Food scientists and technologists
SOC Code: 19-1012
Food scientists and technologists carries a 34% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $85,310 and +6.5% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 15,200 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 34% AI exposure, Food scientists and technologists sits 3 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 43% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
75/100
Food scientists and technologists, 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 A- $85,310
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth A +6.5%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) C 34% 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 Food scientists and technologists in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Bachelor's band with mid-pack BLS pace
Food scientists and technologists 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 Food scientists and technologists sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Food scientists and technologists sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
34% Lower than most lower than 57% 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.
Food scientists and technologists vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Food scientists and technologists 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
Food scientists and technologists'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 19-1012) 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 Food scientists and technologists 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 Food scientists and technologists. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Inspect food processing areas to ensure compliance with government regulations and standards for sanitation, safety, quality, and waste management.
- 2. Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing, and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value.
- 3. Study methods to improve aspects of foods, such as chemical composition, flavor, color, texture, nutritional value, and convenience.
- 4. Develop food standards and production specifications, safety and sanitary regulations, and waste management and water supply specifications.
- 5. Stay up to date on new regulations and current events regarding food science by reviewing scientific literature.
- 6. Study the structure and composition of food or the changes foods undergo in storage and processing.
- 7. Confer with process engineers, plant operators, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product development.
- 8. Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards.
- 9. Develop new food items for production, based on consumer feedback.
- 10. Develop new or improved ways of preserving, processing, packaging, storing, and delivering foods, using knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, and other sciences.
Key Skills Required
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Speaking
- Science
- Complex Problem Solving
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Monitoring
Knowledge Areas
- Production and Processing
- Food Production
- Chemistry
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Engineering and Technology
- Biology
- Computers and Electronics
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Food scientists and technologists?
Food scientists and technologists has an AI exposure score of 34%, 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 Food scientists and technologists?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Food scientists and technologists is projected to grow by 6.5% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 15,200 workers.
What skills are needed for Food scientists and technologists?
Key skills for Food scientists and technologists include Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Active Learning, and others. Typical entry-level education is Bachelor's degree.
How much do Food scientists and technologists earn?
The median annual wage for Food scientists and technologists is $85,310, 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 Food scientists and technologists?
The typical entry-level education for Food scientists and technologists 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 Food scientists and technologists?
Food scientists and technologists 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 Food scientists and technologists: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (34% here).
- Animal control workers · AI exposure 34%
- Barbers · AI exposure 34%
- Bartenders · AI exposure 34%
- Coil winders, tapers, and finishers · AI exposure 34%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+6.5% here).
- Financial risk specialists · growth +6.5%
- Personal service managers, all other · growth +6.5%
- Audiovisual equipment installers and repairers · growth +6.6%
- Cartographers and photogrammetrists · growth +6.4%
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 Food scientists and technologists' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Food scientists and technologists 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).