AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Solar Energy Installation Managers?

Task-level automation exposure for Solar Energy Installation Managers: 15 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

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Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

45% weighted task index

15 of 15 tasks scored

Median Salary

$79,920 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Very High

812,210 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+5.0% employment change

67,000 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.

$37,860 – $109,570

Highest medians

Washington $109,570

Illinois $105,750

New Jersey $105,510

Oregon $103,070

Hawaii $102,630

Lowest medians

Puerto Rico $37,860

Guam $51,370

Arkansas $61,230

Alabama $64,120

Mississippi $66,910

State figures come from the 47-1011 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 45%

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 53%

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

Routine administration 0%

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 21/100 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) 32%

5 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 31%

5 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 37%

5 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

#17725 · Core · 33% automatable

Plan and coordinate installations of photovoltaic (PV) solar and solar thermal systems to ensure conformance to codes.

decision support — AI aids scheduling; field coordination and conflict resolution human

Plan layout of construction, installation, or repairs. Coordinate construction project activities.

#17726 · Core · 20% automatable

Supervise solar installers, technicians, and subcontractors for solar installation projects to ensure compliance with safety standards.

interpersonal — Directing crews in the field is human leadership work

Direct construction or extraction personnel.

#17735 · Core · 64% automatable

Estimate materials, equipment, and personnel needed for residential or commercial solar installation projects.

data analysis — Material takeoffs from plans; human verifies quantities

Estimate materials requirements for projects. Estimate construction project labor requirements.

#17738 · Core · 62% automatable

Prepare solar installation project proposals, quotes, budgets, or schedules.

data analysis — Construction cost estimation needs site judgment

Estimate construction project costs.

#17732 · Core · 42% automatable

Provide technical assistance to installers, technicians, or other solar professionals in areas such as solar electric systems, solar thermal systems, electrical systems, or mechanical systems.

interpersonal — On-site construction discussion is contextual, physical

Communicate with other construction or extraction personnel to discuss project details.

#17729 · Core · 35% automatable

Coordinate or schedule building inspections for solar installation projects.

decision support — AI aids scheduling; field coordination and conflict resolution human

Coordinate construction project activities.

#17731 · Core · 28% automatable

Perform start-up of systems for testing or customer implementation.

physical manipulation — Verifying installation performance is on-site physical work

Test green technology installations to verify performance.

#17737 · Core · 72% automatable

Identify means to reduce costs, minimize risks, or increase efficiency of solar installation projects.

data analysis — AI analyzes operations to flag efficiency gains

Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency.

#17728 · Core · 28% automatable

Assess system performance or functionality at the system, subsystem, and component levels.

physical manipulation — Verifying installation performance is on-site physical work

Test green technology installations to verify performance.

#17727 · Core · 55% automatable

Assess potential solar installation sites to determine feasibility and design requirements.

decision support — Site assessment aided by data; human verifies

Assess locations for potential green technology installations.

#17730 · Core · 20% automatable

Monitor work of contractors and subcontractors to ensure projects conform to plans, specifications, schedules, or budgets.

interpersonal — Directing crews in the field is human leadership work

Direct construction or extraction personnel.

#17733 · Core · 70% automatable

Visit customer sites to determine solar system needs, requirements, or specifications.

data analysis — Material takeoffs from plans; human verifies quantities

Estimate materials requirements for projects.

#17739 · Core · 55% automatable

Purchase or rent equipment for solar energy system installation.

decision support — Construction procurement needs human supplier judgment

Order construction or extraction materials or equipment.

#17734 · Supplemental · 50% automatable

Develop and maintain system architecture, including all piping, instrumentation, or process flow diagrams.

text generation — Installation diagrams drafted; field accuracy human-owned

Create construction or installation diagrams.

#17736 · Supplemental · 70% automatable

Evaluate subcontractors or subcontractor bids for quality, cost, and reliability.

data analysis — Cost-benefit analysis from given inputs; human reviews

Analyze costs and benefits of proposed designs or projects.

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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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