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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Surveyors?
Task-level automation exposure for Surveyors: 24 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
51%
weighted task index
24 of 24 tasks scored
Median Salary
$75,440 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
50,830 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+5.8%
employment change
3,100 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 52 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$44,870 – $105,330
Highest medians
California $105,330
Alaska $99,550
Oregon $97,070
Massachusetts $94,590
Washington $85,610
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $44,870
Arkansas $51,800
Georgia $58,100
Mississippi $58,720
Texas $61,150
State figures come from the 17-1022 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 51%
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 37%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 10%
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 25/100
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
24 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) 55%
13 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 9%
2 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 36%
9 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
#3530 · Core · 30% automatable
Direct or conduct surveys to establish legal boundaries for properties, based on legal deeds and titles.
interpersonal — Directing field survey crews needs human oversight
Direct surveying activities.
#3528 · Core · 60% automatable
Prepare and maintain sketches, maps, reports, and legal descriptions of surveys to describe, certify, and assume liability for work performed.
visual inspection — Generates maps; cartographic accuracy and standards human
Create maps.
#3534 · Core · 82% automatable
Write descriptions of property boundary surveys for use in deeds, leases, or other legal documents.
text generation — Draft technical design docs from provided details
Document technical design details.
#3529 · Core · 90% automatable
Verify the accuracy of survey data, including measurements and calculations conducted at survey sites.
data analysis — Arithmetic verification is deterministic and reliable
Verify mathematical calculations.
#3536 · Core · 18% automatable
Search legal records, survey records, and land titles to obtain information about property boundaries in areas to be surveyed.
physical manipulation — Physical field survey requires hands-on measurement in situ
Gather physical survey data.
#3531 · Core · 18% automatable
Record the results of surveys, including the shape, contour, location, elevation, and dimensions of land or land features.
situated mobility — Field survey of land/water bodies
Survey land or bodies of water to measure or determine features.
#3533 · Core · 82% automatable
Prepare, or supervise preparation of, all data, charts, plots, maps, records, and documents related to surveys.
text generation — Draft technical design docs from provided details
Document technical design details.
#3543 · Core · 75% automatable
Compute geodetic measurements and interpret survey data to determine positions, shapes, and elevations of geomorphic and topographic features.
data analysis — Coordinate computation from survey data
Calculate geographic positions from survey data.
#3532 · Core · 75% automatable
Calculate heights, depths, relative positions, property lines, and other characteristics of terrain.
data analysis — Coordinate computation from survey data
Calculate geographic positions from survey data.
#3535 · Core · 18% automatable
Plan and conduct ground surveys designed to establish baselines, elevations, and other geodetic measurements.
situated mobility — Field survey of land/water bodies
Survey land or bodies of water to measure or determine features.
#3539 · Core · 60% automatable
Establish fixed points for use in making maps, using geodetic and engineering instruments.
visual inspection — Generates maps; cartographic accuracy and standards human
Create maps.
#3540 · Core · 75% automatable
Determine longitudes and latitudes of important features and boundaries in survey areas, using theodolites, transits, levels, and satellite-based global positioning systems (GPS).
data analysis — Coordinate computation from survey data
Calculate geographic positions from survey data.
#3541 · Core · 35% automatable
Train assistants and helpers, and direct their work in such activities as performing surveys or drafting maps.
interpersonal — Operational procedure training needs live demonstration
Train personnel on proper operational procedures. Direct surveying activities.
#3537 · Core · 50% automatable
Coordinate findings with the work of engineering and architectural personnel, clients, and others concerned with projects.
interpersonal — Cross-party coordination aided; humans own commitments
Coordinate activities with suppliers, contractors, clients, or other departments.
#3542 · Core · 65% automatable
Analyze survey objectives and specifications to prepare survey proposals or to direct others in survey proposal preparation.
data analysis — Analyzes survey/physical data; human checks quality
Analyze physical, survey, or geographic data.
#20954 · Core · 15% automatable
Testify as an expert witness in court cases on land survey issues, such as property boundaries.
interpersonal — Testimony carries legal accountability and live presence
Testify at legal or legislative proceedings.
#3538 · Core · 18% automatable
Adjust surveying instruments to maintain their accuracy.
physical manipulation — Physical calibration of instruments requires hands
Calibrate scientific or technical equipment.
#3544 · Core · 65% automatable
Develop criteria for survey methods and procedures.
decision support — Operational criteria drafted; human decides
Determine operational criteria or specifications.
#3548 · Core · 18% automatable
Survey bodies of water to determine navigable channels and to secure data for construction of breakwaters, piers, and other marine structures.
situated mobility — Field survey of land/water bodies
Survey land or bodies of water to measure or determine features.
#3549 · Core · 30% automatable
Direct aerial surveys of specified geographical areas.
interpersonal — Directing field survey crews needs human oversight
Direct surveying activities.
#3546 · Core · 60% automatable
Conduct research in surveying and mapping methods, using knowledge of photogrammetric map compilation and electronic data processing.
information retrieval — AI researches and synthesizes; human judges relevance
Conduct research to gain information about products or processes. Research topics in area of expertise.
#3547 · Supplemental · 18% automatable
Locate and mark sites selected for geophysical prospecting activities, such as efforts to locate petroleum or other mineral products.
situated mobility — Field survey of land/water bodies
Survey land or bodies of water to measure or determine features.
#3550 · Supplemental · 65% automatable
Determine specifications for equipment to be used for aerial photography, as well as altitudes from which to photograph terrain.
decision support — Operational criteria drafted; human decides
Determine operational criteria or specifications.
#3545 · Supplemental · 65% automatable
Develop criteria for the design and modification of survey instruments.
decision support — Operational criteria drafted; human decides
Determine operational criteria or specifications.
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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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