← All 785 jobsFile 19-1013
Soil and Plant Scientists
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 6.7% more of these jobs by 2035, faster than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- #371 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +6.7% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $78,850 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 19,900 in the US, with about 1,400 openings a year
The work, 14 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: Research agricultural processes or practices18%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Research issues related to earth sciences13%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 541 conversations, and it got them there 87% of the time.
AI helps with this: Develop operational or technical procedures or standards13%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 787 conversations, and it got them there 91% of the time. In this job the work is hands-on, so AI can only assist.
AI does this: Advise others on environmental sustainability or green practices11%
AI performed this in about 1 in 1,887 Copilot conversations and completed it 97% of the time.
Still yours: Develop plans for managing or preserving natural resources7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Present research or technical information7%
AI performed this in about 1 in 30 Copilot conversations and completed it 90% of the time.
AI helps with this: Research biological or ecological phenomena6%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 283 conversations, and it got them there 90% of the time.
Still yours: Analyze environmental or geospatial data5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Develop sustainable organizational or business policies or practices5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Direct scientific or technical activities4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Coordinate with others to resolve problems3%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 738 conversations, and it got them there 83% of the time.
AI helps with this: Analyze biological or chemical substances or related data3%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 660 conversations, and it got them there 76% of the time.
Still yours: Assess characteristics of land or property3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Investigate the environmental impact of industrial or development activities2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 107 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 1,400 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.
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 0.18, higher than 64% 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, 19-1013 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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