Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Conservation Scientists
Occupation · SOC 19-1031.00
Manage, improve, and protect natural resources to maximize their use without damaging the environment. May conduct soil surveys and develop plans to eliminate soil erosion or to protect rangelands. May instruct farmers, agricultural production managers, or ranchers in best ways to use crop rotation, contour plowing, or terracing to conserve soil and water; in the number and kind of livestock and forage plants best suited to particular ranges; and in range and farm improvements, such as fencing and reservoirs for stock watering.
Also called: Conservationist · Land Resource Specialist · Research Soil Scientist · Resource Conservationist · Environmental Analyst · Environmental Quality Scientist · Erosion Control Specialist · Land Reclamation Specialist · Resource Conservation Specialist · Soil Conservationist · Agricultural Consultant · Agriculture Consultant
Job family: Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-19-1031-00/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.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- About average employment outlook (+3.4% by 2034)
- 2,500 openings/yr
- Moderate AI exposure
- Median pay $67,950/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
- A reversal from 2013 — rated low automation risk then (12th), high AI task-overlap now (57th)
57th-percentile task overlap — yet about 2,500 openings a year (+3.4% projected, BLS) . 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 | 50th | 0.1 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) High | 73rd | 0.9 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Moderate | 52nd | 0.2 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.0), with simple added tooling (β 0.4), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.9). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
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 · 12th 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.
| Identify or recommend integrated weed and pest management (IPM) strategies, such as resistant plants, cultural or behavioral controls, soil amendments, insects, natural enemies, barriers, or pesticides. | 0.7% | |
| Review grant applications or make funding recommendations. | 0.6% | |
| Conduct fact-finding or mediation sessions among government units, landowners, or other agencies to resolve disputes. | 0.3% | |
| Plan soil management or conservation practices, such as crop rotation, reforestation, permanent vegetation, contour plowing, or terracing, to maintain soil or conserve water. | 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 · +3.4% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 2,500 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 28,500 → 29,500 |
“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 occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Conservation Scientists sits at the 74th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure rose from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
38% mean task exposure (2025)
74th percentile of 427 placed occupations
+3 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Protection Professionals · 2133 | 38% | Minimal |
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.
Tasks
All 30 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Apply principles of specialized fields of science, such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, or agriculture, to achieve conservation objectives. Core · importance 4.5
- Plan soil management or conservation practices, such as crop rotation, reforestation, permanent vegetation, contour plowing, or terracing, to maintain soil or conserve water. Core · importance 4.4
- Monitor projects during or after construction to ensure projects conform to design specifications. Core · importance 4.3
- Advise land users, such as farmers or ranchers, on plans, problems, or alternative conservation solutions. Core · importance 4.2
- Implement soil or water management techniques, such as nutrient management, erosion control, buffers, or filter strips, in accordance with conservation plans. Core · importance 4.2
- Compute design specifications for implementation of conservation practices, using survey or field information, technical guides or engineering manuals. Core · importance 4.2
- Gather information from geographic information systems (GIS) databases or applications to formulate land use recommendations. Core · importance 4.1
- Participate on work teams to plan, develop, or implement programs or policies for improving environmental habitats, wetlands, or groundwater or soil resources. Core · importance 4.1
- Compute cost estimates of different conservation practices, based on needs of land users, maintenance requirements, or life expectancy of practices. Core · importance 4.0
- Develop or maintain working relationships with local government staff or board members. Core · importance 4.0
- Revisit land users to view implemented land use practices or plans. Core · importance 4.0
- Provide information, knowledge, expertise, or training to government agencies at all levels to solve water or soil management problems or to assure coordination of resource protection activities. Core · importance 4.0
- Visit areas affected by erosion problems to identify causes or determine solutions. Core · importance 4.0
- Enter local soil, water, or other environmental data into adaptive or Web-based decision tools to identify appropriate analyses or techniques. Core · importance 3.9
- Analyze results of investigations to determine measures needed to maintain or restore proper soil management. Core · importance 3.9
- Develop, conduct, or participate in surveys, studies, or investigations of various land uses to inform corrective action plans. Core · importance 3.9
- Coordinate or implement technical, financial, or administrative assistance programs for local government units to ensure efficient program implementation or timely responses to requests for assistance. Core · importance 3.8
- Respond to complaints or questions on wetland jurisdiction, providing information or clarification. Core · importance 3.8
- Compile or interpret biodata to determine extent or type of wetlands or to aid in program formulation. Core · importance 3.8
- Review or approve amendments to comprehensive local water plans or conservation district plans. Core · importance 3.8
- Review proposed wetland restoration easements or provide technical recommendations. Core · importance 3.8
- Develop water conservation or harvest plans, using weather information systems, irrigation information management systems, or other sources of daily evapotranspiration (ET) data. Supplemental · importance 3.7
- Develop soil maps. Core · importance 3.7
- Manage field offices or involve staff in cooperative ventures. Core · importance 3.7
- Initiate, schedule, or conduct annual audits or compliance checks of program implementation by local government. Core · importance 3.5
- Identify or recommend integrated weed and pest management (IPM) strategies, such as resistant plants, cultural or behavioral controls, soil amendments, insects, natural enemies, barriers, or pesticides. Core · importance 3.4
- Review annual reports of counties, conservation districts, or watershed management organizations, certifying compliance with mandated reporting requirements. Core · importance 3.4
- Review grant applications or make funding recommendations. Core · importance 3.4
- Develop or conduct environmental studies, such as plant material field trials or wildlife habitat impact studies. Core · importance 3.4
- Conduct fact-finding or mediation sessions among government units, landowners, or other agencies to resolve disputes. Core · importance 3.3
Work activities
- Develop plans to manage natural or renewable resources.
- Advise others about land management or conservation.
- Monitor operational procedures in technical environments to ensure conformance to standards.
- Inspect condition of natural environments.
- Develop collaborative relationships between departments or with external organizations.
- Apply knowledge or research findings to address environmental problems.
- Collect geographical or geological field data.
- Determine design criteria or specifications.
- Plan natural resources conservation or restoration programs.
- Mediate disputes.
- Communicate with the public on environmental issues.
- Estimate green project costs.
- Train personnel in technical or scientific procedures.
- Advise others about environmental management or conservation.
- Research sustainable agricultural processes or practices.
- Direct natural resources management or conservation programs.
- Review plans or proposals for environmental conservation.
- Plan environmental research.
- Assess compliance with environmental laws.
- Record research or operational data.
- Compile environmental or climatological data.
- Analyze environmental data.
- Review environmental permits, plans, or reports.
- Create maps.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Knowledge
| English Language | 4.3 | |
| Biology | 3.9 | |
| Mathematics | 3.7 | |
| Geography | 3.7 | |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.6 | |
| Chemistry | 3.5 | |
| Law and Government | 3.5 | |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.4 | |
| Engineering and Technology | 3.3 | |
| Education and Training | 3.3 |
Abilities
| Oral Comprehension | 4.1 | |
| Written Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Oral Expression | 3.9 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.8 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.8 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.8 | |
| Written Expression | 3.6 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.5 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.5 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.4 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.4 | |
| Near Vision | 3.4 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.4 | |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.3 | |
| Originality | 3.3 | |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 3.3 | |
| Number Facility | 3.3 |
Essential skills
| Reading Comprehension | 3.9 | |
| Active Listening | 3.9 | |
| Speaking | 3.6 | |
| Writing | 3.5 | |
| Science | 3.5 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.5 | |
| Active Learning | 3.3 | |
| Monitoring | 3.3 | |
| Mathematics | 3.1 |
Transferable skills
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.6 | |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.3 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.3 | |
| Time Management | 3.3 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Showing the top 40 of 41.
Tools & technology
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.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 4 — Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Education
- Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
- Typical entry-level education
- Bachelor's degree · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
- Preparation level
- SVP (7.0 to < 8.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences , Biological and Biomedical Sciences , Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies , Natural Resources and Conservation . 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.
| Bachelor's Degree | 69.6% | |
| Master's Degree | 13.0% | |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 8.7% | |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 4.3% | |
| Doctoral Degree | 4.3% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Interest areas
| Nature/Outdoors | 6.5 | |
| Agriculture | 4.8 | |
| Life Science | 4.4 | |
| Physical Science | 3.8 | |
| Mathematics/Statistics | 3.1 | |
| Management/Administration | 2.7 | |
| Public Speaking | 2.7 |
Work styles
| Dependability | 6.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 5.0 | |
| Integrity | 4.0 | |
| Cautiousness | 3.0 |
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Investigative | 5.7 | |
| Realistic | 5.2 | |
| Conventional | 4.0 | |
| Enterprising | 3.2 | |
| Social | 2.9 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $45,260 |
| 25th percentile | $53,190 |
| Median (50th) | $67,950 |
| 75th percentile | $87,980 |
| 90th percentile | $107,720 |
| People employed | 25,590 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | 5,250 | $62,940 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 1,170 | $72,010 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 830 | $64,110 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation · Sector | 330 | $49,980 |
| Engineering Services · National industry | 270 | $76,020 |
| Testing Laboratories and Services · National industry | 90 | $66,330 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 50 | $76,990 |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing · Sector | — | $77,590 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | 7.15× | 5,250 |
| Engineering Services · National industry | 1.41× | 270 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation · Sector | 0.75× | 330 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 0.65× | 1,170 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 0.37× | 830 |
Related occupations
Part of the Energy & Natural Resources and Public Service & Safety career clusters.
- Environmental Restoration Planners · 19-2041.02 Compare →
- Range Managers · 19-1031.02 Compare →
- Industrial Ecologists · 19-2041.03 Compare →
- Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health · 19-2041.00 Compare →
- Soil and Plant Scientists · 19-1013.00 Compare →
- Water Resource Specialists · 11-9121.02 Compare →
- Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site Managers · 11-9199.11 Compare →
- Hydrologists · 19-2043.00 Compare →
- Foresters · 19-1032.00 Compare →
- Park Naturalists · 19-1031.03 Compare →
- Hydrologic Technicians · 19-4044.00 Compare →
- Forest and Conservation Technicians · 19-4071.00 Compare →
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 Conservation 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.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- Bachelor's degree · typical entry level
- Job zone 4 — Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences · field of study
- Biological and Biomedical Sciences · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 74th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Conservation Scientists show 57th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 2,500 annual U.S. openings
- Conservation Scientists rank in the 57th percentile (Moderate 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 2,500 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 (+3.4%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $67,950, across about 25,590 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Conservation Scientists show 57th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 2,500 annual U.S. openings • Conservation Scientists rank in the 57th percentile (Moderate 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 2,500 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 (+3.4%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $67,950, across about 25,590 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Conservation Scientists". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-1031-00 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.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Conservation 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-19-1031-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Conservation Scientists. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-1031-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-19-1031-00,
title = {Conservation 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-19-1031-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.