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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Environmental Engineering Technologists and Technicians?
Task-level automation exposure for Environmental Engineering Technologists and Technicians: 23 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
46%
weighted task index
23 of 23 tasks scored
Median Salary
$59,920 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
12,190 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+3.1%
employment change
1,100 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 45 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$36,680 – $100,050
Highest medians
Washington $100,050
Oregon $80,770
Tennessee $80,100
Alaska $77,860
Nevada $75,330
Lowest medians
Mississippi $36,680
New Hampshire $39,880
Puerto Rico $44,120
Arkansas $45,290
West Virginia $47,650
State figures come from the 17-3025 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 46%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 23%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 31%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 17%
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 15/100
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
23 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) 43%
11 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 24%
5 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 33%
7 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
#19691 · Core · 5% automatable
Prepare and package environmental samples for shipping or testing.
physical manipulation — Physical packing for transport
Package materials for transport.
#3653 · Core · 5% automatable
Assist in the cleanup of hazardous material spills.
physical manipulation — Physical handling of hazardous materials
Dispose of hazardous materials.
#3643 · Core · 45% automatable
Perform environmental quality work in field or office settings.
data analysis — Evaluation aided; regulatory judgment and site data human
Evaluate environmental impact of operational or development activities. Monitor environmental conditions to detect hazards.
#3640 · Core · 30% automatable
Receive, set up, test, or decontaminate equipment.
data analysis — AI interprets results; human runs physical tests
Test performance of electrical, electronic, mechanical, or integrated systems or equipment.
#3649 · Core · 22% automatable
Inspect facilities to monitor compliance with regulations governing substances, such as asbestos, lead, or wastewater.
visual inspection — Physical site verification against specs is human
Inspect facilities or sites to determine if they meet specifications or standards.
#3641 · Core · 75% automatable
Maintain project logbook records or computer program files.
data analysis — Maintain records systems; human owns integrity
Maintain operational records or records systems.
#20513 · Core · 82% automatable
Record laboratory or field data, including numerical data, test results, photographs, or summaries of visual observations.
text generation — Document test results from provided data
Document design or operational test results.
#19688 · Core · 20% automatable
Decontaminate or test field equipment used to clean or test pollutants from soil, air, or water.
data analysis — AI interprets results; human runs physical tests
Test performance of electrical, electronic, mechanical, or integrated systems or equipment. Maintain clean work areas.
#20514 · Core · 40% automatable
Collect and analyze pollution samples, such as air or ground water.
data analysis — Analyzes validation data; human confirms interpretation
Analyze test or validation data. Collect samples of raw materials or finished products.
#3644 · Supplemental · 60% automatable
Review technical documents to ensure completeness and conformance to requirements.
decision support — Design quality evaluation needs engineering judgment
Evaluate designs or specifications to ensure quality.
#20033 · Supplemental · 60% automatable
Prepare permit applications or review compliance with environmental permits.
text generation — Draft disclosures; legal accountability human
Monitor processes for compliance with standards. Prepare contracts, disclosures, or applications.
#3652 · Supplemental · 28% automatable
Oversee support staff.
interpersonal — Supervising production staff is on-site human management
Supervise production or support personnel.
#3648 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Arrange for the disposal of lead, asbestos, or other hazardous materials.
physical manipulation — Physical handling of hazardous materials
Dispose of hazardous materials.
#3646 · Supplemental · 72% automatable
Review work plans to schedule activities.
decision support — Algorithmic scheduling with human oversight of constraints
Schedule operational activities.
#19686 · Supplemental · 55% automatable
Assess the ability of environments to naturally remove or reduce conventional or emerging contaminants from air, water, or soil.
data analysis — Impact assessment aided; site-specific data human
Investigate the environmental impact of projects.
#3658 · Supplemental · 72% automatable
Develop work plans, including writing specifications or establishing material, manpower, or facilities needs.
text generation — Detailed work plans drafted from specifications
Prepare detailed work plans.
#3651 · Supplemental · 40% automatable
Improve chemical processes to reduce toxic emissions.
data analysis — Modeling aided; experimental validation human
Research engineering aspects of biological or chemical processes.
#19689 · Supplemental · 60% automatable
Evaluate and select technologies to clean up polluted sites, restore polluted air, water, or soil, or rehabilitate degraded ecosystems.
decision support — Usefulness assessment needs context and testing
Assess product or process usefulness.
#3654 · Supplemental · 75% automatable
Produce environmental assessment reports, tabulating data and preparing charts, graphs, or sketches.
text generation — Operational reports drafted from data
Prepare technical or operational reports.
#3655 · Supplemental · 48% automatable
Maintain process parameters and evaluate process anomalies.
decision support — AI flags compliance deviations; human confirms in the world
Investigate system, equipment, or product failures. Monitor processes for compliance with standards.
#3647 · Supplemental · 65% automatable
Obtain product information, identify vendors or suppliers, or order materials or equipment to maintain inventory.
decision support — Procurement drafting and comparison; human commits funds
Purchase materials, equipment, or other resources.
#3656 · Supplemental · 63% automatable
Work with customers to assess the environmental impact of proposed construction or to develop pollution prevention programs.
information retrieval — Product-use advice is largely informational with review
Investigate the environmental impact of projects. Advise customers on the use of products or services.
#3650 · Supplemental · 65% automatable
Provide technical engineering support in the planning of projects, such as wastewater treatment plants, to ensure compliance with environmental regulations and policies.
decision support — Technical guidance needs context-specific human judgment
Provide technical guidance to other personnel.
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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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