← All 785 jobsFile 19-3041
Sociologists
Heavily edited
AI already performs a large share of the work in this job. Even so, the BLS expects 3.8% more of these jobs by 2035, faster than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- #73 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +3.8% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $106,030 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 2,700 in the US, with about 200 openings a year
The work, 12 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
AI does this: Research historical or social issues19%
AI performed this in about 1 in 360 Copilot conversations and completed it 88% of the time.
AI does this: Present research or technical information18%
AI performed this in about 1 in 30 Copilot conversations and completed it 90% of the time.
Still yours: Develop research plans or methodologies13%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Collect information about patients or clients9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Analyze data to improve operations9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Teach academic or vocational subjects7%
AI performed this in about 1 in 70 Copilot conversations and completed it 84% of the time.
AI does this: Provide information or assistance to the public5%
AI performed this in about 1 in 7 Copilot conversations and completed it 86% of the time.
Still yours: Develop educational programs, plans, or procedures5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Advise others on legal or regulatory matters4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 456 Copilot conversations and completed it 93% of the time.
Still yours: Supervise personnel activities4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Direct scientific or technical activities4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Prepare proposals or grant applications3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 104 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 200 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 40% of the workBiochemists and Biophysicists20% AI does, against 53% here+12.3% by 2035 · $127,410 · Doctoral or professional degree
- Shares 40% of the workAstronomers40% AI does, against 53% here+7.8% by 2035 · $128,820 · Doctoral or professional degree
- Shares 37% of the workIndustrial-Organizational Psychologists34% AI does, against 53% here+6.5% by 2035 · $193,950 · Master’s degree
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Planet front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.29, higher than 86% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 19-3041 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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