Will AI replace Hydrologic Technicians?
Estimated risk score: 55 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 (36 to 74).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 16 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 19-4044.00 · Life, Physical, and Social Science
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: 5 of its 16 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Develop computer models for hydrologic predictions.
- Write materials for research publications, such as maps, tables, and reports, to disseminate findings.
- Locate and deliver information or data as requested by customers, such as contractors, government entities, and members of the public.
- Perform quality control checks on data to be used by hydrologists.
- Write groundwater contamination reports on known, suspected, or potential hazardous waste sites.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 3 of its 16 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Prepare, install, maintain, or repair equipment used for hydrologic study, such as water level recorders, stream flow gauges, and water analyzers.
- Collect water and soil samples to test for physical, chemical, or biological properties, such as pH, oxygen level, temperature, and pollution.
- Measure the properties of bodies of water, such as water levels, volume, and flow.
What the job is
Collect and organize data concerning the distribution and circulation of ground and surface water, and data on its physical, chemical, and biological properties. Measure and report on flow rates and ground water levels, maintain field equipment, collect water samples, install and collect sampling equipment, and process samples for shipment to testing laboratories. May collect data on behalf of hydrologists, engineers, developers, government agencies, or agriculture.
Also called: Hydrographer, Hydrologic Aid, Hydrography Technician, Groundwater Monitoring Technician, GIS Technician (Geographic Information System Technician).
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