← All 785 jobsFile 19-2032
Materials Scientists
Lightly edited
AI performs some of this work. Most of it still needs a person. The BLS expects 8.3% more of these jobs by 2035, faster than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- #215 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +8.3% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $117,790 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 8,600 in the US, with about 600 openings a year
The work, 12 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Test characteristics of materials or products19%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Research technology designs or applications15%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 149 conversations, and it got them there 89% of the time.
Still yours: Develop research plans or methodologies14%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Develop operational or technical procedures or standards8%
AI performed this in about 1 in 1,089 Copilot conversations and completed it 92% of the time.
AI does this: Present research or technical information8%
AI performed this in about 1 in 30 Copilot conversations and completed it 90% of the time.
AI does this: Advise others on the design or use of technologies7%
AI performed this in about 1 in 97 Copilot conversations and completed it 91% of the time.
Still yours: Monitor operations to ensure adequate performance5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Develop scientific or mathematical theories or models5%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,980 conversations, and it got them there 66% of the time.
AI helps with this: Confer with clients to determine needs or order specifications5%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 502 conversations, and it got them there 54% of the time.
AI does this: Write material for artistic or commercial purposes5%
AI performed this in about 1 in 95 Copilot conversations and completed it 89% of the time.
Still yours: Collect information about patients or clients5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Teach academic or vocational subjects4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 70 Copilot conversations and completed it 84% of the time.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 108 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 600 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 28% of the workChemical Engineers12% AI does, against 31% here+4.7% by 2035 · $125,040 · Bachelor’s degree
- Shares 22% of the workPsychologists25% AI does, against 31% here+2.3% by 2035 · $110,840 · Master’s degree
- Shares 33% of the workFood Scientists and Technologists24% AI does, against 31% here+6.2% by 2035 · $88,720 · Bachelor’s degree
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Planet front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.25, higher than 78% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 19-2032 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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