Skip to content
Singulariki

Programming

Cross-functional skill · O*NET work requirement

Writing computer programs for various purposes.

In the O*NET occupational database, Programming is a skill that work requires. O*NET rates how important it is (1–5) and what level of it a job needs (0–7) for every U.S. occupation. It is rated as important (3 or higher) in 26 of 894 occupations.

Breadth here means how widely O*NET rates this skill as important across occupations — not that it is rare, high-paying, or currently in employer demand.

Occupations that rely most on Programming

Ranked by O*NET importance to the occupation (1–5). Bars are sized against the 1–5 scale; the level column is what depth of the skill the job needs (0–7).

Occupation Importance Score Level
Computer Programmers 4.8 4.9
Web Developers 4.1 4.3
Software Developers 4.0 4.1
Video Game Designers 4.0 3.9
Computer Network Architects 3.9 3.6
Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers 3.8 3.6
Data Warehousing Specialists 3.8 3.8
Computer and Information Research Scientists 3.6 4.5
Network and Computer Systems Administrators 3.6 3.9
Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers 3.6 3.8
Computer Systems Engineers/Architects 3.5 4.3
Biostatisticians 3.4 4.0
Database Administrators 3.4 3.9
Database Architects 3.4 4.1
Physicists 3.4 3.9
Clinical Data Managers 3.3 3.6
Computer Systems Analysts 3.3 4.0
Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers 3.1 3.4
Bioinformatics Technicians 3.1 3.0
Information Security Engineers 3.1 3.4
Robotics Engineers 3.1 3.9
Web Administrators 3.1 2.9
Biologists 3.0 3.8
Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary 3.0 3.1
Statistical Assistants 3.0 3.5
Statisticians 3.0 3.1
Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians 2.9 3.1
Health Informatics Specialists 2.9 3.1
Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists 2.9 2.8
Robotics Technicians 2.9 2.8
Automotive Engineers 2.8 2.9
Computer and Information Systems Managers 2.8 2.6
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer 2.8 2.9
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists 2.8 2.9
Logistics Engineers 2.8 2.8
Remote Sensing Technicians 2.8 3.3
Search Marketing Strategists 2.8 2.1
Survey Researchers 2.8 2.9
Desktop Publishers 2.6 2.6
Financial Quantitative Analysts 2.6 2.6

How AI is used by roles that need Programming

This skill is not itself "being automated" — but we can look at the roles for which O*NET rates it important and ask how those people actually use AI. This rolls the Anthropic Economic Index per-role signal up across those roles (importance-weighted). 26.9% of the 26 roles where this is important carry observed AI-usage data (7 roles).

Across those roles, 49.8% of AI conversations are people working with AI and 39.2% hand a task to AI , with an average autonomy of 3.56 / 5.

Collaboration pattern Share What it means
directive 32.4% AI does it; you give the instruction
learning 25.1% you ask AI to explain or teach
task iteration 20.5% you and AI go back and forth
feedback loop 6.8% AI does it, then adjusts from your feedback
validation 4.3% you do it; AI checks your work

Roles behind this signal

The roles where this skill is most important and that also have the most AEI data. "Works with AI" is the role's share of conversations that augment rather than automate.

Occupation Importance Works with AI Autonomy
Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary 3.0 68.5% 4.0/5
Statisticians 3.0 54.2% 4.0/5
Robotics Engineers 3.1 42.0% 4.0/5
Biostatisticians 3.4 46.3% 3.0/5
Statistical Assistants 3.0 41.0% 3.0/5
Physicists 3.4 30.5% 3.0/5
Biomedical Engineers 3.1 68.7% 4.0/5

Source: Anthropic Economic Index (2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2) over a sample of Claude.ai Free and Pro conversations — not all AI tools and not the whole workforce. Shares are of observed conversations, weighted by how important this skill is to each role; some conversations are left unclassified by Anthropic's taxonomy, so shares need not sum to 100.

Industries that concentrate this

Where Programming matters most across the economy. Employment reach is the share of an industry's workers in occupations that significantly rely on Programming (O*NET importance ≥ 3 of 5). Concentration compares that reach to the national average industry, so a value above 1× means the requirement is more pervasive here than across the economy as a whole.

Nationally, about 2.3% of workers are in occupations that significantly rely on Programming (measured across 57 industries).

Sectors with the most such workers

Sector Workers Employment reach
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 1,303,070 12.1%
Information 541,980 18.6%
Finance and Insurance 325,040 5.2%
Manufacturing 265,780 2.1%
Management of Companies and Enterprises 241,450 8.6%
Educational Services 160,300 1.2%
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services 151,260 1.7%
Wholesale Trade 126,460 2.1%
Health Care and Social Assistance 90,630 0.4%
Transportation and Warehousing 33,260 0.4%
Retail Trade 26,450 0.2%
Other Services (except Public Administration) 23,810 0.5%

Industries where it is most concentrated

Industry Level Concentration Employment reach
Information Sector 8.09× 18.6%
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Sector 5.26× 12.1%
Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers National industry 3.83× 8.8%
Management of Companies and Enterprises Sector 3.74× 8.6%
Engineering Services National industry 2.61× 6.0%
Finance and Insurance Sector 2.26× 5.2%
Testing Laboratories and Services National industry 1.3× 3.0%
Temporary Help Services National industry 1.22× 2.8%
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages National industry 1.04× 2.4%
Machine Shops National industry 0.96× 2.2%
Manufacturing Sector 0.91× 2.1%
Wholesale Trade Sector 0.91× 2.1%

Reach is a measure of how widespread a requirement is across an industry's workforce, not how intensively any individual uses it. Sector worker counts come from BLS OEWS employment; the significance threshold and tool use come from O*NET. Industries shown by concentration are filtered to a real worker base so a tiny specialty cannot top the list on rounding.

Capabilities required by many of the same occupations — a measure of which skills, knowledge and abilities tend to travel together, not a judgment of similarity.

Capability Type Shared occupations
Technology Design Cross-functional skill 7
Operations Analysis Cross-functional skill 15
Telecommunications Knowledge 7
Mathematics Basic skill 20
Number Facility Ability 19
Mathematical Reasoning Ability 21
Systems Evaluation Cross-functional skill 25
Engineering and Technology Knowledge 16
Systems Analysis Cross-functional skill 25
Originality Ability 24
Design Knowledge 11
Science Basic skill 9

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. "Programming." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; Census NAICS 2022; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27). Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/skills/programming

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Programming. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/skills/programming

BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-programming,
  title  = {Programming},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; Census NAICS 2022; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27). Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/skills/programming}
}

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