Will AI replace soil and plant scientists?

Unlikely, though parts of the work are changing. About 1h 21m of an 8-hour shift goes to tasks touched by AI that people use as a helper. The breakdown: 1h 14m done by people with AI help, 7m that AI mostly does alone. The other 6h 39m (83%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 6.7% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

AI shows up regularly in 2 of 27 tasks, about 1h 21m of a typical shift. The biggest ones:

• Identify or classify species of insects or allied forms, such as mites or spiders. (7m a shift, AI mostly does it alone)
• Communicate research or project results to other professionals or the public or teach related courses, seminars, or workshops. (1h 14m a shift, people use AI to help)

Not in workplaces like this one, based on a 2026 review of robot deployments. 5 more tasks have only been done in factory setups built around the machine, so they stay with people here. For 3 physical tasks, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

6h 39m of a typical shift, or 83%, 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:

• Provide information or recommendations to farmers or other landowners regarding ways in which they can best use land, promote plant growth, or avoid or correct problems such as erosion. (41m a shift)
• Conduct experiments to develop new or improved varieties of field crops, focusing on characteristics such as yield, quality, disease resistance, nutritional value, or adaptation to specific soils or climates. (41m a shift)
• Conduct experiments to investigate the underlying mechanisms of plant growth and response to the environment. (34m a shift)
• Develop methods of conserving or managing soil that can be applied by farmers or forestry companies. (20m a shift)
• Investigate soil problems or poor water quality to determine sources and effects. (20m a shift)

Much of it comes down to where and how the work happens. In-person, hands-on and high-stakes work is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 57% carry high or very high responsibility for other workers' safety
• 57% talk face to face with others every day

For the 1 task in this job where AI shows up and timing data exists, a typical request takes about 16m for a person alone and about 4m with AI. These are Claude's own estimates from real conversations in April and May 2026 (Anthropic Economic Index). They describe single requests, not whole workdays, and time saved on a task doesn't mean jobs are cut. The biggest gaps:

• Identify or classify species of insects or allied forms, such as mites or spiders (about 16m alone, 4m with AI)

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 1,400 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 $78,850 a year ($37.91 an hour), 55% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $48,680 and $138,120 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 6.7% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 21,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 1,400 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 16,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.01% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 586th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 21,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is a master's degree: about 29% 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, Active Learning, Operations Analysis, Systems Evaluation
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 6h 39m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: R, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Excel, Autodesk AutoCAD, ESRI ArcGIS software
• Learn to use AI well on the tasks where it already shows up in this job (listed above)

These use similar skills, with less of a typical shift touched by AI or robots. 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:

• Animal Scientists (0m touched, $69k median pay)
• Conservation Scientists (18m touched, $73k median pay)
• Food Scientists and Technologists (42m touched, $89k median pay)
• Geoscientists (19m touched, $102k median pay)
• Environmental Restoration Planners (0m touched, $82k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 2 observed in real AI use, 25 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.