Loan officers
SOC Code: 13-2072
Loan officers carries a 69% AI exposure score (Very High automation risk), with a median annual wage of $74,180 and +1.7% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 301,400 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 69% AI exposure, Loan officers sits 32 points above the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 97% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
40/100
Loan officers, 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 $74,180
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth D +1.7%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) F 69% 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 Loan officers in the Very High band.
Credential × growth standing
Bachelor's band with mid-pack BLS pace
Loan officers shares the Bachelor's gate with 178 peer occupations and lands in Slow growth (245 of 832). Neither the rarest nor the most crowded growth shelf - use wage and AI desks on this page for the differentiator.
Where Loan officers sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Loan officers sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
69% Higher than most higher than 97% 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.
Loan officers vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Loan officers 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
Loan officers's Very High 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 in the 40–70% range indicates meaningful automation pressure on specific task categories, but the role as a whole still requires human judgment for coordination, exception handling, or client interaction.
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 13-2072) 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 Loan officers 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 Loan officers. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Meet with applicants to obtain information for loan applications and to answer questions about the process.
- 2. Analyze applicants' financial status, credit, and property evaluations to determine feasibility of granting loans.
- 3. Approve loans within specified limits, and refer loan applications outside those limits to management for approval.
- 4. Explain to customers the different types of loans and credit options that are available, as well as the terms of those services.
- 5. Submit applications to credit analysts for verification and recommendation.
- 6. Review loan agreements to ensure that they are complete and accurate according to policy.
- 7. Review and update credit and loan files.
- 8. Obtain and compile copies of loan applicants' credit histories, corporate financial statements, and other financial information.
- 9. Work with clients to identify their financial goals and to find ways of reaching those goals.
- 10. Handle customer complaints and take appropriate action to resolve them.
Key Skills Required
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Mathematics
- Social Perceptiveness
- Complex Problem Solving
- Active Learning
Knowledge Areas
- Customer and Personal Service
- Economics and Accounting
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Sales and Marketing
- Law and Government
- Administration and Management
- Education and Training
- Administrative
- Computers and Electronics
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Loan officers?
Loan officers has an AI exposure score of 69%, indicating a very high level of automation risk. Some tasks in this role can be augmented or partially automated by AI, but core responsibilities require human judgment.
What is the job outlook for Loan officers?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Loan officers is projected to grow by 1.7% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 301,400 workers.
What skills are needed for Loan officers?
Key skills for Loan officers include Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, and others. Typical entry-level education is Bachelor's degree.
How much do Loan officers earn?
The median annual wage for Loan officers is $74,180, 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 Loan officers?
The typical entry-level education for Loan officers is Bachelor's degree. Employers generally expect Less than 5 years of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Moderate-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Loan officers?
Loan officers 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
Very High automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. A majority of tasks in this occupation are susceptible to AI automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Loan officers: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (69% here).
- Compliance officers · AI exposure 69%
- Insurance claims and policy processing clerks · AI exposure 69%
- Life, physical, and social science technicians, all other · AI exposure 69%
- Production, planning, and expediting clerks · AI exposure 69%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+1.7% here).
- Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary · growth +1.7%
- Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians · growth +1.7%
- Education administrators, postsecondary · growth +1.7%
- Industrial engineering technologists and technicians · growth +1.7%
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
What to do with this
Use Loan officers' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Loan officers 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).