AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 15-2051.00
Will AI replace Data Scientists?
Data Scientists: AI can already handle 12 of 16 tasks; the work mostly needs a frontier-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 16 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Data Scientists, from most to least exposed. 12 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create graphs, charts, or other visualizations to convey the results of data analysis using specialized software. | Observed | Frontier | |
| Write new functions or applications in programming languages to conduct analyses. | Observed | Standard | |
| Propose solutions in engineering, the sciences, and other fields using mathematical theories and techniques. | Observed | Standard | |
| Analyze, manipulate, or process large sets of data using statistical software. | Observed | Standard | |
| Clean and manipulate raw data using statistical software. | Observed | Standard | |
| Identify solutions to business problems, such as budgeting, staffing, and marketing decisions, using the results of data analysis. | Observed | Frontier | |
| Apply feature selection algorithms to models predicting outcomes of interest, such as sales, attrition, and healthcare use. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Apply sampling techniques to determine groups to be surveyed or use complete enumeration methods. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Compare models using statistical performance metrics, such as loss functions or proportion of explained variance. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Deliver oral or written presentations of the results of mathematical modeling and data analysis to management or other end users. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Identify business problems or management objectives that can be addressed through data analysis. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Read scientific articles, conference papers, or other sources of research to identify emerging analytic trends and technologies. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Design surveys, opinion polls, or other instruments to collect data. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Identify relationships and trends or any factors that could affect the results of research. | Observed | Efficient | |
| Recommend data-driven solutions to key stakeholders. | Observed | Standard | |
| Test, validate, and reformulate models to ensure accurate prediction of outcomes of interest. | Observed | Standard |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 9 of 16 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 7 of 16. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 100% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 100% of the work is something AI can address at some tier.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 262,440
- Median annual wage
- $120,230
- Middle half of earners
- $85,660 to $158,880
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +33.5%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034. BLS publishes these figures by SOC code, so O*NET occupations that share a SOC code show the same figures.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Statisticians 73% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure62
- Business Intelligence Analysts 66% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure65
- Bioinformatics Scientists 65% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure60
- Data Warehousing Specialists 65% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure64
- Computer and Information Research Scientists 65% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure47
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Data Scientists and AI
Will AI replace Data Scientists?
AI already handles 12 of the 16 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 63 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +33.5% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Data Scientists?
63 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 9 of the 16 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 7 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Data Scientists tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Create graphs, charts, or other visualizations to convey the results of data analysis using specialized software; Write new functions or applications in programming languages to conduct analyses; Propose solutions in engineering, the sciences, and other fields using mathematical theories and techniques. They are three of the 12 tasks that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 100% of the role's importance-weighted task work. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Data Scientists, and what do they earn?
262,440 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $120,230 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +33.5% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Data Scientists. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/data-scientists
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