AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 19-3094.00

Will AI replace Political Scientists?

Political Scientists: AI can already handle 9 of 14 tasks; the work mostly needs a standard-tier model.

Have a team in this role?

Get your free 10-role sample: send this role and up to nine others, and a founder sends a board-pack PDF within two business days.

Get your free 10-role sample Book a 15-minute call

Every task, scored

The 14 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Political Scientists, from most to least exposed. 9 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Write drafts of legislative proposals, and prepare speeches, correspondence, and policy papers for governmental use. 85 Estimated Efficient 2.2
Disseminate research results through academic publications, written reports, or public presentations. 75 Estimated Efficient 4.3
Serve on committees. 75 Estimated Frontier 3.1
Provide media commentary or criticism related to public policy and political issues and events. 75 Estimated Standard 2.6
Forecast political, economic, and social trends. 74 Observed Efficient 3.0
Evaluate programs and policies, and make related recommendations to institutions and organizations. 65 Estimated Standard 2.7
Advise political science students. 65 Observed Standard 4.2
Identify issues for research and analysis. 65 Observed Standard 3.9
Consult with and advise government officials, civic bodies, research agencies, the media, political parties, and others concerned with political issues. 60 Estimated Standard 2.7
Develop and test theories, using information from interviews, newspapers, periodicals, case law, historical papers, polls, or statistical sources. 50 Estimated Frontier 4.5
Collect, analyze, and interpret data, such as election results and public opinion surveys, reporting on findings, recommendations, and conclusions. 40 Observed Efficient 4.0
Interpret and analyze policies, public issues, legislation, or the operations of governments, businesses, and organizations. 40 Observed Efficient 4.0
Teach political science. 35 Estimated Efficient 4.6
Maintain current knowledge of government policy decisions. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.5

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 5 of 14 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 9 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 standard-tier model or lower covers 85% 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
5,540
Median annual wage
$142,080
Middle half of earners
$114,030 to $174,180
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
-3.1%

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.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Political Scientists and AI

Will AI replace Political Scientists?

AI already handles 9 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 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 -3.1% from 2024 to 2034.

What is the AI exposure of Political Scientists?

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. 5 of the 14 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 9 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Political Scientists tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: Write drafts of legislative proposals, and prepare speeches, correspondence, and policy papers for governmental use; Disseminate research results through academic publications, written reports, or public presentations; Serve on committees. They are three of the 9 tasks that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

A standard-tier model or lower covers 85% 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 Political Scientists, and what do they earn?

5,540 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $142,080 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of -3.1% 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: Political 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/political-scientists

Have a team in this role?

Get your free 10-role sample. Send this role and up to nine others, with no employee data, and a founder sends a PDF in board-pack format within two business days.

Get your free 10-role sample Book a 15-minute call

A founder replies within one business day.