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Microbiologists vs Chemists

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Microbiologists and Chemists on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Microbiologists Chemists
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$87,330
$84,150
Employment · BLS OEWS
19,760
83,250
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
61st pct
77th pct

At a glance

Dimension Microbiologists Chemists
Median pay $87,330 $84,150
Employment 19,760 83,250
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+4.1%) About average (+4.9%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 1,700 6,300
Typical education · O*NET Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Moderate · 61st pct High · 77th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 77th pct · 40% of tasks 75th pct · 39% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index Augmentation-leaning (56.2%) Augmentation-leaning (61.8%)
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Science, Written Comprehension, Reading Comprehension, Written Expression, Inductive Reasoning, Writing, Critical Thinking, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Problem Sensitivity, Deductive Reasoning, Category Flexibility, Active Listening, Speaking, Active Learning, Information Ordering, Chemistry, Judgment and Decision Making, Fluency of Ideas, Flexibility of Closure, Near Vision, English Language, Monitoring, Complex Problem Solving, Speech Recognition, Computers and Electronics, Mathematics, Mathematics, Speech Clarity, Systems Analysis.

Specific to Microbiologists

  • Biology
  • Learning Strategies
  • Education and Training
  • Selective Attention
  • Originality
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Coordination
  • Instructing

Specific to Chemists

  • Mathematical Reasoning
  • Number Facility
  • Production and Processing
  • Administration and Management
  • Administrative
  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Physics
  • Systems Evaluation

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Presentation software , Word processing software , Data base user interface and query software , Enterprise resource planning ERP software , Analytical or scientific software .

Specific to Microbiologists

Specific to Chemists

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Microbiologists or Chemists — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

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. "Microbiologists vs Chemists." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/microbiologists-vs-chemists

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Microbiologists vs Chemists. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/microbiologists-vs-chemists

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-microbiologists-vs-chemists,
  title  = {Microbiologists vs Chemists},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/microbiologists-vs-chemists}
}

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