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Survey Researchers

Occupation · SOC 19-3022.00

Plan, develop, or conduct surveys. May analyze and interpret the meaning of survey data, determine survey objectives, or suggest or test question wording. Includes social scientists who primarily design questionnaires or supervise survey teams.

Also called: Research Associate · Research Scientist · Survey Methodologist · Survey Researcher · Data Analyst · Market Survey Representative · Research Fellow · Research Interviewer · Survey Statistician · Telephone Interviewer · Analytic Methodologist · Bilingual Field Interviewer

Job family: Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations

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A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch /roles/role-19-3022-00/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.

Often handed to AI

Task areas most often handled directively in observed AI conversations — candidates to delegate with light review.

  • Conduct research to gather information about survey topics. · 5.2%
  • Review, classify, and record survey data in preparation for computer analysis. · 3.3%
  • Prepare and present summaries and analyses of survey data, including tables, graphs, and fact sheets that describe survey techniques and results. · 2.5%
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.

  • Review, classify, and record survey data in preparation for computer analysis. · 98.8% need a human
  • Conduct research to gather information about survey topics. · 98.5% need a human
  • Prepare and present summaries and analyses of survey data, including tables, graphs, and fact sheets that describe survey techniques and results. · 96.8% need a human
See the boundary tasks →

80th-percentile task overlap — yet about 700 openings a year (-5.2% projected, BLS), and observed AI use leans 4246% 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 97th 1.4
LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) High 95th 1.0
AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Moderate 43rd 0.1

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.3), with simple added tooling (β 0.6), 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 0.2 · 35th percentile among occupations · Moderate

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.

Analyze data from surveys, old records, or case studies, using statistical software. 10.6%
Conduct research to gather information about survey topics. 2.5%
Prepare and present summaries and analyses of survey data, including tables, graphs, and fact sheets that describe survey techniques and results. 2.4%
Review, classify, and record survey data in preparation for computer analysis. 1.9%
Determine and specify details of survey projects, including sources of information, procedures to be used, and the design of survey instruments and materials. 0.4%
Collaborate with other researchers in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of surveys. 0.3%

Job outlook

Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.

Outlook Declining · -5.2% by 2034
Projected annual openings 700
Employment 2024 → 2034 8,800 → 8,300

“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.

56% mean task exposure (2025)
94th percentile of 427 placed occupations
+6 pts shift 2023 → 2025
International occupation (ISCO-08) Task exposure (2025) Most tasks fall in
Mathematicians, Actuaries and Statisticians · 2120 56% Gradient 3

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 42.5% working with AI · 52.3% handed to AI
Most common way people use AI here Directive · AI does it; you give the instruction
Typical AI autonomy 3.0 / 5 · higher = AI acts more independently
Used for work (vs. personal / coursework) 41.7%

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
Conduct research to gather information about survey topics. Directive 5.2%
Review, classify, and record survey data in preparation for computer analysis. Directive 3.3%
Prepare and present summaries and analyses of survey data, including tables, graphs, and fact sheets that describe survey techniques and results. Directive 2.5%
Analyze data from surveys, old records, or case studies, using statistical software. Directive 1.0%

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.

Review, classify, and record survey data in preparation for computer analysis. 98.8%
Conduct research to gather information about survey topics. 98.5%
Prepare and present summaries and analyses of survey data, including tables, graphs, and fact sheets that describe survey techniques and results. 96.8%
Analyze data from surveys, old records, or case studies, using statistical software. 84.6%

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 conduct research to gather information about survey topics.

    From: Conduct research to gather information about survey topics. · 5.2% of measured AI use · directive

  • Help me review, classify, and record survey data in preparation for computer analysis.

    From: Review, classify, and record survey data in preparation for computer analysis. · 3.3% of measured AI use · directive

  • Help me prepare and present summaries and analyses of survey data, including tables, graphs, and fact sheets that describe survey techniques and results.

    From: Prepare and present summaries and analyses of survey data, including tables, graphs, and fact sheets that describe survey techniques and results. · 2.5% of measured AI use · directive

  • Help me analyze data from surveys, old records, or case studies, using statistical software.

    From: Analyze data from surveys, old records, or case studies, using statistical software. · 1.0% of measured AI use · directive

Tasks

All 16 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

Work activities

Knowledge, skills & abilities

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

Knowledge

English Language 4.6
Sociology and Anthropology 3.9
Mathematics 3.7
Computers and Electronics 3.6
Administration and Management 3.5
Customer and Personal Service 3.5
Psychology 3.5

Abilities

Inductive Reasoning 4.5
Written Expression 4.4
Written Comprehension 4.3
Oral Comprehension 4.1
Oral Expression 4.1
Deductive Reasoning 4.1
Information Ordering 4.1
Mathematical Reasoning 4.0
Near Vision 4.0
Speech Clarity 4.0
Number Facility 3.9
Speech Recognition 3.9
Problem Sensitivity 3.5
Category Flexibility 3.5
Fluency of Ideas 3.4
Flexibility of Closure 3.3

Essential skills

Reading Comprehension 4.3
Active Listening 4.3
Writing 4.3
Speaking 4.3
Critical Thinking 4.3
Mathematics 4.0
Active Learning 3.9
Learning Strategies 3.3
Monitoring 3.1

Transferable skills

Complex Problem Solving 3.9
Judgment and Decision Making 3.8
Coordination 3.4
Systems Analysis 3.3
Systems Evaluation 3.3
Social Perceptiveness 3.1
Service Orientation 3.1
Time Management 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 47.

Tools & technology

Example Category
IBM SPSS Statistics Analytical or scientific software Hot technology In demand
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet software Hot technology In demand
Microsoft Office software Office suite software Hot technology In demand
Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation software Hot technology In demand
Python Object or component oriented development software Hot technology In demand
R Object or component oriented development software Hot technology In demand
SAS Analytical or scientific software Hot technology In demand
C++ Object or component oriented development software Hot technology
Extensible markup language XML Enterprise application integration software Hot technology
JavaScript Web platform development software Hot technology
Microsoft Access Data base user interface and query software Hot technology
Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP Web platform development software Hot technology
Microsoft Project Project management software Hot technology
Microsoft Teams Project management software Hot technology
Microsoft Word Word processing software Hot technology
Oracle Java Object or component oriented development software Hot technology
Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise resource planning ERP software Hot technology
Perl Object or component oriented development software Hot technology
Structured query language SQL Data base user interface and query software Hot technology
Tableau Business intelligence and data analysis software Hot technology
The MathWorks MATLAB Analytical or scientific software Hot technology
Zoom Video conferencing software Hot technology
Qualtrics Insight Project management software In demand
REDCap Research Electronic Data Capture Analytical or scientific software In demand
StataCorp Stata Analytical or scientific software In demand
Acarda CallAssist Expert system software
Acarda ForbiddenCalls Data base user interface and query software
Adobe ColdFusion Web page creation and editing software
Apian SurveyPro Data base user interface and query software
Argus Perceptual Mapper Analytical or scientific software
Askia Design Data base user interface and query software
Askia Vista Data base user interface and query software
Askia Web Data base user interface and query software
Askiaanalyse Analytical or scientific software
Askiaface Data base user interface and query software
Askiavoice Data base user interface and query software
CfMC COSI Graphics or photo imaging software
CfMC SoundSurvent Interactive voice response software
COMCON DataFriend Presentation software
Computer assisted telephone interviewing CATI software Expert system software

Showing the top 40 of 98.

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 5.0
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled 4.8
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate 4.6
Spend Time Sitting 4.5
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team 4.5
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams 4.4
Telephone Conversations 4.3
Freedom to Make Decisions 4.1
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General 4.0
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals 4.0
Time Pressure 4.0
Contact With Others 3.9
Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities 3.8
Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers 3.7
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results 3.6
Frequency of Decision Making 3.2
Level of Competition 3.1
Written Letters and Memos 3.0
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks 2.9
Consequence of Error 2.8
Physical Proximity 2.5
Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People 2.4
Public Speaking 2.4
Conflict Situations 2.3
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls 2.3
Degree of Automation 2.2
Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions 2.2
Health and Safety of Other Workers 2.1
Spend Time Standing 1.8
Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable 1.6
Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions 1.5
Spend Time Walking or Running 1.5
Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled 1.4
In an Enclosed Vehicle or Operate Enclosed Equipment 1.4
Outdoors, Under Cover 1.4
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets 1.2
Exposed to Very Hot or Cold Temperatures 1.1
Wear Specialized Protective or Safety Equipment such as Breathing Apparatus, Safety Harness, Full Protection Suits, or Radiation Protection 1.1
Exposed to Extremely Bright or Inadequate Lighting Conditions 1.1
Dealing with Violent or Physically Aggressive People 1.1

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
Master'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: Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services , Education , Mathematics and Statistics , Social 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.

Bachelor's Degree 50.0%
Master's Degree 38.5%
Post-Master's Certificate 3.9%
First Professional Degree 3.9%
Doctoral Degree 3.9%

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Investigative 6.1
Conventional 5.3
Enterprising 3.0
Social 2.3
Artistic 2.3

Interest areas

Social Science 5.3
Mathematics/Statistics 5.2
Office Work 3.2
Management/Administration 2.9
Information Technology 2.6
Public Speaking 2.1
Accounting 1.9
Politics 1.9

Work styles

Dependability 3.0
Attention to Detail 2.6
Intellectual Curiosity 2.3

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

$37k10th$46k25th$63kMedian$85k75th$119k90th
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.
9k20248k2034 (proj.)-5.2% · Declining
Projected U.S. employment, 2024–2034 (BLS Employment Projections). A labor-market forecast for the occupation, not an AI-impact forecast.
10th percentile $36,950
25th percentile $46,110
Median (50th) $63,380
75th percentile $85,370
90th percentile $118,730
People employed 7,720

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 4,700 $64,640
Educational Services · Sector 1,490 $63,290
Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector 260 $61,530
Engineering Services · National industry 180 $76,260
Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector 160 $56,100
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector 120 $63,960
Temporary Help Services · National industry 50 $68,290
Information · Sector $57,920
Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities · National industry $86,630

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 8.72× 4,700
Engineering Services · National industry 3.11× 180
Educational Services · Sector 2.18× 1,490
Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector 1.17× 260
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector 0.27× 120
Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector 0.14× 160

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

Exposure quadrant: AI task-overlap percentile vs Median pay Survey Researchers sits at the 80th percentile of AI task-overlap and the 52nd 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 Survey Researchers Interviewers, Except Eligibility and Loan Social Science Research Assistants Management Analysts Industrial-Organizational Psychologists Statistical Assistants Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists 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 Survey Researchers — 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 94th percentile of 427 international occupations.

Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation

Survey Researchers show 80th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 700 annual U.S. openings

  • Survey Researchers rank in the 80th 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 700 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 declining (-5.2%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
  • Median annual pay is $63,380, across about 7,720 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
  • Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 42% 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
Survey Researchers show 80th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 700 annual U.S. openings

• Survey Researchers rank in the 80th 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 700 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 declining (-5.2%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34)
• Median annual pay is $63,380, across about 7,720 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024))
• Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 42% 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 — "Survey Researchers". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-3022-00
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.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Survey Researchers." 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-19-3022-00

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Survey Researchers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-3022-00

BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-19-3022-00,
  title  = {Survey Researchers},
  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-19-3022-00}
}

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

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