AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 11-9121.00
Will AI replace Natural Sciences Managers?
Natural Sciences Managers: AI can already handle 8 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 Natural Sciences Managers, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hire, supervise, or evaluate engineers, technicians, researchers, or other staff. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Confer with scientists, engineers, regulators, or others to plan or review projects or to provide technical assistance. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Prepare and administer budgets, approve and review expenditures, and prepare financial reports. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Review project activities and prepare and review research, testing, or operational reports. | Observed | Frontier | |
| Advise or assist in obtaining patents or meeting other legal requirements. | Observed | Frontier | |
| Prepare project proposals. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Conduct own research in field of expertise. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Make presentations at professional meetings to further knowledge in the field. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Plan or direct research, development, or production activities. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Provide for stewardship of plant or animal resources or habitats, studying land use, monitoring animal populations, or providing shelter, resources, or medical treatment for animals. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Develop client relationships and communicate with clients to explain proposals, present research findings, establish specifications, or discuss project status. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Determine scientific or technical goals within broad outlines provided by top management and make detailed plans to accomplish these goals. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Develop or implement policies, standards, or procedures for the architectural, scientific, or technical work performed to ensure regulatory compliance or operations enhancement. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Recruit personnel or oversee the development or maintenance of staff competence. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Develop innovative technology or train staff for its implementation. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Design or coordinate successive phases of problem analysis, solution proposals, or testing. | Observed | Standard |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 3 of 16 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 13 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
- 108,690
- Median annual wage
- $167,220
- Middle half of earners
- $119,430 to $221,540
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +3.7%
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.
- Range Managers 65% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure42
- Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers 64% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure46
- Architectural and Engineering Managers 62% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure63
- Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists 61% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure65
- Conservation Scientists 61% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure59
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Natural Sciences Managers and AI
Will AI replace Natural Sciences Managers?
AI already handles 8 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 56 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 +3.7% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Natural Sciences Managers?
56 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. 3 of the 16 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 13 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Natural Sciences Managers tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Hire, supervise, or evaluate engineers, technicians, researchers, or other staff; Confer with scientists, engineers, regulators, or others to plan or review projects or to provide technical assistance; Prepare and administer budgets, approve and review expenditures, and prepare financial reports. 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 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 Natural Sciences Managers, and what do they earn?
108,690 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $167,220 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +3.7% 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: Natural Sciences Managers. 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/natural-sciences-managers
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