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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Foresters?
Task-level automation exposure for Foresters: 25 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
41%
weighted task index
25 of 25 tasks scored
Median Salary
$76,400 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
10,430 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+2.2%
employment change
900 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 44 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$50,990 – $107,120
Highest medians
California $107,120
Massachusetts $89,650
Alaska $87,210
South Carolina $86,780
Maryland $86,100
Lowest medians
Oklahoma $50,990
Nevada $51,070
Kentucky $56,460
Indiana $61,110
West Virginia $62,550
State figures come from the 19-1032 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 41%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 4%
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 0%
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 25/100
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
25 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) 12%
3 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 64%
16 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 24%
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
#196 · Core · 45% automatable
Establish short- and long-term plans for management of forest lands and forest resources.
decision support — Resource plans need ecological and political judgment
Develop plans to manage natural or renewable resources.
#212 · Core · 45% automatable
Plan cutting programs and manage timber sales from harvested areas, assisting companies to achieve production goals.
decision support — Resource plans need ecological and political judgment
Develop plans to manage natural or renewable resources.
#202 · Core · 55% automatable
Determine methods of cutting and removing timber with minimum waste and environmental damage.
decision support — Mitigation options; human owns compliance
Determine methods to minimize environmental impact of activities.
#200 · Core · 35% automatable
Negotiate terms and conditions of agreements and contracts for forest harvesting, forest management and leasing of forest lands.
interpersonal — Negotiation needs authority and live give-and-take
Negotiate sales or lease agreements for products or services. Negotiate contracts for environmental remediation, green energy, or renewable resources.
#207 · Core · 30% automatable
Perform inspections of forests or forest nurseries.
visual inspection — Inspecting natural environments needs field observation
Inspect condition of natural environments.
#195 · Core · 58% automatable
Monitor contract compliance and results of forestry activities to assure adherence to government regulations.
decision support — Maps facts to statutes; legal accountability stays human
Assess compliance with environmental laws.
#197 · Core · 28% automatable
Supervise activities of other forestry workers.
interpersonal — Managing farm operations needs situated human judgment
Manage agricultural or forestry operations.
#216 · Core · 65% automatable
Provide advice and recommendations, as a consultant on forestry issues, to private woodlot owners, firefighters, government agencies or to companies.
information retrieval — Environmental advice is knowledge-based with review
Advise others about environmental management or conservation.
#219 · Core · 45% automatable
Develop techniques for measuring and identifying trees.
decision support — AI proposes agricultural methods; field validation required
Develop agricultural methods.
#208 · Core · 40% automatable
Map forest area soils and vegetation to estimate the amount of standing timber and future value and growth.
physical manipulation — Measuring environmental characteristics needs instruments
Measure environmental characteristics.
#199 · Core · 37% automatable
Plan and supervise forestry projects, such as determining the type, number and placement of trees to be planted, managing tree nurseries, thinning forest and monitoring growth of new seedlings.
decision support — Resource plans need ecological and political judgment
Develop plans to manage natural or renewable resources. Manage agricultural or forestry operations.
#206 · Core · 41% automatable
Plan and direct forest surveys and related studies and prepare reports and recommendations.
decision support — Environmental research planning aided; field judgment human
Plan environmental research. Direct natural resources management or conservation programs.
#198 · Core · 3% automatable
Choose and prepare sites for new trees, using controlled burning, bulldozers, or herbicides to clear weeds, brush, and logging debris.
physical manipulation — Cultivating land is heavy physical labor
Cultivate land.
#205 · Core · 45% automatable
Plan and implement projects for conservation of wildlife habitats and soil and water quality.
decision support — Conservation plans need field data and stakeholder judgment
Plan natural resources conservation or restoration programs.
#204 · Core · 35% automatable
Monitor forest-cleared lands to ensure that they are reclaimed to their most suitable end use.
physical manipulation — Monitoring requires sensors, sampling, field presence
Monitor environmental impacts of production or development activities.
#201 · Core · 28% automatable
Direct, and participate in, forest fire suppression.
interpersonal — Managing farm operations needs situated human judgment
Manage agricultural or forestry operations.
#217 · Core · 45% automatable
Study different tree species' classification, life history, light and soil requirements, adaptation to new environmental conditions and resistance to disease and insects.
data analysis — Ecosystem research aided; sampling requires humans
Conduct research of processes in natural or industrial ecosystems.
#211 · Core · 32% automatable
Subcontract with loggers or pulpwood cutters for tree removal and to aid in road layout.
interpersonal — Contract negotiation needs mandate and accountability
Negotiate contracts with clients or service providers. Hire farming, fishing or forestry workers.
#203 · Core · 62% automatable
Analyze effect of forest conditions on tree growth rates and tree species prevalence and the yield, duration, seed production, growth viability, and germination of different species.
information retrieval — Crop method research aided; field trials human
Research crop management methods.
#209 · Core · 50% automatable
Conduct public educational programs on forest care and conservation.
decision support — Drafts program outlines; institutional design and approval human
Develop educational programs.
#210 · Core · 65% automatable
Procure timber from private landowners.
decision support — Procurement drafting and comparison; human commits funds
Purchase materials, equipment, or other resources.
#214 · Core · 28% automatable
Plan and direct construction and maintenance of recreation facilities, fire towers, trails, roads and bridges, ensuring that they comply with guidelines and regulations set for forested public lands.
interpersonal — Managing farm operations needs situated human judgment
Manage agricultural or forestry operations.
#215 · Core · 36% automatable
Contact local forest owners and gain permission to take inventory of the type, amount, and location of all standing timber on the property.
information retrieval — Drafting aided; authorized signature human
Obtain written authorization to perform activities. Establish interpersonal business relationships to facilitate work activities. Coordinate forestry or agricultural activities.
#213 · Core · 35% automatable
Monitor wildlife populations and assess the impacts of forest operations on population and habitats.
physical manipulation — Monitoring requires sensors, sampling, field presence
Monitor environmental impacts of production or development activities.
#218 · Supplemental · 45% automatable
Develop new techniques for wood or residue use.
decision support — AI proposes agricultural methods; field validation required
Develop agricultural 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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