Will AI replace Chemical Engineers?
Estimated risk score: 51 out of 100
Moderate replacement risk
Estimate from published task research, not reviewed by a person · how we estimate
Within about 19 points for 4 in 5 of the jobs we checked (32 to 70).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 13 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 17-2041.00 · Architecture and Engineering
Tasks rated in 2023 as ones AI could do or speed up
Tasks a GPT-4-class model could do, or do in half the time or less: 3 of its 13 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Monitor and analyze data from processes and experiments.
- Prepare estimate of production costs and production progress reports for management.
- Develop processes to separate components of liquids or gases or generate electrical currents, using controlled chemical processes.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 2 of its 13 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Direct activities of workers who operate or are engaged in constructing and improving absorption, evaporation, or electromagnetic equipment.
- Perform laboratory studies of steps in manufacture of new products and test proposed processes in small-scale operation, such as a pilot plant.
What the job is
Design chemical plant equipment and devise processes for manufacturing chemicals and products, such as gasoline, synthetic rubber, plastics, detergents, cement, paper, and pulp, by applying principles and technology of chemistry, physics, and engineering.
Also called: Development Engineer, Fuel Engineer, Oxidation Engineer, Explosives Engineer, Blending Coordinator, Lubricating Engineer, Engineering Scientist, Chemical Test Engineer.
Source. This site includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. (O*NET, CC BY 4.0.) Task ratings: Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models”, data used under the MIT licence (licence texts). Our change: we averaged the ratings over this occupation’s tasks and calibrated them to our 0–100 scale. It is not a prediction about any one person and not career advice. Disagree? Write to hello@yourstopwashit.com. How we estimate