Environmental scientists and specialists, including health
SOC Code: 19-2041
Environmental scientists and specialists, including health carries a 36% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $80,060 and +4.4% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 90,300 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 36% AI exposure, Environmental scientists and specialists, including health sits 1 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 56% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
65/100
Environmental scientists and specialists, including health, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage B+ $80,060
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth B +4.4%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) D 36% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Environmental scientists and specialists, including health in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Bachelor's band with mid-pack BLS pace
Environmental scientists and specialists, including health shares the Bachelor's gate with 178 peer occupations and lands in Average (378 of 832). Neither the rarest nor the most crowded growth shelf - use wage and AI desks on this page for the differentiator.
Where Environmental scientists and specialists, including health sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Environmental scientists and specialists, including health sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
36% Around the middle lower than 44% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Environmental scientists and specialists, including health vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Environmental scientists and specialists, including health's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 19-2041) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Environmental scientists and specialists, including health be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Environmental scientists and specialists, including health. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Provide analytical support for policy briefs related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, or climate change.
- 2. Propose new or modified policies involving use of traditional and alternative fuels, transportation of goods, and other factors relating to climate and climate change.
- 3. Develop environmental restoration project schedules and budgets.
- 4. Provide technical direction on environmental planning to energy engineers, biologists, geologists, or other professionals working to develop restoration plans or strategies.
- 5. Identify environmental impacts caused by products, systems, or projects.
- 6. Identify or develop strategies or methods to minimize the environmental impact of industrial production processes.
- 7. Create habitat management or restoration plans, such as native tree restoration and weed control.
- 8. Conduct site assessments to certify a habitat or to ascertain environmental damage or restoration needs.
- 9. Analyze changes designed to improve the environmental performance of complex systems and avoid unintended negative consequences.
- 10. Prepare study reports, memoranda, briefs, testimonies, or other written materials to inform government or environmental groups on environmental issues, such as climate change.
Key Skills Required
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Complex Problem Solving
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Systems Analysis
- Science
- Active Learning
Knowledge Areas
- Mathematics
- Engineering and Technology
- Chemistry
- Computers and Electronics
- Physics
- English Language
- Production and Processing
- Design
- Biology
- Geography
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Environmental scientists and specialists, including health?
Environmental scientists and specialists, including health has an AI exposure score of 36%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Environmental scientists and specialists, including health?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Environmental scientists and specialists, including health is projected to grow by 4.4% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 90,300 workers.
What skills are needed for Environmental scientists and specialists, including health?
Key skills for Environmental scientists and specialists, including health include Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, and others. Typical entry-level education is Bachelor's degree.
How much do Environmental scientists and specialists, including health earn?
The median annual wage for Environmental scientists and specialists, including health is $80,060, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Environmental scientists and specialists, including health?
The typical entry-level education for Environmental scientists and specialists, including health is Bachelor's degree. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves None. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Environmental scientists and specialists, including health?
Environmental scientists and specialists, including health roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Environmental scientists and specialists, including health: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (36% here).
- Amusement and recreation attendants · AI exposure 36%
- Communications teachers, postsecondary · AI exposure 36%
- Computer network support specialists · AI exposure 36%
- Computer numerically controlled tool operators · AI exposure 36%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+4.4% here).
- General and operations managers · growth +4.4%
- Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors · growth +4.4%
- Helpers, construction trades, all other · growth +4.4%
- Social science research assistants · growth +4.4%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 30 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Environmental scientists and specialists, including health's numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Environmental scientists and specialists, including health side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).