AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Natural Sciences Managers?

Task-level automation exposure for Natural Sciences Managers: 16 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

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Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

50% weighted task index

16 of 16 tasks scored

Median Salary

$167,220 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

High

108,690 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+8.2% employment change

9,200 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 49 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$107,810 – $267,290

Highest medians

Massachusetts $267,290

Connecticut $210,670

California $210,230

New Jersey $207,030

Washington $182,480

Lowest medians

Hawaii $107,810

Indiana $108,250

Wyoming $109,300

Iowa $109,760

Florida $112,220

State figures come from the 11-9121 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 50%

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

Physical work 0%

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

Judgment & influence 69%

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

Routine administration 19%

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 32/100 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

16 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) 13%

2 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 87%

14 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

#7209 · Core · 38% automatable

Hire, supervise, or evaluate engineers, technicians, researchers, or other staff.

decision support — Performance review aided; accountability and context human

Evaluate employee performance. Supervise employees. Hire personnel.

#7207 · Core · 47% automatable

Design or coordinate successive phases of problem analysis, solution proposals, or testing.

decision support — AI proposes procedures; human validates fit

Develop organizational methods or procedures. Direct organizational operations, projects, or services.

#7205 · Core · 46% automatable

Plan or direct research, development, or production activities.

decision support — AI drafts strategies; human owns operational judgment

Develop operating strategies, plans, or procedures. Manage operations, research, or logistics projects. Direct organizational operations, projects, or services.

#7208 · Core · 77% automatable

Review project activities and prepare and review research, testing, or operational reports.

text generation — Status/progress reports from tracked data

Analyze data to inform operational decisions or activities. Prepare operational progress or status reports.

#7203 · Core · 45% automatable

Confer with scientists, engineers, regulators, or others to plan or review projects or to provide technical assistance.

interpersonal — Stakeholder operational coordination is relationship work

Coordinate operational activities with external stakeholders.

#7204 · Core · 43% automatable

Develop client relationships and communicate with clients to explain proposals, present research findings, establish specifications, or discuss project status.

interpersonal — Stakeholder communication needs relationship and judgment

Communicate organizational information to customers or other stakeholders. Establish interpersonal business relationships to facilitate work activities.

#7210 · Core · 58% automatable

Determine scientific or technical goals within broad outlines provided by top management and make detailed plans to accomplish these goals.

text generation — Goals drafted; leadership accountability human

Develop organizational goals or objectives.

#7206 · Core · 55% automatable

Prepare project proposals.

text generation — Draft applications; human owns funding strategy

Prepare proposals or grant applications to obtain project funding.

#7211 · Core · 49% automatable

Develop or implement policies, standards, or procedures for the architectural, scientific, or technical work performed to ensure regulatory compliance or operations enhancement.

decision support — AI drafts strategies; human owns operational judgment

Implement organizational process or policy changes. Develop organizational policies or programs. Develop operating strategies, plans, or procedures.

#7215 · Core · 45% automatable

Recruit personnel or oversee the development or maintenance of staff competence.

interpersonal — AI drafts outreach; human builds candidate relationships

Manage human resources activities. Recruit personnel.

#7217 · Core · 60% automatable

Prepare and administer budgets, approve and review expenditures, and prepare financial reports.

data analysis — Reports and budgets drafted; human owns assumptions

Approve expenditures. Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets. Prepare operational budgets.

#7214 · Core · 44% automatable

Conduct own research in field of expertise.

data analysis — Ecosystem research aided; sampling requires humans

Conduct research of processes in natural or industrial ecosystems. Conduct research to gain information about products or processes.

#7212 · Core · 52% automatable

Develop innovative technology or train staff for its implementation.

decision support — AI proposes procedures; human validates fit

Develop organizational methods or procedures. Conduct employee training programs.

#7218 · Core · 45% automatable

Make presentations at professional meetings to further knowledge in the field.

interpersonal — Public presentation is live human performance

Present information to the public.

#7213 · Supplemental · 40% automatable

Provide for stewardship of plant or animal resources or habitats, studying land use, monitoring animal populations, or providing shelter, resources, or medical treatment for animals.

decision support — Land management advice needs site-specific judgment

Monitor animal behavior or condition. Advise others about land management or conservation.

#7216 · Supplemental · 55% automatable

Advise or assist in obtaining patents or meeting other legal requirements.

decision support — Compliance guidance drafted; human verifies and owns

Advise others on legal or regulatory compliance matters.

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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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