# Natural Sciences Managers

> Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, statistics, and research and development in these fields.

- **SOC code:** 11-9121.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-11-9121-00
- **Also known as:** Chemical Process Exploration Manager, Environmental Program Manager, Natural Sciences Manager, Research and Development Director (R and D Director), Analytical Services Manager, Chemical Engineer Supervisor, Lab Manager (Laboratory Manager), Research Administrator
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Hire, supervise, or evaluate engineers, technicians, researchers, or other staff.
- Design or coordinate successive phases of problem analysis, solution proposals, or testing.
- Plan or direct research, development, or production activities.
- Provide for stewardship of plant or animal resources or habitats, studying land use, monitoring animal populations, or providing shelter, resources, or medical treatment for animals.
- Review project activities and prepare and review research, testing, or operational reports.
- Confer with scientists, engineers, regulators, or others to plan or review projects or to provide technical assistance.
- Develop client relationships and communicate with clients to explain proposals, present research findings, establish specifications, or discuss project status.
- Determine scientific or technical goals within broad outlines provided by top management and make detailed plans to accomplish these goals.
- Prepare project proposals.
- Develop or implement policies, standards, or procedures for the architectural, scientific, or technical work performed to ensure regulatory compliance or operations enhancement.
- Recruit personnel or oversee the development or maintenance of staff competence.
- Prepare and administer budgets, approve and review expenditures, and prepare financial reports.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Science _(essential_skill)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Biology _(knowledge)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Monitoring _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Written Expression _(ability)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Biology _(Specialized Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Complex Problem Solving _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Adobe Acrobat _(hot technology)_
- Adobe Photoshop _(hot technology)_
- ESRI ArcGIS software _(hot technology)_
- IBM SPSS Statistics _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Project _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft SharePoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Visio _(hot technology)_

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 74th percentile (High) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 89th percentile (High) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 95th percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 34th percentile (Moderate) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 13th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** yes — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 3.7% growth (About average); 8.5k annual openings; 104.3k → 108.2k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $161,180; 100,870 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 16% automation, 49% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 3.5 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** task iteration.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Advise or assist in obtaining patents or meeting other legal requirements. _(0.9% of measured AI use; learning)_
- Prepare project proposals. _(0.5% of measured AI use; task iteration)_
- Review project activities and prepare and review research, testing, or operational reports. _(0.5% of measured AI use; directive)_
- Conduct own research in field of expertise. _(0.3% of measured AI use; learning)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me advise or assist in obtaining patents or meeting other legal requirements.
- Help me prepare project proposals.
- Help me review project activities and prepare and review research, testing, or operational reports.
- Help me conduct own research in field of expertise.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-11-9121-00_