Soil and Plant Scientists

Most exposed tasks

Highest structured exposure values in this role’s task mix — the work AI systems can already do most of.

• Survey undisturbed or disturbed lands for classification, inventory, mapping, environmental impact assessments, environmental protection planning, conservation planning, or reclamation planning.62
• 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.60

Augmentable tasks

Work where AI assists rather than replaces — the productivity frontier of this role.

• Study soil characteristics to classify soils on the basis of factors such as geographic location, landscape position, or soil properties.56
• 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.55
• Study ways to improve agricultural sustainability, such as the use of new methods of composting.55

Most durable tasks

Lowest exposure — typically judgment, relationships, physical presence, or accountability. This is the human moat.

• Communicate research or project results to other professionals or the public or teach related courses, seminars, or workshops.27

Task exposure values and classifications come from the versioned data release — they are structured data, not model output. Bars show exposure contribution relative to this role’s task mix.

What this means

A score of 48 puts Soil and Plant Scientists in the second quartile of analyzed occupations. In practice, exposure this level is about the mix: 2 of 20 analyzed tasks lean automatable, 17 augmentable, and 1 durable. The useful question isn’t “will AI take this job” — it’s which tasks go first, which get faster, and where to reposition time. That’s what the personalized report maps against your actual week.

One next move: adopt AI deliberately on the augmentable tasks and build visible evidence of the durable ones.

Lower-exposure adjacent roles

No adjacent role in the current data release is at least 10 points lower with ≥50% skill overlap — we don’t label anything “safer” unless the data supports it.

Labor-market context

• $78,850median wage
• 15,730employed
• 1,700annual openings
• +5.3%projected growth

Context only — labor statistics are not inputs to the exposure score. See methodology.

Related roles

Adjacent by skills or family — no exposure claim implied.

• Conservation Scientists 52
• Precision Agriculture Technicians 60
• Industrial Ecologists 42
• Agricultural Engineers 39
• Biologists 47
• Microbiologists 57

FAQ — Soil and Plant Scientists

What does a score of 48 mean for a Soil and Plant Scientists?

It means that, weighted across the 20 tasks we analyzed for this role, the task mix sits at 48 on a 0–100 exposure scale — in the second quartile of analyzed occupations. It measures task exposure to current and near-term AI capabilities, not the probability of losing a job.

Which tasks in this role are most exposed to AI?

The highest-exposure tasks are: Survey undisturbed or disturbed lands for classification, inventory, mapping, environmental impact assessments, environmental protection planning, conservation planning, or reclamation planning; 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. Exposure is scored per task from structured data, not generated by a language model.

Which parts of this job are most durable?

The most durable responsibilities are: Communicate research or project results to other professionals or the public or teach related courses, seminars, or workshops. Durable tasks typically depend on judgment, relationships, physical presence, or accountability.

Is this score personalized to me?

No — this page shows the occupation-level baseline. Two people with the same title often do different work. The $9 personalized report recalculates the score from the tasks you actually do and builds a concrete 7/30/90-day plan around them.