# Environmental Economists

> Conduct economic analysis related to environmental protection and use of the natural environment, such as water, air, land, and renewable energy resources. Evaluate and quantify benefits, costs, incentives, and impacts of alternative options using economic principles and statistical techniques.

- **SOC code:** 19-3011.01
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-3011-01
- **Also known as:** Environmental Economist, Natural Resource Economist, Research Economist, Resource Economist, Agricultural Economist, Ecological Economist, Energy Economist, Environment and Natural Resources Economics Researcher
- **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):
- Write technical documents or academic articles to communicate study results or economic forecasts.
- Conduct research on economic and environmental topics, such as alternative fuel use, public and private land use, soil conservation, air and water pollution control, and endangered species protection.
- Collect and analyze data to compare the environmental implications of economic policy or practice alternatives.
- Assess the costs and benefits of various activities, policies, or regulations that affect the environment or natural resource stocks.
- Prepare and deliver presentations to communicate economic and environmental study results, to present policy recommendations, or to raise awareness of environmental consequences.
- Develop programs or policy recommendations to achieve environmental goals in cost-effective ways.
- Develop economic models, forecasts, or scenarios to predict future economic and environmental outcomes.
- Demonstrate or promote the economic benefits of sound environmental regulations.
- Conduct research to study the relationships among environmental problems and patterns of economic production and consumption.
- Perform complex, dynamic, and integrated mathematical modeling of ecological, environmental, or economic systems.
- Write social, legal, or economic impact statements to inform decision makers for natural resource policies, standards, or programs.
- Teach courses in environmental economics.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Mathematics _(knowledge)_
- Economics and Accounting _(knowledge)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Writing _(essential_skill)_
- Mathematical Reasoning _(ability)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Mathematics _(essential_skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Written Expression _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Active Learning _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Complex Problem Solving _(Common Skill)_
- Systems Analysis _(Specialized Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- C _(hot technology)_
- C# _(hot technology)_
- C++ _(hot technology)_
- ESRI ArcGIS software _(hot technology)_
- IBM SPSS Statistics _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft SQL Server _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Visual Basic _(hot technology)_

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 99th percentile (High) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 96th percentile (High) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 95th percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 94th percentile (High) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 45th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** yes — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 1.2% growth (About average); 0.9k annual openings; 17.6k → 17.8k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $115,440; 15,880 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 36% automation, 54% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 4.0 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** task iteration.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Write technical documents or academic articles to communicate study results or economic forecasts. _(2.3% of measured AI use; task iteration)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me write technical documents or academic articles to communicate study results or economic forecasts.

## 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

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-3011-01_