AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 19-1029.02
Will AI replace Molecular and Cellular Biologists?
Molecular and Cellular Biologists: AI can already handle 15 of 22 tasks; the work mostly needs a frontier-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 22 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Molecular and Cellular Biologists, from most to least exposed. 15 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare or review reports, manuscripts, or meeting presentations. | Observed | Efficient | |
| Monitor or operate specialized equipment, such as gas chromatographs and high pressure liquid chromatographs, electrophoresis units, thermocyclers, fluorescence activated cell sorters, and phosphorimagers. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Compile and analyze molecular or cellular experimental data and adjust experimental designs as necessary. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Verify all financial, physical, and human resources assigned to research or development projects are used as planned. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Design molecular or cellular laboratory experiments, oversee their execution, and interpret results. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Evaluate new technologies to enhance or complement current research. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Evaluate new supplies and equipment to ensure operability in specific laboratory settings. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Confer with vendors to evaluate new equipment or reagents or to discuss the customization of product lines to meet user requirements. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Write grant applications to obtain funding. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Perform laboratory procedures following protocols including deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing, cloning and extraction, ribonucleic acid (RNA) purification, or gel electrophoresis. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Conduct research on cell organization and function, including mechanisms of gene expression, cellular bioinformatics, cell signaling, or cell differentiation. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Instruct undergraduate and graduate students within the areas of cellular or molecular biology. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Provide scientific direction for project teams regarding the evaluation or handling of devices, drugs, or cells for in vitro and in vivo disease models. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Supervise technical personnel and postdoctoral research fellows. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Conduct applied research aimed at improvements in areas such as disease testing, crop quality, pharmaceuticals, and the harnessing of microbes to recycle waste. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Direct, coordinate, organize, or prioritize biological laboratory activities. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Develop guidelines for procedures such as the management of viruses. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Develop assays that monitor cell characteristics. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Coordinate molecular or cellular research activities with scientists specializing in other fields. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Participate in all levels of bioproduct development, including proposing new products, performing market analyses, designing and performing experiments, and collaborating with operations and quality control teams during product launches. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Design databases, such as mutagenesis libraries. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Maintain accurate laboratory records and data. | Estimated | Efficient |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 1 of 22 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 21 of 22. 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
- 55,850
- Median annual wage
- $98,920
- Middle half of earners
- $76,800 to $127,670
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +1.2%
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.
- Biologists 78% skill overlap, about 8 months to move Exposure56
- Biochemists and Biophysicists 73% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure57
- Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists 70% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure65
- Microbiologists 68% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure55
- Geneticists 67% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure59
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Molecular and Cellular Biologists and AI
Will AI replace Molecular and Cellular Biologists?
AI already handles 15 of the 22 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 61 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 +1.2% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Molecular and Cellular Biologists?
61 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. 1 of the 22 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 21 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Molecular and Cellular Biologists tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Prepare or review reports, manuscripts, or meeting presentations; Monitor or operate specialized equipment, such as gas chromatographs and high pressure liquid chromatographs, electrophoresis units, thermocyclers, fluorescence activated cell sorters, and phosphorimagers; Compile and analyze molecular or cellular experimental data and adjust experimental designs as necessary. They are three of the 15 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 Molecular and Cellular Biologists, and what do they earn?
55,850 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $98,920 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +1.2% 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: Molecular and Cellular Biologists. 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/molecular-and-cellular-biologists
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