AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 19-1022.00
Will AI replace Microbiologists?
Microbiologists: AI can already handle 8 of 14 tasks; the work mostly needs a frontier-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 14 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Microbiologists, from most to least exposed. 8 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use a variety of specialized equipment, such as electron microscopes, gas and high-pressure liquid chromatographs, electrophoresis units, thermocyclers, fluorescence-activated cell sorters, and phosphorimagers. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Provide laboratory services for health departments, community environmental health programs, and physicians needing information for diagnosis and treatment. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Monitor and perform tests on water, food, and the environment to detect harmful microorganisms or to obtain information about sources of pollution, contamination, or infection. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Examine physiological, morphological, and cultural characteristics, using microscope, to identify and classify microorganisms in human, water, and food specimens. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Supervise biological technologists and technicians and other scientists. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Investigate the relationship between organisms and disease, including the control of epidemics and the effects of antibiotics on microorganisms. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Prepare technical reports and recommendations, based upon research outcomes. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Conduct chemical analyses of substances such as acids, alcohols, and enzymes. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Research use of bacteria and microorganisms to develop vitamins, antibiotics, amino acids, grain alcohol, sugars, and polymers. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Observe action of microorganisms upon living tissues of plants, higher animals, and other microorganisms, and on dead organic matter. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Study growth, structure, development, and general characteristics of bacteria and other microorganisms to understand their relationship to human, plant, and animal health. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Study the structure and function of human, animal, and plant tissues, cells, pathogens, and toxins. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Develop new products and procedures for sterilization, food and pharmaceutical supply preservation, or microbial contamination detection. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Isolate and maintain cultures of bacteria or other microorganisms in prescribed or developed media, controlling moisture, aeration, temperature, and nutrition. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 14 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 14 of 14. 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 92% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 92% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 8% is hands-on.
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
- 18,940
- Median annual wage
- $87,990
- Middle half of earners
- $67,100 to $122,350
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +4.1%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
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.
- Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists 71% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure65
- Biologists 71% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure56
- Molecular and Cellular Biologists 68% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure61
- Epidemiologists 66% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure55
- Biochemists and Biophysicists 66% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure57
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Microbiologists and AI
Will AI replace Microbiologists?
AI already handles 8 of the 14 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 55 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 +4.1% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Microbiologists?
55 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. 0 of the 14 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 14 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Microbiologists tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Use a variety of specialized equipment, such as electron microscopes, gas and high-pressure liquid chromatographs, electrophoresis units, thermocyclers, fluorescence-activated cell sorters, and phosphorimagers; Provide laboratory services for health departments, community environmental health programs, and physicians needing information for diagnosis and treatment; Monitor and perform tests on water, food, and the environment to detect harmful microorganisms or to obtain information about sources of pollution, contamination, or infection. They are three of the 8 tasks that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 92% 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 Microbiologists, and what do they earn?
18,940 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $87,990 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +4.1% 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: Microbiologists. 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/microbiologists
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