant safety audits.
interpersonal — Committee service requires presence, negotiation, accountability
Serve on institutional or departmental committees.
#1539 · Core · 47% automatable
Provide technical support or assistance to chemists or engineers.
decision support — AI assists analysis; hands-on research human
Collaborate on research activities with scientists or technical specialists. Assist engineers or scientists with research.
#1544 · Core · 32% automatable
Develop or conduct programs of sampling and analysis to maintain quality standards of raw materials, chemical intermediates, or products.
decision support — AI flags compliance deviations; human confirms in the world
Monitor processes for compliance with standards. Collect samples for analysis or testing.
#20538 · Core · 40% automatable
Train new employees on topics such as the proper operation of laboratory equipment.
interpersonal — Technical procedure training needs live demonstration and correction
Train personnel in technical or scientific procedures.
#1542 · Core · 72% automatable
Write technical reports or prepare graphs or charts to document experimental results.
text generation — Reports drafted; presentations need human delivery
Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
#1543 · Core · 40% automatable
Order and inventory materials to maintain supplies.
decision support — Resource management aided by AI but human accountable
Manage scientific or technical project resources.
#1546 · Supplemental · 20% automatable
Operate experimental pilot plants, assisting with experimental design.
physical manipulation — Hands-on lab/field equipment operation with samples
Operate laboratory or field equipment.
#1545 · Supplemental · 32% automatable
Direct or monitor other workers producing chemical products.
interpersonal — Technical supervision requires judgment and accountability
Supervise scientific or technical personnel.
#1548 · Supplemental · 50% automatable
Design or fabricate experimental apparatus to develop new products or processes.
decision support — AI aids product development; prototyping and testing human
Develop new or advanced products or production methods.
#1547 · Supplemental · 50% automatable
Develop new chemical engineering processes or production techniques.
decision support — AI aids product development; prototyping and testing human
Develop new or advanced products or production methods.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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