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Singulariki

Getting Information

Work activity group · O*NET

Getting Information is one of the 41 Generalized Work Activities at the top of O*NET's work-activity hierarchy — the broadest description of what people do on the job, sitting above the more specific intermediate and detailed work activities. Across the 894 occupations O*NET rates on it, it scores an average importance of 4.22 of 5 — 99th percentile among all activity groups.

Intermediate activities it contains

The intermediate work activities O*NET groups under Getting Information, ranked by how many occupations perform each. Each links to its own page.

Intermediate activity Occupations AI applied
Read documents or materials to inform work processes 179 92nd pct
Collect information about patients or clients 67 71st pct
Interview people to obtain information 62 74th pct
Research technology designs or applications 51 73rd pct
Gather information from physical or electronic sources 50 99th pct
Collect data about consumer needs or opinions 49 72nd pct
Investigate criminal or legal matters 41 52nd pct
Research healthcare issues 41 68th pct
Investigate the environmental impact of industrial or development activities 40 33rd pct
Gather data about operational or development activities 27 69th pct
Research biological or ecological phenomena 23 69th pct
Study details of artistic productions 18 79th pct
Obtain formal documentation or authorization 17 56th pct
Investigate organizational or operational problems 16 62nd pct
Research historical or social issues 15 88th pct
Investigate incidents or accidents 14 45th pct
Research organizational behavior, processes, or performance 14 52nd pct
Investigate individuals' background, behavior, or activities 11 80th pct
Consult legal materials or public records 9 71st pct
Research agricultural processes or practices 8 40th pct
Research issues related to earth sciences 8 60th pct
Obtain information about goods or services 7 91st pct
Gather information for news stories 2 78th pct

How AI is applied to this activity group

Microsoft's "Working with AI" study measured how often an AI assistant performs each work activity in real Bing Copilot conversations. Averaged across the 23 intermediate activities under Getting Information that the study measured, this group ranks in the 68th percentile for how frequently AI is applied — a description of how AI is used today, not a forecast that the activity will be automated.

The figure is the mean of the child activities' applied-percentiles; open any activity above to see its underlying Microsoft measurements. Every occupation blends many activities, so a high AI-applied rank for one group does not mean a job is being automated.

Occupations that rely on this activity group most

Ranked by O*NET importance rating (1–5) for Getting Information. Wages are BLS OEWS May 2024 national medians.

Occupation Importance Median pay Employment
Neurologists 4.92 — 7,700
Medical Assistants 4.89 $44,200 793,460
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists 4.86 $76,950 861,140
Physician Assistants 4.86 $133,260 155,540
Cartographers and Photogrammetrists 4.86 $78,380 12,790
Coroners 4.85 $78,420 397,770
Psychiatric Aides 4.85 $41,590 34,900
Judicial Law Clerks 4.85 $60,400 13,220
Library Science Teachers, Postsecondary 4.85 $78,630 4,100
Sociologists 4.85 $101,690 2,950
Investment Fund Managers 4.84 $161,700 818,620
Emergency Medicine Physicians 4.83 — 33,680
Clinical Neuropsychologists 4.83 $117,580 17,790
Astronomers 4.83 $132,170 1,560
Appraisers of Personal and Business Property 4.83 — —
Speech-Language Pathologists 4.81 $95,410 178,790
Hospitalists 4.80 — 315,360
Insurance Underwriters 4.80 $79,880 107,820
Operations Research Analysts 4.80 $91,290 107,760
Geneticists 4.80 $93,330 59,710
Dietetic Technicians 4.80 $37,040 29,950
Psychiatrists 4.80 — 24,800
Neuropsychologists 4.80 $117,580 17,790
Anthropologists and Archeologists 4.80 $64,910 8,070
Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary 4.80 $100,830 1,310
News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists 4.79 $60,280 41,550
Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates 4.79 $156,210 25,580
Nurse Midwives 4.79 $128,790 8,280
Political Scientists 4.79 $139,380 5,950
Chief Sustainability Officers 4.78 $206,420 211,850
Media Programming Directors 4.78 $83,480 145,270
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors 4.77 $65,140 342,350
Personal Financial Advisors 4.77 $102,140 270,480
History Teachers, Postsecondary 4.77 $81,500 19,860
Registered Nurses 4.76 $93,600 3,282,010
Treasurers and Controllers 4.76 $161,700 818,620
Compliance Managers 4.76 $136,550 630,980
Order Clerks 4.76 $44,660 83,420
Critical Care Nurses 4.75 $93,600 3,282,010
Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists 4.75 $64,520 86,820
Private Detectives and Investigators 4.75 $52,370 38,700
Transportation Planners 4.75 $100,340 36,970
Economists 4.75 $115,440 15,880
Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers, Motor Vehicles 4.75 $47,940 10,140
Special Education Teachers, Elementary School 4.75 — —
Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors 4.75 — —
Detectives and Criminal Investigators 4.74 $93,580 110,790
Climate Change Policy Analysts 4.74 $80,060 84,930
Nurse Anesthetists 4.74 $223,210 50,350
Transportation Inspectors 4.74 $85,750 23,320
Personal Care Aides 4.74 — —
Public Relations Specialists 4.73 $69,780 280,590
Architectural and Engineering Managers 4.73 $167,740 210,340
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists 4.73 $109,840 1,050
Education Teachers, Postsecondary 4.72 $72,090 59,090
Naturopathic Physicians 4.72 $113,730 30,870
Power Distributors and Dispatchers 4.72 $107,240 9,180
First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators 4.72 — —
Allergists and Immunologists 4.71 — 315,360
Fraud Examiners, Investigators and Analysts 4.71 $80,190 127,450

Showing 60 of 894 occupations.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Getting Information." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/activity-groups/getting-information

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Getting Information. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/activity-groups/getting-information

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-getting-information,
  title  = {Getting Information},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/activity-groups/getting-information}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.