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Soil and Plant Scientists vs Microbiologists

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

A factual, source-backed comparison of Soil and Plant Scientists and Microbiologists 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.”

Soil and Plant Scientists Microbiologists
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$71,410
$87,330
Employment · BLS OEWS
16,600
19,760
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
63rd pct
61st pct

At a glance

Dimension Soil and Plant Scientists Microbiologists
Median pay $71,410 $87,330
Employment 16,600 19,760
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+5.4%) About average (+4.1%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 1,700 1,700
Typical education · O*NET Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree). Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Moderate · 63rd pct Moderate · 61st pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 62nd pct · 33% of tasks 77th pct · 40% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index Augmentation-leaning (85.1%) Augmentation-leaning (56.2%)
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman Yes 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: Biology, English Language, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Science, Critical Thinking, Active Learning, Oral Comprehension, Written Comprehension, Oral Expression, Written Expression, Deductive Reasoning, Inductive Reasoning, Information Ordering, Category Flexibility, Active Listening, Writing, Complex Problem Solving, Originality, Problem Sensitivity, Computers and Electronics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Judgment and Decision Making, Near Vision, Speech Clarity, Systems Analysis, Fluency of Ideas, Education and Training, Flexibility of Closure, Speech Recognition, Mathematics, Learning Strategies, Monitoring.

Specific to Soil and Plant Scientists

  • Systems Evaluation
  • Geography
  • Communications and Media
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Administration and Management
  • Physics

Specific to Microbiologists

  • Selective Attention
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Coordination
  • Instructing
  • Service Orientation
  • Time Management

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 , Analytical or scientific software , Data base user interface and query software , Presentation software , Word processing software .

Specific to Soil and Plant Scientists

Specific to Microbiologists

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Soil and Plant Scientists or Microbiologists — 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. "Soil and Plant Scientists vs Microbiologists." 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/soil-and-plant-scientists-vs-microbiologists

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Soil and Plant Scientists vs Microbiologists. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/soil-and-plant-scientists-vs-microbiologists

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-soil-and-plant-scientists-vs-microbiologists,
  title  = {Soil and Plant Scientists vs Microbiologists},
  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/soil-and-plant-scientists-vs-microbiologists}
}

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