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Industrial Ecologists

Occupation · SOC 19-2041.03

Apply principles and processes of natural ecosystems to develop models for efficient industrial systems. Use knowledge from the physical and social sciences to maximize effective use of natural resources in the production and use of goods and services. Examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment.

Also called: Ecologist · Environmental Consultant · Environmental Protection Agency Counselor · Research Scientist · Researcher · Aquatic Ecologist · Eco-Industrial Development Consultant · Ecological Professional · Environmental Business Development Associate · Environmental Protection Activist · Environmental Protection Specialist · Forest Ecologist

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-19-2041-03/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.

  • Examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment. · 1.1%
See how AI is used here →

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.

  • Examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment. · 100.0% need a human
See the boundary tasks →

78th-percentile task overlap — yet about 8,500 openings a year (+4.4% projected, BLS), and observed AI use leans 4909% 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 75th 1.0
LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) High 95th 1.0
AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Moderate 60th 0.2

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), 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 · 20th 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.

Examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment. 4.4%
Review research literature to maintain knowledge on topics related to industrial ecology, such as physical science, technology, economy, and public policy. 0.4%
Build and maintain databases of information about energy alternatives, pollutants, natural environments, industrial processes, and other information related to ecological change. 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 · +4.4% by 2034
Projected annual openings 8,500
Employment 2024 → 2034 90,300 → 94,300

“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.

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.

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 49.1% working with AI · 44.5% handed to AI
Most common way people use AI here Directive · AI does it; you give the instruction
Typical AI autonomy 4.0 / 5 · higher = AI acts more independently
Used for work (vs. personal / coursework) 20.9%

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
Examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment. Directive 1.1%

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.

Examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment. 100.0%

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 examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment.

    From: Examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment. · 1.1% of measured AI use · directive

Tasks

All 38 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

Emerging tasks

Newer responsibilities O*NET has flagged as growing for this occupation.

  • Conduct life cycle assessments of products.

Work activities

Knowledge, skills & abilities

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

Knowledge

Mathematics 4.3
Engineering and Technology 4.0
Chemistry 3.5
Computers and Electronics 3.4
Physics 3.3
English Language 3.2
Production and Processing 3.2
Design 3.2
Biology 3.1

Essential skills

Reading Comprehension 4.1
Active Listening 4.0
Writing 4.0
Speaking 4.0
Critical Thinking 3.9
Science 3.6
Active Learning 3.6
Mathematics 3.4
Monitoring 3.1
Learning Strategies 3.0

Abilities

Deductive Reasoning 4.1
Inductive Reasoning 4.1
Written Expression 4.0
Oral Expression 3.9
Problem Sensitivity 3.9
Oral Comprehension 3.8
Written Comprehension 3.8
Information Ordering 3.8
Near Vision 3.8
Speech Clarity 3.8
Mathematical Reasoning 3.6
Speech Recognition 3.6
Category Flexibility 3.5
Fluency of Ideas 3.4
Originality 3.4
Flexibility of Closure 3.3

Transferable skills

Complex Problem Solving 3.8
Judgment and Decision Making 3.8
Systems Analysis 3.8
Systems Evaluation 3.4
Social Perceptiveness 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.

Showing the top 40 of 53.

Tools & technology

Example Category
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet software Hot technology In demand
Adobe Acrobat Document management software Hot technology
Adobe Illustrator Graphics or photo imaging software Hot technology
Adobe Photoshop Graphics or photo imaging software Hot technology
Apache Hadoop Data base management system software Hot technology
Atlassian JIRA Project management software Hot technology
Autodesk AutoCAD Computer aided design CAD software Hot technology
C# Object or component oriented development software Hot technology
ESRI ArcGIS software Geographic information system Hot technology
Git File versioning software Hot technology
Linux Operating system software Hot technology
Microsoft Access Data base user interface and query software Hot technology
Microsoft Office software Office suite software Hot technology
Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation software Hot technology
Microsoft SharePoint Document management software Hot technology
Microsoft SQL Server Data base management system software Hot technology
Microsoft Visio Process mapping and design software Hot technology
Microsoft Visual Studio Development environment software Hot technology
Microsoft Windows Operating system software Hot technology
NoSQL Data base management system software Hot technology
Oracle Database Data base user interface and query software Hot technology
Oracle Java Object or component oriented development software Hot technology
Python Object or component oriented development software Hot technology
Salesforce software Customer relationship management CRM software Hot technology
SAP software Enterprise resource planning ERP software Hot technology
SAS Analytical or scientific software Hot technology
Splunk Enterprise Cloud-based management software Hot technology
The MathWorks MATLAB Analytical or scientific software Hot technology
Dassault Systemes CATIA Computer aided design CAD software
Debugging software Program testing software
Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment EIO-LCA Analytical or scientific software
Email software Electronic mail software
Microsoft Dynamics Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Online databases Data base user interface and query software
PRe Consultants SimaPro Analytical or scientific software
Production Flow Analysis and Simplification Toolkit PFAST Analytical or scientific software
Productivity software Project management software
Sales Automation Software Sales and marketing software
StataCorp Stata Analytical or scientific software

Showing the top 40 of 45.

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 4.9
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals 4.4
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams 4.4
Freedom to Make Decisions 4.3
Telephone Conversations 4.2
Spend Time Sitting 4.2
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate 4.1
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team 3.9
Contact With Others 3.6
Written Letters and Memos 3.5
Level of Competition 3.4
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled 3.4
Time Pressure 3.4
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results 3.2
Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities 3.1
Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers 3.0
Frequency of Decision Making 2.8
Public Speaking 2.8
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General 2.6
Physical Proximity 2.6
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks 2.6
Conflict Situations 2.4
Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions 2.3
Health and Safety of Other Workers 2.3
Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled 2.1
Consequence of Error 2.0
Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable 2.0
Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People 2.0
In an Enclosed Vehicle or Operate Enclosed Equipment 2.0
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls 2.0
Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions 1.9
Spend Time Standing 1.9
Exposed to Contaminants 1.8
Outdoors, Under Cover 1.8
Degree of Automation 1.6
Spend Time Walking or Running 1.6
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets 1.6
Exposed to Extremely Bright or Inadequate Lighting Conditions 1.5
Exposed to Hazardous Conditions 1.4
Exposed to Very Hot or Cold Temperatures 1.4

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: Biological and Biomedical Sciences , Health Professions and Related Programs , Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies , Natural Resources and Conservation , 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.

Master's Degree 65.2%
Bachelor's Degree 21.7%
Doctoral Degree 8.7%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate 4.3%

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 4.6
Conventional 4.0
Enterprising 3.0
Artistic 2.1
Social 1.9

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

$50k10th$62k25th$80kMedian$104k75th$135k90th
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.
90k202494k2034 (proj.)+4.4% · 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 $50,130
25th percentile $62,090
Median (50th) $80,060
75th percentile $103,730
90th percentile $134,830
People employed 84,930

Wages and employment are reported by BLS for the broader occupation group this specialty belongs to (SOC 19-2041), not for the specialty alone.

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 32,170 $77,920
Engineering Services · National industry 8,940 $77,960
Educational Services · Sector 2,640 $82,360
Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector 2,610 $74,910
Testing Laboratories and Services · National industry 2,130 $62,040
Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector 1,910 $101,330
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector 1,690 $74,670
Manufacturing · Sector 1,220 $107,990
Utilities · Sector 1,160 $108,480
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction · Sector 690 $73,180
Temporary Help Services · National industry 370 $65,110
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation · National industry 340 $108,690

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 22.69× 2,130
Engineering Services · National industry 14.04× 8,940
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation · National industry 8.66× 340
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector 5.42× 32,170
Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities · National industry 5.08× 170
Nuclear Electric Power Generation · National industry 4.89× 100
Utilities · Sector 3.63× 1,160
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction · Sector 2.18× 690

Part of the Advanced Manufacturing , Energy & Natural Resources , Healthcare & Human Services and Public Service & Safety career clusters.

Exposure quadrant: AI task-overlap percentile vs Median pay Industrial Ecologists sits at the 78th percentile of AI task-overlap and the 70th 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 Industrial Ecologists Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health Conservation Scientists Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers Hydrologists Hydrologic Technicians Environmental Engineers 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 Industrial Ecologists — 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 74th percentile of 427 international occupations.

Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation

Industrial Ecologists show 78th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 8,500 annual U.S. openings

  • Industrial Ecologists rank in the 78th 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 8,500 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 (+4.4%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
  • Median annual pay is $80,060, across about 84,930 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
  • Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 49% 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
Industrial Ecologists show 78th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 8,500 annual U.S. openings

• Industrial Ecologists rank in the 78th 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 8,500 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 (+4.4%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34)
• Median annual pay is $80,060, across about 84,930 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024))
• Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 49% 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 — "Industrial Ecologists". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-2041-03
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. "Industrial Ecologists." 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-19-2041-03

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Industrial Ecologists. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-2041-03

BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-19-2041-03,
  title  = {Industrial Ecologists},
  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-19-2041-03}
}

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

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