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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Environmental Economists?
Task-level automation exposure for Environmental Economists: 20 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
57%
weighted task index
20 of 20 tasks scored
Median Salary
$124,720 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
17,790 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+4.7%
employment change
1,100 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 41 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$70,750 – $167,590
Highest medians
District of Columbia $167,590
New Jersey $167,550
Delaware $159,120
Maryland $144,680
Kansas $138,790
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $70,750
Kentucky $71,400
Louisiana $73,050
Nebraska $75,880
Arizona $79,610
State figures come from the 19-3011 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 57%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 6%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 63%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 14%
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 7/100
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
20 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) 37%
8 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 63%
12 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 0%
0 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
#16902 · Core · 55% automatable
Write technical documents or academic articles to communicate study results or economic forecasts.
data analysis — Forecasting is uncertain; human judgment on drivers
Forecast economic, political, or social trends.
#16915 · Core · 62% automatable
Conduct research on economic and environmental topics, such as alternative fuel use, public and private land use, soil conservation, air and water pollution control, and endangered species protection.
information retrieval — Literature synthesis strong; field measurement human
Research impacts of environmental conservation initiatives.
#16910 · Core · 35% automatable
Collect and analyze data to compare the environmental implications of economic policy or practice alternatives.
data analysis — Regulatory impact appraisal; human owns policy call
Appraise environmental impact of regulations or policies. Collect environmental data or samples.
#19985 · Core · 62% automatable
Assess the costs and benefits of various activities, policies, or regulations that affect the environment or natural resource stocks.
data analysis — Regulatory impact appraisal; human owns policy call
Appraise environmental impact of regulations or policies.
#16897 · Core · 67% automatable
Prepare and deliver presentations to communicate economic and environmental study results, to present policy recommendations, or to raise awareness of environmental consequences.
text generation — Reports drafted; presentations need human delivery
Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations. Communicate results of environmental research.
#19984 · Core · 50% automatable
Develop programs or policy recommendations to achieve environmental goals in cost-effective ways.
decision support — Sustainability plans drafted; organizational buy-in human
Develop environmental sustainability plans or projects.
#16909 · Core · 50% automatable
Develop economic models, forecasts, or scenarios to predict future economic and environmental outcomes.
data analysis — Models drafted; empirical calibration human
Develop mathematical models of environmental conditions.
#16901 · Core · 58% automatable
Demonstrate or promote the economic benefits of sound environmental regulations.
text generation — Campaign content drafted; human leads advocacy
Promote environmental sustainability or conservation initiatives.
#16914 · Core · 58% automatable
Conduct research to study the relationships among environmental problems and patterns of economic production and consumption.
data analysis — Analysis aided; primary environmental data collection human
Research environmental impact of industrial or development activities.
#16913 · Core · 50% automatable
Perform complex, dynamic, and integrated mathematical modeling of ecological, environmental, or economic systems.
data analysis — Models drafted; empirical calibration human
Develop mathematical models of environmental conditions.
#16903 · Core · 70% automatable
Write social, legal, or economic impact statements to inform decision makers for natural resource policies, standards, or programs.
text generation — Draft legal/regulatory docs; human verifies
Prepare information or documentation related to legal or regulatory matters.
#21177 · Core · 55% automatable
Teach courses in environmental economics.
text generation — Social science lectures draftable; delivery and grading human
Teach classes in area of specialization. Teach social science courses at the college level.
#19986 · Core · 57% automatable
Develop programs or policy recommendations to promote sustainability and sustainable development.
information retrieval — Environmental advice is knowledge-based with review
Develop environmental sustainability plans or projects. Advise others about environmental management or conservation.
#16906 · Core · 48% automatable
Develop systems for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting environmental and economic data.
decision support — Method development needs empirical validation
Develop environmental research methods.
#16904 · Core · 60% automatable
Write research proposals and grant applications to obtain private or public funding for environmental and economic studies.
text generation — Draft proposal and grant documents for review
Prepare proposal documents or grant applications.
#16905 · Core · 58% automatable
Examine the exhaustibility of natural resources or the long-term costs of environmental rehabilitation.
data analysis — Analysis aided; primary environmental data collection human
Research environmental impact of industrial or development activities.
#16898 · Core · 76% automatable
Monitor or analyze market and environmental trends.
information retrieval — AI aggregates and analyzes market data at scale
Monitor market conditions or trends. Analyze market conditions or trends.
#16908 · Core · 52% automatable
Develop environmental research project plans, including information on budgets, goals, deliverables, timelines, and resource requirements.
decision support — Environmental research planning aided; field judgment human
Plan environmental research.
#16900 · Supplemental · 68% automatable
Identify and recommend environmentally friendly business practices.
text generation — AI proposes sustainable practices from knowledge base
Identify sustainable business practices. Advise others about environmental management or conservation.
#16899 · Supplemental · 70% automatable
Interpret indicators to ascertain the overall health of an environment.
data analysis — Interprets data; domain expert validates meaning
Interpret research or operational data.
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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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