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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Hydrologists?
Task-level automation exposure for Hydrologists: 25 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
52%
weighted task index
25 of 25 tasks scored
Median Salary
$96,600 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
5,850 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+1.5%
employment change
400 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 34 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$65,770 – $143,010
Highest medians
Maryland $143,010
Virginia $132,080
New Jersey $126,680
California $122,110
Georgia $121,830
Lowest medians
South Carolina $65,770
Florida $76,850
Wisconsin $78,770
Idaho $78,850
Indiana $80,700
State figures come from the 19-2043 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 52%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 11%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 53%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 15%
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 0/100
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) 38%
9 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 41%
10 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 20%
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 →Emerging & rewritten tasks
Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.
- New 08/2026 · Occupational Expert
Investigate the pathway of water contaminants through organisms in a food chain.
Constituent Tasks
#9104 · Core · 54% automatable
Design and conduct scientific hydrogeological investigations to ensure that accurate and appropriate information is available for use in water resource management decisions.
information retrieval — Literature synthesis aided; field hydrology needs humans
Research hydrologic features or processes. Plan environmental research.
#9100 · Core · 69% automatable
Study and document quantities, distribution, disposition, and development of underground and surface waters.
data analysis — Record research or operational data into schemas
Research hydrologic features or processes. Record research or operational data.
#24022 · Core · 72% automatable
Prepare reports or presentations describing research results, using illustrations, maps, appendices, and other information.
text generation — Generative image tools produce visuals; human curates
Create images or other visual displays. Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
#9107 · Core · 50% automatable
Apply research findings to help minimize the environmental impacts of pollution, waterborne diseases, erosion, and sedimentation.
decision support — Synthesizes research; field application and validation human
Apply knowledge or research findings to address environmental problems.
#9108 · Core · 61% automatable
Measure and graph phenomena such as lake levels, stream flows, and changes in water volumes.
data analysis — Record research or operational data into schemas
Measure environmental characteristics. Record research or operational data.
#9116 · Core · 62% automatable
Conduct research and communicate information to promote the conservation and preservation of water resources.
information retrieval — Literature synthesis strong; field measurement human
Research impacts of environmental conservation initiatives. Communicate results of environmental research.
#18617 · Core · 50% automatable
Develop computer models for hydrologic predictions.
data analysis — Models drafted; empirical calibration human
Develop mathematical models of environmental conditions.
#9102 · Core · 32% automatable
Coordinate and supervise the work of professional and technical staff, including research assistants, technologists, and technicians.
interpersonal — Technical supervision requires judgment and accountability
Supervise scientific or technical personnel.
#9106 · Core · 8% automatable
Collect and analyze water samples as part of field investigations or to validate data from automatic monitors.
situated mobility — Environmental sampling needs field presence and hands
Collect environmental data or samples.
#9105 · Core · 72% automatable
Study public water supply issues, including flood and drought risks, water quality, wastewater, and impacts on wetland habitats.
data analysis — Statistical analysis of environmental datasets is automatable
Analyze environmental data.
#9112 · Core · 18% automatable
Install, maintain, and calibrate instruments such as those that monitor water levels, rainfall, and sediments.
physical manipulation — Physical calibration of instruments requires hands
Calibrate scientific or technical equipment. Maintain laboratory or technical equipment.
#9119 · Core · 62% automatable
Evaluate research data in terms of its impact on issues such as soil and water conservation, flood control planning, and water supply forecasting.
information retrieval — Literature synthesis strong; field measurement human
Research impacts of environmental conservation initiatives.
#9114 · Core · 58% automatable
Conduct short- and long-term climate assessments and study storm occurrences.
data analysis — Climate data analysis aided; instrument networks human
Conduct climatological research.
#9115 · Core · 55% automatable
Study and analyze the physical aspects of the earth in terms of hydrological components, including atmosphere, hydrosphere, and interior structure.
information retrieval — Literature synthesis aided; field hydrology needs humans
Research hydrologic features or processes.
#9111 · Core · 48% automatable
Develop or modify methods for conducting hydrologic studies.
decision support — Method development needs empirical validation
Develop environmental research methods.
#9109 · Core · 49% automatable
Investigate complaints or conflicts related to the alteration of public waters, gathering information, recommending alternatives, informing participants of progress, and preparing draft orders.
decision support — Ordering via systems automatable; human approves spend
Collect data about project sites. Respond to customer problems or complaints. Order materials, supplies, or equipment.
#9103 · Core · 58% automatable
Prepare hydrogeologic evaluations of known or suspected hazardous waste sites and land treatment and feedlot facilities.
decision support — Maps facts to statutes; legal accountability stays human
Assess compliance with environmental laws.
#9113 · Core · 60% automatable
Evaluate data and provide recommendations regarding the feasibility of municipal projects, such as hydroelectric power plants, irrigation systems, flood warning systems, and waste treatment facilities.
decision support — Policy analysis aided, but civic judgment is human
Evaluate civic projects or public policies.
#9110 · Core · 55% automatable
Answer questions and provide technical assistance and information to contractors or the public regarding issues such as well drilling, code requirements, hydrology, and geology.
information retrieval — Technical public assistance partly automatable; trust needs human
Provide technical information or assistance to public.
#9118 · Core · 68% automatable
Review applications for site plans and permits and recommend approval, denial, modification, or further investigative action.
decision support — Reviews permit reports against standards; human signs off
Review environmental permits, plans, or reports.
#9123 · Core · 55% automatable
Investigate properties, origins, and activities of glaciers, ice, snow, and permafrost.
information retrieval — Literature synthesis aided; field hydrology needs humans
Research hydrologic features or processes.
#9122 · Supplemental · 74% automatable
Compile and evaluate hydrologic information to prepare navigational charts and maps and to predict atmospheric conditions.
data analysis — Geographic data compilation, human checks quality
Compile geographic or related data. Analyze geological or geographical data.
#9117 · Supplemental · 26% automatable
Design civil works associated with hydrographic activities and supervise their construction, installation, and maintenance.
decision support — AI aids system design; site engineering and hydrology human
Design water conservation systems. Maintain equipment or systems to ensure proper functioning. Coordinate construction or installation activities.
#9120 · Supplemental · 22% automatable
Monitor the work of well contractors, exploratory borers, and engineers and enforce rules regarding their activities.
decision support — Extraction projects need field direction and site accountability
Direct natural resources extraction projects.
#9121 · Supplemental · 22% automatable
Administer programs designed to ensure the proper sealing of abandoned wells.
decision support — Extraction projects need field direction and site accountability
Direct natural resources extraction projects.
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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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