Often handed to AI
Task areas most often handled directively in observed AI conversations — candidates to delegate with light review.
- Develop instrumentation and software for astronomical observation and analysis. · 1.1%
Astronomers
Occupation · SOC 19-2011.00
Observe, research, and interpret astronomical phenomena to increase basic knowledge or apply such information to practical problems.
Also called: Astronomer · Astronomy Outreach Coordinator · Astrophysicist · Research Astrophysicist · Cosmologist · Extragalactic Astronomer · Galactic Astronomer · High-Energy Astrophysicist · Institute Scientist · Optical Astronomer · Planetary Astronomer · Postdoc Scientist (Postdoctoral Scientist)
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-19-2011-00/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.
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.
- Review scientific proposals and research papers. · 1.6%
- Analyze research data to determine its significance, using computers. · 1.3%
- Calculate orbits and determine sizes, shapes, brightness, and motions of different celestial bodies. · 1.3%
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.
- Study celestial phenomena, using a variety of ground-based and space-borne telescopes and scientific instruments. · 96.4% need a human
- Develop and modify astronomy-related programs for public presentation. · 96.0% need a human
- Develop theories based on personal observations or on observations and theories of other astronomers. · 92.7% need a human
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 →Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- About average employment outlook (+2.2% by 2034)
- 100 openings/yr
- High AI exposure
- Observed AI use leans augmentation
- Median pay $132,170/yr
- Can largely be done remotely (teleworkable)
- A reversal from 2013 — rated low automation risk then (22nd), high AI task-overlap now (87th)
87th-percentile task overlap — yet about 100 openings a year (+2.2% projected, BLS), and observed AI use leans 5927% 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.) High | 94th | 1.4 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) High | 67th | 0.8 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) High | 85th | 0.3 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.4), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.8). 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 · 22nd 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.
| Develop and modify astronomy-related programs for public presentation. | 9.4% | |
| Analyze research data to determine its significance, using computers. | 7.1% | |
| Review scientific proposals and research papers. | 4.4% | |
| Develop theories based on personal observations or on observations and theories of other astronomers. | 3.2% | |
| Develop instrumentation and software for astronomical observation and analysis. | 2.3% | |
| Calculate orbits and determine sizes, shapes, brightness, and motions of different celestial bodies. | 2.0% |
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 · +2.2% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 100 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 1,800 → 1,800 |
“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 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.
Astronomers sits at the 73rd 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)
73rd percentile of 427 placed occupations
+3 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Physicists and Astronomers · 2111 | 38% | Gradient 1 |
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 | 59.3% working with AI · 27.2% 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) | 18.5% |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Review scientific proposals and research papers. | Validation | 1.6% |
| Analyze research data to determine its significance, using computers. | Learning | 1.3% |
| Calculate orbits and determine sizes, shapes, brightness, and motions of different celestial bodies. | Learning | 1.3% |
| Develop and modify astronomy-related programs for public presentation. | Learning | 1.2% |
| Develop theories based on personal observations or on observations and theories of other astronomers. | Learning | 1.2% |
| Develop instrumentation and software for astronomical observation and analysis. | Directive | 1.1% |
| Study celestial phenomena, using a variety of ground-based and space-borne telescopes and scientific instruments. | Learning | 0.8% |
| Present research findings at scientific conferences and in papers written for scientific journals. | Learning | 0.4% |
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.
| Study celestial phenomena, using a variety of ground-based and space-borne telescopes and scientific instruments. | 96.4% | |
| Develop and modify astronomy-related programs for public presentation. | 96.0% | |
| Develop theories based on personal observations or on observations and theories of other astronomers. | 92.7% | |
| Calculate orbits and determine sizes, shapes, brightness, and motions of different celestial bodies. | 90.1% | |
| Review scientific proposals and research papers. | 89.6% | |
| Present research findings at scientific conferences and in papers written for scientific journals. | 85.7% |
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 review scientific proposals and research papers.From: Review scientific proposals and research papers. · 1.6% of measured AI use · validation
-
Help me analyze research data to determine its significance, using computers.From: Analyze research data to determine its significance, using computers. · 1.3% of measured AI use · learning
-
Help me calculate orbits and determine sizes, shapes, brightness, and motions of different celestial bodies.From: Calculate orbits and determine sizes, shapes, brightness, and motions of different celestial bodies. · 1.3% of measured AI use · learning
-
Help me develop and modify astronomy-related programs for public presentation.From: Develop and modify astronomy-related programs for public presentation. · 1.2% of measured AI use · learning
Tasks
All 17 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Analyze research data to determine its significance, using computers. Core · importance 4.7
- Present research findings at scientific conferences and in papers written for scientific journals. Core · importance 4.7
- Study celestial phenomena, using a variety of ground-based and space-borne telescopes and scientific instruments. Core · importance 4.5
- Collaborate with other astronomers to carry out research projects. Core · importance 4.4
- Mentor graduate students and junior colleagues. Core · importance 4.4
- Supervise students' research on celestial and astronomical phenomena. Core · importance 4.2
- Teach astronomy or astrophysics. Core · importance 4.1
- Develop theories based on personal observations or on observations and theories of other astronomers. Core · importance 4.1
- Develop instrumentation and software for astronomical observation and analysis. Core · importance 4.0
- Measure radio, infrared, gamma, and x-ray emissions from extraterrestrial sources. Core · importance 4.0
- Review scientific proposals and research papers. Core · importance 3.8
- Raise funds for scientific research. Core · importance 3.8
- Develop and modify astronomy-related programs for public presentation. Core · importance 3.5
- Serve on professional panels and committees. Core · importance 3.3
- Calculate orbits and determine sizes, shapes, brightness, and motions of different celestial bodies. Core · importance 3.3
- Conduct question-and-answer presentations on astronomy topics with public audiences. Supplemental · importance 3.2
- Direct the operations of a planetarium. Supplemental · importance 2.5
Emerging tasks
Newer responsibilities O*NET has flagged as growing for this occupation.
- Write and review scientific proposals and research papers.
Work activities
- Review professional literature to maintain professional knowledge.
- Serve on institutional or departmental committees.
- Support the professional development of others.
- Advise students on academic or career matters.
- Supervise student research or internship work.
- Provide technical information or assistance to public.
- Direct scientific activities.
- Analyze operational or research data.
- Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
- Measure environmental characteristics.
- Measure radiation levels.
- Develop theories or models of physical phenomena.
- Prepare proposals or grant applications to obtain project funding.
- Collaborate on research activities with scientists or technical specialists.
- Develop software or applications for scientific or technical use.
- Instruct college students in physical or life sciences.
- Apply mathematical principles or statistical approaches to solve problems in scientific or applied fields.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Knowledge
| Physics | 5.0 | |
| Mathematics | 4.9 | |
| Computers and Electronics | 4.2 | |
| English Language | 4.0 | |
| Education and Training | 3.4 | |
| Engineering and Technology | 3.2 |
Essential skills
| Reading Comprehension | 4.3 | |
| Science | 4.3 | |
| Writing | 4.1 | |
| Mathematics | 4.1 | |
| Critical Thinking | 4.1 | |
| Active Listening | 4.0 | |
| Speaking | 4.0 | |
| Active Learning | 4.0 | |
| Learning Strategies | 3.8 | |
| Monitoring | 3.4 |
Abilities
| Oral Comprehension | 4.1 | |
| Written Comprehension | 4.1 | |
| Oral Expression | 4.1 | |
| Written Expression | 4.1 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 4.1 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.1 | |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 4.0 | |
| Number Facility | 4.0 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.9 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.9 | |
| Near Vision | 3.9 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.9 | |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.8 | |
| Originality | 3.8 | |
| Far Vision | 3.8 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.6 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.6 | |
| Selective Attention | 3.5 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.4 | |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.1 |
Transferable skills
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.6 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.5 | |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.1 | |
| Coordination | 3.1 |
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
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 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
- Doctoral or professional 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: Physical 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.
| Doctoral Degree | 65.2% | |
| Post-Doctoral Training | 26.1% | |
| Master's Degree | 8.7% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Investigative | 7.0 | |
| Realistic | 5.1 | |
| Conventional | 4.0 | |
| Artistic | 3.3 |
Interest areas
| Physical Science | 7.0 | |
| Mathematics/Statistics | 6.2 | |
| Engineering | 3.8 | |
| Information Technology | 3.6 | |
| Teaching/Education | 3.5 | |
| Public Speaking | 3.2 | |
| Mechanics/Electronics | 3.1 |
Work styles
| Dependability | 7.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 6.0 | |
| Integrity | 5.0 | |
| Intellectual Curiosity | 4.0 | |
| Achievement Orientation | 3.0 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $70,730 |
| 25th percentile | $94,990 |
| Median (50th) | $132,170 |
| 75th percentile | $177,690 |
| 90th percentile | $191,880 |
| People employed | 1,560 |
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 | 660 | $128,450 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 370 | $95,460 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 6.06× | 660 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 2.68× | 370 |
Related occupations
Part of the Public Service & Safety career cluster.
- Physicists · 19-2012.00 Compare →
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- Biochemists and Biophysicists · 19-1021.00 Compare →
- Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary · 25-1051.00 Compare →
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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 Astronomers — 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.
- Doctoral or professional degree · typical entry level
- Job zone 5 — Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Physical Sciences · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 73rd percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Astronomers show 87th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 100 annual U.S. openings
- Astronomers rank in the 87th 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 100 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 (+2.2%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $132,170, across about 1,560 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
- Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 59% 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
Astronomers show 87th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 100 annual U.S. openings • Astronomers rank in the 87th 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 100 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 (+2.2%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $132,170, across about 1,560 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) • Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 59% 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 — "Astronomers". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-2011-00 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. "Astronomers." 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-19-2011-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Astronomers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-2011-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-19-2011-00,
title = {Astronomers},
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-19-2011-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.