Will AI replace animal scientists?

Not on current evidence. Less than 30 minutes of a typical shift goes to tasks that AI or robots are doing today. The other 8h (100%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 5.8% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

None of this job's tasks show regular AI use yet. That can mean the work is hands-on or in person, or simply that it rarely comes up in AI usage data.

Not in workplaces like this one, based on a 2026 review of robot deployments. For 1 physical task, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

8h of a typical shift, or 100%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Conduct research concerning animal nutrition, breeding, or management to improve products or processes. (1h 40m a shift)
• Write up or orally communicate research findings to the scientific community, producers, and the public. (1h 34m a shift)
• Study nutritional requirements of animals and nutritive values of animal feed materials. (1h 10m a shift)
• Develop improved practices in feeding, housing, sanitation, or parasite and disease control of animals. (47m a shift)
• Advise producers about improved products and techniques that could enhance their animal production efforts. (47m a shift)

Part of the answer is the setting, not just the tasks. Work that is in person, hands on or high stakes is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 57% say dealing with the public is very or extremely important
• 55% talk face to face with others every day
• 52% are in constant contact with other people

On Indeed, job postings in the Scientific Research & Development sector are at 84% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 19.9% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 200 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $68,940 a year ($33.14 an hour), 35% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $44,350 and $166,000 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects growth of 5.8% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 3,600 jobs in 2035. It expects about 200 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 3,100 people in the U.S., roughly 0.00% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 756th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 3,600 in 2035.

The most common requirement is a doctoral degree: about 43% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 5 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: graduate degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Science, Systems Analysis, Judgment and Decision Making, Complex Problem Solving
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 8h of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Autodesk AutoCAD, ESRI ArcGIS software, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software

These use similar skills. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Soil and Plant Scientists (1h 21m touched, $79k median pay)
• Food Scientists and Technologists (42m touched, $89k median pay)
• Microbiologists (1h 10m touched, $88k median pay)
• Postsecondary Agricultural Sciences Teachers (3h 36m touched, $99k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 9 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.