AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Geothermal Technicians?

Task-level automation exposure for Geothermal Technicians: 24 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

E-E-A-T Verified

Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

31% weighted task index

24 of 24 tasks scored

Median Salary

$49,230 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

High

176,300 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+2.6% employment change

18,300 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 54 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$26,110 – $75,360

Highest medians

Alaska $75,360

Hawaii $74,260

Guam $64,650

Washington $63,080

Maine $61,380

Lowest medians

Puerto Rico $26,110

Mississippi $44,370

Texas $45,360

Arkansas $45,830

Florida $46,290

State figures come from the 49-9099 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 31%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 61%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 20%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 13%

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 40/100 Moderate

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

24 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) 27%

5 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 4%

1 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 70%

18 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

#17934 · Core · 15% automatable

Monitor and adjust operations of geothermal power plant equipment or systems.

physical manipulation — Hands-on equipment adjustment for performance

Adjust equipment to ensure optimal performance.

#17955 · Core · 80% automatable

Prepare and maintain logs, reports, or other documentation of work performed.

text generation — Document routine operational activities from inputs

Document operational activities. Maintain repair or maintenance records.

#17932 · Core · 27% automatable

Identify and correct malfunctions of geothermal plant equipment, electrical systems, instrumentation, or controls.

decision support — Troubleshooting aided; hands-on diagnosis human

Troubleshoot equipment or systems operation problems. Repair green energy equipment or systems.

#17950 · Core · 80% automatable

Collect and record data associated with operating geothermal power plants or well fields.

text generation — Document routine operational activities from inputs

Document operational activities.

#17951 · Core · 62% automatable

Determine whether emergency or auxiliary systems will be needed to keep properties heated or cooled in extreme weather conditions.

decision support — Equipment selection needs site context and judgment

Determine types of equipment, tools, or materials needed for jobs.

#17946 · Core · 28% automatable

Perform pre- and post-installation pressure, flow, and related tests of vertical and horizontal geothermal loop piping.

physical manipulation — Hands-on mechanical testing in physical environment

Test mechanical equipment to ensure proper functioning.

#17942 · Core · 62% automatable

Identify equipment options, such as compressors, and make appropriate selections.

decision support — Equipment selection needs site context and judgment

Determine types of equipment, tools, or materials needed for jobs.

#17935 · Supplemental · 15% automatable

Adjust power production systems to meet load and distribution demands.

physical manipulation — Hands-on equipment adjustment for performance

Adjust equipment to ensure optimal performance.

#17944 · Supplemental · 18% automatable

Maintain electrical switchgear, process controls, transmitters, gauges, and control equipment in accordance with geothermal plant procedures.

physical manipulation — Hands-on electronic equipment repair

Repair electronic equipment.

#17937 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Calculate heat loss and heat gain factors for residential properties to determine heating and cooling required by installed geothermal systems.

physical manipulation — On-site HVAC installation requires hands-on trade work

Install energy-efficient heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) equipment.

#17945 · Supplemental · 17% automatable

Maintain, calibrate, or repair plant instrumentation, control, and electronic devices in geothermal plants.

physical manipulation — Hands-on electronic equipment repair

Calibrate equipment to specifications. Repair electronic equipment.

#17952 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Install and maintain geothermal plant electrical protection equipment.

physical manipulation — On-site HVAC installation requires hands-on trade work

Install energy-efficient heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. Maintain work equipment or machinery.

#17938 · Supplemental · 50% automatable

Design and lay out geothermal heat systems according to property characteristics, heating and cooling requirements, piping and equipment requirements, applicable regulations, or other factors.

decision support — AI proposes configurations; engineer verifies physical constraints

Develop equipment or component configurations.

#17943 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Install and maintain geothermal system instrumentation or controls.

physical manipulation — On-site HVAC installation requires hands-on trade work

Install energy-efficient heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. Maintain work equipment or machinery.

#17941 · Supplemental · 15% automatable

Prepare newly installed geothermal heat systems for operation by flushing, purging, or other actions.

physical manipulation — HVAC service is hands-on diagnostic and repair

Service heating, ventilation or air-conditioning (HVAC) systems or components.

#17957 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Weld piping, such as high density polyethylene (HDPE) piping, using techniques such as butt, socket, side-wall, and electro-fusion welding.

physical manipulation — Manual welding requires dexterity and live judgment

Operate welding equipment.

#17956 · Supplemental · 22% automatable

Test water sources for factors, such as flow volume and contaminant presence.

physical manipulation — Fluid testing requires lab equipment handling

Test fluids to identify contamination or other problems.

#17933 · Supplemental · 13% automatable

Install, maintain, or repair ground or water source-coupled heat pumps to heat and cool residential or commercial building air or water.

physical manipulation — HVAC service is hands-on diagnostic and repair

Install energy-efficient heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. Service heating, ventilation or air-conditioning (HVAC) systems or components.

#17953 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Integrate hot water heater systems with geothermal heat exchange systems.

physical manipulation — On-site HVAC installation requires hands-on trade work

Install energy-efficient heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) equipment.

#17939 · Supplemental · 62% automatable

Determine the type of geothermal loop system most suitable to a specific property and its heating and cooling needs.

decision support — Equipment selection needs site context and judgment

Determine types of equipment, tools, or materials needed for jobs.

#17940 · Supplemental · 4% automatable

Dig trenches for system piping to appropriate depths and lay piping in trenches.

physical manipulation — Physical pipe installation work

Dig holes or trenches. Install piping for installation or maintenance activities.

#17949 · Supplemental · 4% automatable

Apply coatings or operate systems to mitigate corrosion of geothermal plant equipment or structures.

physical manipulation — Manual application of protective coverings

Apply protective coverings to objects or surfaces near work areas.

#17936 · Supplemental · 4% automatable

Backfill piping trenches to protect pipes from damage.

physical manipulation — Physical pouring of materials into areas

Pour materials into or on designated areas.

#17954 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Operate equipment, such as excavators, backhoes, rock hammers, trench compactors, pavement saws, grout mixers or pumps, geothermal loop reels, and coil tubing units (CTU).

physical manipulation — Operating heavy equipment by hand in field

Move large objects using heavy equipment.

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Community Sentiment

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Method

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

See the full method →

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