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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Soil and Plant Scientists?
Task-level automation exposure for Soil and Plant Scientists: 27 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
53%
weighted task index
27 of 27 tasks scored
Median Salary
$78,850 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
15,730 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+6.7%
employment change
1,400 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 47 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$38,980 – $107,140
Highest medians
District of Columbia $107,140
Florida $103,240
Alaska $100,320
Iowa $96,310
Idaho $95,150
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $38,980
Wyoming $55,680
Ohio $56,820
Vermont $58,220
Utah $59,900
State figures come from the 19-1013 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 53%
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 33%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 5%
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
27 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) 36%
9 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 62%
17 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 3%
1 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
#9021 · Core · 72% automatable
Communicate research or project results to other professionals or the public or teach related courses, seminars, or workshops.
text generation — Reports drafted; presentations need human delivery
Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
#9024 · Core · 50% automatable
Develop methods of conserving or managing soil that can be applied by farmers or forestry companies.
text generation — Industrial methods need domain validation and testing
Develop sustainable industrial or development methods.
#9022 · Core · 55% automatable
Provide information or recommendations to farmers or other landowners regarding ways in which they can best use land, promote plant growth, or avoid or correct problems such as erosion.
decision support — Land management advice needs site-specific judgment
Advise others about land management or conservation.
#9025 · Core · 62% automatable
Conduct experiments to develop new or improved varieties of field crops, focusing on characteristics such as yield, quality, disease resistance, nutritional value, or adaptation to specific soils or climates.
information retrieval — Sustainable practice synthesis, human validates
Research sustainable agricultural processes or practices.
#9026 · Core · 55% automatable
Investigate soil problems or poor water quality to determine sources and effects.
information retrieval — Literature synthesis aided; field hydrology needs humans
Research hydrologic features or processes.
#9023 · Core · 62% automatable
Investigate responses of soils to specific management practices to determine the use capabilities of soils and the effects of alternative practices on soil productivity.
information retrieval — Crop method research aided; field trials human
Research crop management methods.
#23903 · Core · 65% automatable
Conduct experiments to investigate the underlying mechanisms of plant growth and response to the environment.
data analysis — Statistical analysis of environmental datasets is automatable
Conduct climatological research. Analyze environmental data.
#9030 · Core · 45% automatable
Identify degraded or contaminated soils and develop plans to improve their chemical, biological, or physical characteristics.
decision support — Conservation plans need field data and stakeholder judgment
Plan natural resources conservation or restoration programs.
#9035 · Core · 45% automatable
Develop new or improved methods or products for controlling or eliminating weeds, crop diseases, or insect pests.
decision support — AI proposes agricultural methods; field validation required
Develop agricultural methods.
#9034 · Core · 55% automatable
Provide advice regarding the development of regulatory standards for land reclamation or soil conservation.
decision support — Land management advice needs site-specific judgment
Advise others about land management or conservation.
#9027 · Core · 55% automatable
Study soil characteristics to classify soils on the basis of factors such as geographic location, landscape position, or soil properties.
information retrieval — Geology literature research aided; field work human
Research geological features or processes.
#9028 · Core · 45% automatable
Develop improved measurement techniques, soil conservation methods, soil sampling devices, or related technology.
decision support — AI proposes agricultural methods; field validation required
Develop agricultural methods.
#9036 · Core · 62% automatable
Conduct research to determine best methods of planting, spraying, cultivating, harvesting, storing, processing, or transporting horticultural products.
information retrieval — Crop method research aided; field trials human
Research crop management methods.
#19751 · Core · 45% automatable
Develop environmentally safe methods or products for controlling or eliminating weeds, crop diseases, or pests.
decision support — AI proposes agricultural methods; field validation required
Develop agricultural methods.
#19754 · Core · 62% automatable
Study ways to improve agricultural sustainability, such as the use of new methods of composting.
information retrieval — Sustainable practice synthesis, human validates
Research sustainable agricultural processes or practices.
#9037 · Core · 60% automatable
Consult with engineers or other technical personnel working on construction projects about the effects of soil problems and possible solutions to these problems.
decision support — Technical design collaboration aided; humans own decisions
Collaborate with technical specialists to resolve design or development problems.
#9033 · Core · 35% automatable
Perform chemical analyses of the microorganism content of soils to determine microbial reactions or chemical mineralogical relationships to plant growth.
physical manipulation — Biological sample analysis needs wet-lab execution
Analyze biological samples.
#9038 · Core · 45% automatable
Develop ways of altering soils to suit different types of plants.
decision support — AI proposes agricultural methods; field validation required
Develop agricultural methods.
#9029 · Core · 45% automatable
Conduct experiments investigating how soil forms, changes, or interacts with land-based ecosystems or living organisms.
data analysis — Ecosystem research aided; sampling requires humans
Conduct research of processes in natural or industrial ecosystems.
#9031 · Supplemental · 20% automatable
Survey undisturbed or disturbed lands for classification, inventory, mapping, environmental impact assessments, environmental protection planning, conservation planning, or reclamation planning.
situated mobility — Land surveying requires field instrument work
Survey land or properties.
#20198 · Supplemental · 40% automatable
Plan or supervise waste management programs for composting or farming.
decision support — Sustainability plans drafted; organizational buy-in human
Develop environmental sustainability plans or projects. Direct natural resources management or conservation programs.
#19753 · Supplemental · 62% automatable
Research technical requirements or environmental impacts of urban green spaces, such as green roof installations.
information retrieval — Literature synthesis strong; field measurement human
Research impacts of environmental conservation initiatives.
#9041 · Supplemental · 45% automatable
Conduct experiments regarding causes of bee diseases or factors affecting yields of nectar or pollen.
data analysis — Literature and data aided; lab work human
Research diseases or parasites.
#9040 · Supplemental · 50% automatable
Identify or classify species of insects or allied forms, such as mites or spiders.
visual inspection — Classification aided by vision; specimen handling human
Classify organisms based on their characteristics or behavior.
#9039 · Supplemental · 55% automatable
Study insect distribution or habitat and recommend methods to prevent importation or spread of injurious species.
information retrieval — Environmental advice is knowledge-based with review
Conduct research of processes in natural or industrial ecosystems. Advise others about environmental management or conservation.
#20199 · Supplemental · 38% automatable
Plan or supervise land conservation or reclamation programs for industrial development projects.
decision support — Conservation plans need field data and stakeholder judgment
Plan natural resources conservation or restoration programs. Direct natural resources management or conservation programs.
#19750 · Supplemental · 62% automatable
Conduct research into the use of plant species as green fuels or in the production of green fuels.
information retrieval — Sustainable practice synthesis, human validates
Research sustainable agricultural processes or practices.
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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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