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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Security Management Specialists?
Task-level automation exposure for Security Management Specialists: 23 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
50%
weighted task index
23 of 23 tasks scored
Median Salary
$83,050 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Very High
1,087,090 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+3.9%
employment change
98,700 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.
$46,700 – $108,160
Highest medians
District of Columbia $108,160
Maryland $101,500
Washington $100,360
Alabama $100,240
Delaware $95,040
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $46,700
Arkansas $61,240
Louisiana $63,220
Virgin Islands $65,170
Nevada $67,330
State figures come from the 13-1199 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 3%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 58%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 9%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 4%
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
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) 53%
12 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 18%
4 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 30%
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 →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 08/2025 · Occupational Expert
Prepare written reports or presentations on findings and recommendations.
- Revision 08/2025 · Occupational Expert
Train personnel and vendors in security procedures or use of security equipment.
Replaced: Train personnel in security procedures or use of security equipment.
Constituent Tasks
#21482 · Core · 60% automatable
Assess the nature and level of physical security threats so that the scope of the problem can be determined.
decision support — Risk assessment needs organizational context and judgment
Assess risks to business operations.
#21501 · Core · 10% automatable
Respond to emergency situations on an on-call basis.
situated mobility — Emergency response needs physical action in the world
Respond to emergencies to provide assistance.
#21500 · Core · 62% automatable
Recommend improvements in security systems or procedures.
decision support — Drafts advice; accountability and context owned by human
Advise others on business or operational matters.
#21496 · Core · 60% automatable
Perform risk analyses so that appropriate countermeasures can be developed.
decision support — Risk assessment needs organizational context and judgment
Assess risks to business operations.
#21491 · Core · 22% automatable
Inspect physical security design features, installations, or programs to ensure compliance with applicable standards or regulations.
visual inspection — Physical spec verification of facilities/equipment
Inspect facilities or equipment to ensure specifications are met.
#21484 · Core · 22% automatable
Conduct security audits to identify potential vulnerabilities related to physical security or staff safety.
visual inspection — On-site standards inspection needs physical presence
Inspect facilities to ensure compliance with safety, quality, or service standards.
#21485 · Core · 55% automatable
Design security policies, programs, or practices to ensure adequate security relating to alarm response, access card use, and other security needs.
text generation — Policy drafts aided; organizational adoption human
Develop safety standards, policies, or procedures.
#21503 · Core · 40% automatable
Test security measures for final acceptance and implement or provide procedures for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the measures.
visual inspection — AI reviews logs; human observes operations on site
Monitor operations to ensure compliance with safety or security policies or regulations. Implement organizational process or policy changes.
#21486 · Core · 60% automatable
Design, implement, or establish requirements for security systems, video surveillance, motion detection, or closed-circuit television systems to ensure proper installation and operation.
decision support — Technical specs drafted; human verifies
Develop technical specifications for systems or equipment.
#21498 · Core · 69% automatable
Prepare, maintain, or update security procedures, security system drawings, or related documentation.
text generation — Standard financial documents drafted from data
Establish organizational guidelines or policies. Prepare financial documents.
#21497 · Core · 72% automatable
Prepare documentation for case reports or court proceedings.
text generation — Legal documentation drafted; human owns accuracy
Document information related to legal proceedings.
#21487 · Core · 70% automatable
Develop conceptual designs of security systems.
visual inspection — Generates flow charts; system accuracy verified by human
Develop diagrams or flow charts of system operation.
#21504 · Core · 55% automatable
Revision
Train personnel in security procedures or use of security equipment.
text generation — Procedural training content AI-assisted; delivery human
Train personnel in organizational or compliance procedures.
#21502 · Core · 82% automatable
Review design drawings or technical documents for completeness, correctness, or appropriateness.
data analysis — Cross-checking records against criteria, human spot-checks
Verify accuracy of records.
#21499 · Core · 62% automatable
Provide system design and integration recommendations.
decision support — Drafts advice; accountability and context owned by human
Advise others on business or operational matters.
#21494 · Core · 30% automatable
Monitor the work of contractors in the design, construction, and startup phases of security systems.
interpersonal — Employee supervision is accountability-bearing human work
Supervise employees.
#21483 · Core · 82% automatable
Budget and schedule security design work.
data analysis — Budgetary/accounting analysis is routine quantitative work
Analyze budgetary or accounting data.
#21490 · Core · 22% automatable
Inspect fire, intruder detection, or other security systems.
visual inspection — Physical spec verification of facilities/equipment
Inspect facilities or equipment to ensure specifications are met.
#21488 · Core · 60% automatable
Develop or review specifications for design or construction of security systems.
decision support — Technical specs drafted; human verifies
Develop technical specifications for systems or equipment.
#21492 · Core · 20% automatable
Interview witnesses or suspects to identify persons responsible for security breaches or to establish losses, pursue prosecutions, or obtain restitution.
interpersonal — Witness/suspect interviews need human presence
Interview witnesses, suspects, or claimants.
#21495 · Core · 60% automatable
Outline system security criteria for pre-bid meetings with clients and companies to ensure comprehensiveness and appropriateness for implementation.
decision support — Technical specs drafted; human verifies
Develop technical specifications for systems or equipment.
#21493 · Core · 55% automatable
Monitor tapes or digital recordings to identify the source of losses.
information retrieval — Legal research strong, judgment and accountability human
Investigate legal issues.
#21489 · Supplemental · 24% automatable
Engineer, install, maintain, or repair security systems, programmable logic controls, or other security-related electronic systems.
decision support — AI drafts electronics; engineer validates and tests
Install instrumentation or electronic equipment or systems. Design electronic or computer equipment or instrumentation. Repair electronic equipment. Maintain electronic equipment.
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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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