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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Sociologists?
Task-level automation exposure for Sociologists: 15 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
48%
weighted task index
15 of 15 tasks scored
Median Salary
$106,030 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
2,260 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+3.8%
employment change
200 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 11 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$46,950 – $140,770
Highest medians
Illinois $140,770
Kentucky $136,870
North Carolina $126,760
California $125,770
Alaska $108,170
Lowest medians
Florida $46,950
Ohio $78,850
Michigan $88,040
Washington $97,170
Maryland $100,660
State figures come from the 19-3041 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 48%
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 57%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 25%
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 5/100
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
15 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) 7%
1 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 73%
11 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 19%
3 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 08/2023 · Occupational Expert
Mentor sociology students.
- New 08/2023 · Occupational Expert
Review sociological research and articles.
Constituent Tasks
#5465 · Core · 57% automatable
Analyze and interpret data to increase the understanding of human social behavior.
data analysis — Interprets data; domain expert validates meaning
Conduct research on social issues. Interpret research or operational data.
#5464 · Core · 72% automatable
Prepare publications and reports containing research findings.
text generation — Reports drafted; presentations need human delivery
Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
#5468 · Core · 55% automatable
Develop, implement, and evaluate methods of data collection, such as questionnaires or interviews.
decision support — Methods drafted; methodological rigor human
Develop methods of social or economic research.
#5467 · Core · 30% automatable
Collect data about the attitudes, values, and behaviors of people in groups, using observation, interviews, and review of documents.
interpersonal — Observation and interviews are inherently human
Collect information from people through observation, interviews, or surveys.
#5469 · Core · 55% automatable
Teach sociology.
text generation — Instruction content AI-assisted; live teaching human
Instruct college students in social sciences or humanities disciplines.
#5466 · Core · 49% automatable
Plan and conduct research to develop and test theories about societal issues such as crime, group relations, poverty, and aging.
decision support — Social research plans drafted; rigor human-owned
Conduct research on social issues. Plan social sciences research.
#20868 · Core · 55% automatable
Present research findings at professional meetings.
interpersonal — Presentation delivery and Q&A are human; AI drafts slides
Present research results to others.
#23963 · Core · 48% automatable
Explain sociological research to the general public.
interpersonal — Presentation delivery and Q&A are human; AI drafts slides
Present research results to others. Present information to the public. Inform viewers, listeners, or audiences.
#5475 · Core · 42% automatable
Develop problem intervention procedures, using techniques such as interviews, consultations, role playing, and participant observation of group interactions.
decision support — AI suggests program designs; clinical judgment and evidence human
Design psychological or educational treatment procedures or programs.
#5471 · Core · 55% automatable
Consult with and advise individuals such as administrators, social workers, and legislators regarding social issues and policies, as well as the implications of research findings.
decision support — Policy analysis drafted; political judgment human
Advise others on matters of public policy.
#5470 · Core · 32% automatable
Direct work of statistical clerks, statisticians, and others who compile and evaluate research data.
interpersonal — Technical supervision requires judgment and accountability
Supervise scientific or technical personnel.
#5472 · Core · 35% automatable
Collaborate with research workers in other disciplines.
interpersonal — Coordinating research programs is relational leadership
Coordinate cross-disciplinary research programs.
#23964 · Core · 55% automatable
Write grants to obtain funding for research projects.
text generation — Draft grant text; human owns strategy and budget
Write grant proposals. Prepare proposals or grant applications to obtain project funding.
#5473 · Core · 45% automatable
Develop approaches to the solution of groups' problems, based on research findings in sociology and related disciplines.
data analysis — Analysis aided; study design and fieldwork human
Conduct research on social issues.
#5474 · Core · 30% automatable
Observe group interactions and role affiliations to collect data, identify problems, evaluate progress, and determine the need for additional change.
interpersonal — Observation and interviews are inherently human
Collect information from people through observation, interviews, or surveys.
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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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