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Soil and Plant Scientists

Occupation · SOC 19-1013.00

Conduct research in breeding, physiology, production, yield, and management of crops and agricultural plants or trees, shrubs, and nursery stock, their growth in soils, and control of pests; or study the chemical, physical, biological, and mineralogical composition of soils as they relate to plant or crop growth. May classify and map soils and investigate effects of alternative practices on soil and crop productivity.

Also called: Agronomist · Research Scientist · Research Soil Scientist · Scientist · Arboriculture Researcher · Crop Nutrition Scientist · Forage Physiologist · Horticulture Specialist · Plant Physiologist · Plant Research Geneticist · Agricultural Specialist · Agriculturist

Job family: Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations

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Download .md

A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch /roles/role-19-1013-00/context.md directly.

AI work map

A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.

Often handed to AI

Task areas most often handled directively in observed AI conversations — candidates to delegate with light review.

  • Identify or classify species of insects or allied forms, such as mites or spiders. · 0.7%
See how AI is used here →

Use as a copilot

Task areas where people work with AI — iterating, learning, or checking — staying in the loop rather than handing the task off.

  • Communicate research or project results to other professionals or the public or teach related courses, seminars, or workshops. · 5.1%
  • 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. · 0.6%
See collaboration patterns →

Keep a human in the loop

Task areas where a human was still judged necessary in a large share of observed conversations — not a safety ruling, an observed-need signal.

  • Identify or classify species of insects or allied forms, such as mites or spiders. · 98.5% need a human
  • 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. · 96.7% need a human
  • Communicate research or project results to other professionals or the public or teach related courses, seminars, or workshops. · 92.1% need a human
See the boundary tasks →

73rd-percentile task overlap — yet about 1,700 openings a year (+5.4% projected, BLS), and observed AI use leans 8512% copilot, not hand-off (AEI) . What exposure means →

AI & job outlook

What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.

Exposure to current AI

Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.

Measure Rank vs all occupations Percentile Score
Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Moderate 63rd 0.6
LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) High 90th 1.0
AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Moderate 63rd 0.2

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.0), with simple added tooling (β 0.5), and including AI-powered software (γ 1.0). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

Most of this job's tasks can be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman), which tends to track with higher digital and AI exposure.

Historical automation estimate (2013)

A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.

Frey–Osborne probability 0.0 · 15th percentile among occupations · Low

How AI is actually used in this job

Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.

Communicate research or project results to other professionals or the public or teach related courses, seminars, or workshops. 11.8%
Conduct research to determine best methods of planting, spraying, cultivating, harvesting, storing, processing, or transporting horticultural products. 0.8%
Identify or classify species of insects or allied forms, such as mites or spiders. 0.6%
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. 0.4%
Develop new or improved methods or products for controlling or eliminating weeds, crop diseases, or insect pests. 0.2%
Research technical requirements or environmental impacts of urban green spaces, such as green roof installations. 0.2%

Job outlook

Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.

Outlook About average · +5.4% by 2034
Projected annual openings 1,700
Employment 2024 → 2034 20,700 → 21,800

“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.

Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient

The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international 2 occupations below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.

33% mean task exposure (2025)
62nd percentile of 427 placed occupations
+1 pts shift 2023 → 2025
International occupation (ISCO-08) Task exposure (2025) Most tasks fall in
Biologists, Botanists, Zoologists and Related Professionals · 2131 40% Gradient 2
Farming, Forestry and Fisheries Advisers · 2132 29% Not exposed

Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.

Working with AI in this job

How people actually apply AI to this occupation's tasks, from Claude.ai (Free and Pro) conversations in the Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15. This is one AI assistant's consumer sample — not all AI, not the whole workforce. Autonomy and the collaboration mix are model-rated estimates; figures below the sample floor are hidden.

Augmentation vs. automation 85.1% working with AI · 11.2% handed to AI
Most common way people use AI here Learning · you ask AI to explain or teach
Typical AI autonomy 4.0 / 5 · higher = AI acts more independently
Used for work (vs. personal / coursework) 13.1%

What people delegate to AI

The role's most common tasks in AI conversations, each tagged with how people work with the AI on it. “Usage” is the share of observed conversations, not of the job.

Task How Usage
Communicate research or project results to other professionals or the public or teach related courses, seminars, or workshops. Learning 5.1%
Identify or classify species of insects or allied forms, such as mites or spiders. Feedback loop 0.7%
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. Learning 0.6%

Where a human is still needed

Tasks where the model most often judged that a person remained necessary — a useful read on the current boundary, not a guarantee.

Identify or classify species of insects or allied forms, such as mites or spiders. 98.5%
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. 96.7%
Communicate research or project results to other professionals or the public or teach related courses, seminars, or workshops. 92.1%

What people most often hand AI here

Example prompts phrased from the tasks people most often delegate to AI in this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index). Each shows the underlying measured task and its share of observed AI use. They are suggested phrasings of real tasks — starting points, not endorsed instructions.

  • Help me communicate research or project results to other professionals or the public or teach related courses, seminars, or workshops.

    From: Communicate research or project results to other professionals or the public or teach related courses, seminars, or workshops. · 5.1% of measured AI use · learning

  • Help me identify or classify species of insects or allied forms, such as mites or spiders.

    From: Identify or classify species of insects or allied forms, such as mites or spiders. · 0.7% of measured AI use · feedback loop

  • Help me 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.

    From: 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. · 0.6% of measured AI use · learning

Tasks

All 27 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

Work activities

Knowledge, skills & abilities

O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).

Knowledge

Biology 4.4
English Language 4.0
Computers and Electronics 3.9
Chemistry 3.8
Mathematics 3.8
Education and Training 3.4
Geography 3.4
Communications and Media 3.4
Engineering and Technology 3.2
Administration and Management 3.1
Physics 3.1

Essential skills

Reading Comprehension 4.0
Speaking 4.0
Science 4.0
Critical Thinking 4.0
Active Learning 4.0
Active Listening 3.9
Writing 3.9
Mathematics 3.3
Learning Strategies 3.3
Monitoring 3.3

Abilities

Oral Comprehension 4.0
Written Comprehension 4.0
Oral Expression 4.0
Written Expression 4.0
Deductive Reasoning 4.0
Inductive Reasoning 4.0
Information Ordering 4.0
Category Flexibility 4.0
Originality 3.9
Problem Sensitivity 3.9
Near Vision 3.8
Speech Clarity 3.8
Fluency of Ideas 3.5
Flexibility of Closure 3.4
Speech Recognition 3.4

Transferable skills

Complex Problem Solving 3.9
Judgment and Decision Making 3.8
Systems Analysis 3.5
Systems Evaluation 3.5

Skills in demand

Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.

Tools & technology

Example Category
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet software Hot technology In demand
Microsoft Office software Office suite software Hot technology In demand
Autodesk AutoCAD Computer aided design CAD software Hot technology
ESRI ArcGIS software Geographic information system Hot technology
IBM SPSS Statistics Analytical or scientific software Hot technology
Microsoft Access Data base user interface and query software Hot technology
Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP Web platform development software Hot technology
Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation software Hot technology
Microsoft Word Word processing software Hot technology
R Object or component oriented development software Hot technology
SAS Analytical or scientific software Hot technology
3dMapper Analytical or scientific software
Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator EPIC Analytical or scientific software
European Soil Erosion Model EUROSEM Analytical or scientific software
GAEA Technologies WinSieve Categorization or classification software
GEOEAS Analytical or scientific software
Geographic information system GIS software Geographic information system
Geographic information system GIS systems Geographic information system
GSLIB Analytical or scientific software
Gstat Analytical or scientific software
LandSerf Analytical or scientific software
Leica Geosystems ERDAS IMAGINE Map creation software
National Resources Conservation Service NRCS PEDON Description Program PDP Data base user interface and query software
National Resources Conservation Service NRCS Soils Explorer Data base user interface and query software
National Soil Information System NASIS Data base user interface and query software
PC-Progress HYDRUS Analytical or scientific software
PedonCE Data base user interface and query software
SGeMS Analytical or scientific software
Soil information databases Data base user interface and query software
SoilVision Systems SVOFFICE Data base user interface and query software
SPAW Analytical or scientific software
STATISTICA Analytical or scientific software
UNSATFLOW Analytical or scientific software
Variogram Estimation and Spatial Prediction plus Error Vesper Analytical or scientific software
Water Erosion Prediction Project WEPP Analytical or scientific software

Work context

How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.

E-Mail 4.8
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams 4.5
Freedom to Make Decisions 4.4
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals 4.3
Telephone Conversations 4.2
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled 4.2
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team 4.0
Contact With Others 4.0
Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions 3.9
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate 3.9
Health and Safety of Other Workers 3.8
Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled 3.7
Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities 3.6
Written Letters and Memos 3.6
Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers 3.6
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General 3.4
In an Enclosed Vehicle or Operate Enclosed Equipment 3.4
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets 3.3
Level of Competition 3.3
Time Pressure 3.3
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results 3.3
Exposed to Very Hot or Cold Temperatures 3.1
Outdoors, Under Cover 3.0
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks 3.0
Spend Time Sitting 2.9
Spend Time Standing 2.9
Frequency of Decision Making 2.9
In an Open Vehicle or Operating Equipment 2.8
Public Speaking 2.8
Exposed to Contaminants 2.8
Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable 2.7
Exposed to Minor Burns, Cuts, Bites, or Stings 2.7
Consequence of Error 2.7
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls 2.5
Conflict Situations 2.5
Physical Proximity 2.4
Exposed to Hazardous Conditions 2.4
Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People 2.4
Exposed to Extremely Bright or Inadequate Lighting Conditions 2.3
Spend Time Walking or Running 2.3

How to get in

Job zone
Zone 5 — Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Education
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).
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
Related experience
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Preparation level
SVP (8.0 and above) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

What to study: Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences , Biological and Biomedical Sciences . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.

Education of current workers

Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.

Master's Degree 28.6%
Bachelor's Degree 23.8%
Doctoral Degree 19.1%
Post-Secondary Certificate 4.8%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) 4.8%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate 4.8%
Post-Master's Certificate 4.8%
First Professional Degree 4.8%

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Investigative 6.7
Realistic 6.4
Conventional 3.4
Artistic 2.1

Interest areas

Life Science 6.4
Physical Science 6.2
Agriculture 6.0
Nature/Outdoors 5.9
Mathematics/Statistics 5.0
Public Speaking 2.7
Engineering 2.7
Teaching/Education 2.4
Physical/Manual Labor 2.2

Work styles

Attention to Detail 3.0
Intellectual Curiosity 2.7
Innovation 2.5

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

$45k10th$58k25th$71kMedian$98k75th$131k90th
Annual wages by percentile — U.S. (BLS OEWS). The light band spans the 10th–90th percentile; the darker band is the middle half (25th–75th); the line is the median.
21k202422k2034 (proj.)+5.4% · About average
Projected U.S. employment, 2024–2034 (BLS Employment Projections). A labor-market forecast for the occupation, not an AI-impact forecast.
10th percentile $45,320
25th percentile $57,950
Median (50th) $71,410
75th percentile $98,110
90th percentile $131,440
People employed 16,600

Industries that employ this occupation

Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.

Industry Workers National median pay
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector 6,160 $73,610
Educational Services · Sector 2,530 $62,330
Wholesale Trade · Sector 1,680 $77,080
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation · Sector 870 $49,200
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting · Sector 780 $61,100
Manufacturing · Sector 730 $99,690
Testing Laboratories and Services · National industry 530 $74,690
Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector 350 $102,980
Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector 160 $60,940
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector 130 $67,260
Engineering Services · National industry 110 $69,990
Transportation and Warehousing · Sector 40 $74,920

Where this work is most concentrated

Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).

Industry Concentration Workers
Testing Laboratories and Services · National industry 28.89× 530
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting · Sector 17.11× 780
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector 5.31× 6,160
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation · Sector 3.06× 870
Wholesale Trade · Sector 2.59× 1,680
Educational Services · Sector 1.72× 2,530
Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector 1.16× 350
Engineering Services · National industry 0.88× 110

Part of the Agriculture and Energy & Natural Resources career clusters.

Exposure quadrant: AI task-overlap percentile vs Median pay Soil and Plant Scientists sits at the 73rd percentile of AI task-overlap and the 61st percentile of median pay, placed here against 12 adjacent occupations on the same two axes. Lower overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · lower pay Lower overlap · lower pay Soil and Plant Scientists Agricultural Technicians Microbiologists Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health AI task-overlap percentile → ↑ Median pay
AI task-overlap percentile (horizontal) vs. median-pay percentile (vertical), across all scored occupations. This occupation is highlighted; related occupations are plotted alongside it. Overlap measures shared tasks with AI, not automation.

Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.

What you can do with this

Options the data surfaces for Soil and Plant Scientists — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

Skills that travel

Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.

Paths in

How people typically prepare for this work.

Zoom out

On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 62nd percentile of 427 international occupations.

Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation

Soil and Plant Scientists show 73rd-percentile AI task overlap — and about 1,700 annual U.S. openings

  • Soil and Plant Scientists rank in the 73rd percentile (High band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
  • The occupation is projected to see about 1,700 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
  • BLS projects employment to be about average (+5.4%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
  • Median annual pay is $71,410, across about 16,600 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
  • Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 85% looks like augmentation (drafting, iterating, checking) rather than hands-off automation — from a Claude.ai usage sample, not a census.2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2
Copy the whole kit
Soil and Plant Scientists show 73rd-percentile AI task overlap — and about 1,700 annual U.S. openings

• Soil and Plant Scientists rank in the 73rd percentile (High band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE)
• The occupation is projected to see about 1,700 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34)
• BLS projects employment to be about average (+5.4%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34)
• Median annual pay is $71,410, across about 16,600 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024))
• Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 85% looks like augmentation (drafting, iterating, checking) rather than hands-off automation — from a Claude.ai usage sample, not a census. (2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2)

Source: Singulariki — "Soil and Plant Scientists". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-1013-00
Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.

AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom

Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.

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." 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/roles/role-19-1013-00

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Soil and Plant Scientists. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-1013-00

BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-19-1013-00,
  title  = {Soil and Plant Scientists},
  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/roles/role-19-1013-00}
}

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

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