# Conservation Scientists

> 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.

- **SOC code:** 19-1031.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-1031-00
- **Also known as:** Conservationist, Land Resource Specialist, Research Soil Scientist, Resource Conservationist, Environmental Analyst, Environmental Quality Scientist, Erosion Control Specialist, Land Reclamation Specialist
- **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):
- Apply principles of specialized fields of science, such as agronomy, soil science, forestry, or agriculture, to achieve conservation objectives.
- Plan soil management or conservation practices, such as crop rotation, reforestation, permanent vegetation, contour plowing, or terracing, to maintain soil or conserve water.
- Monitor projects during or after construction to ensure projects conform to design specifications.
- Implement soil or water management techniques, such as nutrient management, erosion control, buffers, or filter strips, in accordance with conservation plans.
- Advise land users, such as farmers or ranchers, on plans, problems, or alternative conservation solutions.
- Compute design specifications for implementation of conservation practices, using survey or field information, technical guides or engineering manuals.
- Gather information from geographic information systems (GIS) databases or applications to formulate land use recommendations.
- Participate on work teams to plan, develop, or implement programs or policies for improving environmental habitats, wetlands, or groundwater or soil resources.
- Compute cost estimates of different conservation practices, based on needs of land users, maintenance requirements, or life expectancy of practices.
- Develop or maintain working relationships with local government staff or board members.
- Revisit land users to view implemented land use practices or plans.
- Visit areas affected by erosion problems to identify causes or determine solutions.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Biology _(knowledge)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Information Ordering _(ability)_
- Mathematics _(knowledge)_
- Geography _(knowledge)_

**Skills in demand:**
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Biology _(Specialized Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- Geography _(Specialized Skill)_
- Complex Problem Solving _(Common Skill)_
- Chemistry _(Specialized Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- ESRI ArcGIS software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Adobe Acrobat _(hot technology)_
- Autodesk AutoCAD _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Windows _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Autodesk Maya

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 57th percentile (Moderate) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 50th percentile (Moderate) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 73rd percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 52nd percentile (Moderate) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 12th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 3.4% growth (About average); 2.5k annual openings; 28.5k → 29.5k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $67,950; 25,590 employed.

## 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

---
_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-1031-00_