Water Resource Specialists
Management Occupations- O*NET-SOC code
- 11-9121.02
Design or implement programs and strategies related to water resource issues such as supply, quality, and regulatory compliance issues.
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
High· relative
LowFour relative bandsVery highGroup-level value
Scale, basis and source
Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)
831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band
- Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03
0.061
0.000Range of values carried here0.745Group-level value
Scale, basis and source
Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published
Mapped onto O*NET tasks
Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value
- Data source: ILOPublished: 2025
0.40
0.09Range of values carried here0.70Group-level value
Scale, basis and source
Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published
Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published
What kind of figure this source publishes
The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.
Task-level exposure
Exposed tasks only21 rated tasks · 20 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (95.2%)
β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.
- Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
- All rated tasks are in the O*NET 31.0 task list.
- Source
- OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
- Release
- gh-main-0471612
- License
- MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI
| Task (O*NET 20.1) | Claude.aiRaw / share % | APIRaw / share % |
|---|---|---|
Conduct, or oversee the conduct of, chemical, physical, and biological water quality monitoring or sampling to ensure compliance with water quality standards.11-9121.02 | 0.0026100.0 | 0.0032100.0 |
| Not observed on any surface — 20 task(s) — These tasks have no row in the source for this release. The 0 in the share row is a display-stage composition ratio; absence is what the — in the raw row states. | ||
Review or evaluate designs for water detention facilities, storm drains, flood control facilities, or other hydraulic structures. | —0 | —0 |
Negotiate for water rights with communities or water facilities to meet water supply demands. | —0 | —0 |
Perform hydrologic, hydraulic, or water quality modeling. | —0 | —0 |
Compile water resource data, using geographic information systems (GIS) or global position systems (GPS) software. | —0 | —0 |
Compile and maintain documentation on the health of a body of water. | —0 | —0 |
Write proposals, project reports, informational brochures, or other documents on wastewater purification, water supply and demand, or other water resource subjects. | —0 | —0 |
Recommend new or revised policies, procedures, or regulations to support water resource or conservation goals. | —0 | —0 |
Provide technical expertise to assist communities in the development or implementation of storm water monitoring or other water programs. | —0 | —0 |
Present water resource proposals to government, public interest groups, or community groups. | —0 | —0 |
Monitor water use, demand, or quality in a particular geographic area. | —0 | —0 |
Identify and characterize specific causes or sources of water pollution. | —0 | —0 |
Develop plans to protect watershed health or rehabilitate watersheds. | —0 | —0 |
Develop or implement standardized water monitoring and assessment methods. | —0 | —0 |
Conduct technical studies for water resources on topics such as pollutants and water treatment options. | —0 | —0 |
Conduct, or oversee the conduct of, investigations on matters such as water storage, wastewater discharge, pollutants, permits, or other compliance and regulatory issues. | —0 | —0 |
Conduct cost-benefit studies for watershed improvement projects or water management alternatives. | —0 | —0 |
Analyze storm water systems to identify opportunities for water resource improvements. | —0 | —0 |
Develop strategies for watershed operations to meet water supply and conservation goals or to ensure regulatory compliance with clean water laws or regulations. | —0 | —0 |
Supervise teams of workers who capture water from wells and rivers. | —0 | —0 |
Identify methods for distributing purified wastewater into rivers, streams, or oceans. | —0 | —0 |
Values in this tab are predicted labels, not observations. Eloundou et al. (2023) published two rating regimes — human raters and GPT-4 — and the β shown here is derived from the GPT-4 rater basis alone; the same task can take a different value under the other regime. The unit and the meaning differ from the observed shares (%) in the other tabs, so do not place them on the same axis.
| Task (O*NET 27.2) | βE1 + 0.5 × E2 |
|---|---|
Write proposals, project reports, informational brochures, or other documents on wastewater purification, water supply and demand, or other water resource subjects.O*NET Task ID 15621 | 1.0 |
Review or evaluate designs for water detention facilities, storm drains, flood control facilities, or other hydraulic structures.O*NET Task ID 15616 | 0.5 |
Negotiate for water rights with communities or water facilities to meet water supply demands.O*NET Task ID 15617 | 0.5 |
Perform hydrologic, hydraulic, or water quality modeling.O*NET Task ID 15618 | 0.5 |
Compile water resource data, using geographic information systems (GIS) or global position systems (GPS) software.O*NET Task ID 15619 | 0.5 |
Compile and maintain documentation on the health of a body of water.O*NET Task ID 15620 | 0.5 |
Recommend new or revised policies, procedures, or regulations to support water resource or conservation goals.O*NET Task ID 15622 | 0.5 |
Provide technical expertise to assist communities in the development or implementation of storm water monitoring or other water programs.O*NET Task ID 15623 | 0.5 |
Present water resource proposals to government, public interest groups, or community groups.O*NET Task ID 15624 | 0.5 |
Identify methods for distributing purified wastewater into rivers, streams, or oceans.O*NET Task ID 15625 | 0.5 |
Monitor water use, demand, or quality in a particular geographic area.O*NET Task ID 15626 | 0.5 |
Identify and characterize specific causes or sources of water pollution.O*NET Task ID 15627 | 0.5 |
Develop plans to protect watershed health or rehabilitate watersheds.O*NET Task ID 15628 | 0.5 |
Develop or implement standardized water monitoring and assessment methods.O*NET Task ID 15629 | 0.5 |
Conduct technical studies for water resources on topics such as pollutants and water treatment options.O*NET Task ID 15630 | 0.5 |
Conduct, or oversee the conduct of, investigations on matters such as water storage, wastewater discharge, pollutants, permits, or other compliance and regulatory issues.O*NET Task ID 15631 | 0.5 |
Conduct cost-benefit studies for watershed improvement projects or water management alternatives.O*NET Task ID 15632 | 0.5 |
Analyze storm water systems to identify opportunities for water resource improvements.O*NET Task ID 15633 | 0.5 |
Develop strategies for watershed operations to meet water supply and conservation goals or to ensure regulatory compliance with clean water laws or regulations.O*NET Task ID 15634 | 0.5 |
Conduct, or oversee the conduct of, chemical, physical, and biological water quality monitoring or sampling to ensure compliance with water quality standards.O*NET Task ID 15635 | 0.5 |
Supervise teams of workers who capture water from wells and rivers.O*NET Task ID 15615 | 0.0 |
β = E1 + 0.5 × E2 · E1 = tasks where direct LLM access alone cuts time by at least 50%, E2 = tasks where software built on top of an LLM cuts time by at least 50%. Values take only 0 / 0.5 / 1.0.
Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Anthropic Economic Index, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page
All O*NET 31.0 task statements (21)
All O*NET 31.0 task statements for this occupation (English, as published; task type core or supplemental). Exposure values are not listed here; they are in the table above, next to each task statement as worded in the O*NET version each source used.
| Task (O*NET 31.0) | Type |
|---|---|
| Supervise teams of workers who capture water from wells and rivers. | Core |
| Review or evaluate designs for water detention facilities, storm drains, flood control facilities, or other hydraulic structures. | Core |
| Negotiate for water rights with communities or water facilities to meet water supply demands. | Core |
| Perform hydrologic, hydraulic, or water quality modeling. | Core |
| Compile water resource data, using geographic information systems (GIS) or global position systems (GPS) software. | Core |
| Compile and maintain documentation on the health of a body of water. | Core |
| Write proposals, project reports, informational brochures, or other documents on wastewater purification, water supply and demand, or other water resource subjects. | Core |
| Recommend new or revised policies, procedures, or regulations to support water resource or conservation goals. | Core |
| Provide technical expertise to assist communities in the development or implementation of storm water monitoring or other water programs. | Core |
| Present water resource proposals to government, public interest groups, or community groups. | Core |
| Monitor water use, demand, or quality in a particular geographic area. | Core |
| Identify and characterize specific causes or sources of water pollution. | Core |
| Develop plans to protect watershed health or rehabilitate watersheds. | Core |
| Develop or implement standardized water monitoring and assessment methods. | Core |
| Conduct technical studies for water resources on topics such as pollutants and water treatment options. | Core |
| Conduct, or oversee the conduct of, investigations on matters such as water storage, wastewater discharge, pollutants, permits, or other compliance and regulatory issues. | Core |
| Conduct cost-benefit studies for watershed improvement projects or water management alternatives. | Core |
| Analyze storm water systems to identify opportunities for water resource improvements. | Core |
| Develop strategies for watershed operations to meet water supply and conservation goals or to ensure regulatory compliance with clean water laws or regulations. | Core |
| Conduct, or oversee the conduct of, chemical, physical, and biological water quality monitoring or sampling to ensure compliance with water quality standards. | Core |
| Identify methods for distributing purified wastewater into rivers, streams, or oceans. | Supplemental |
0.13/ 3· Robot exposure index
Scale, basis and source
Each physical task is graded 0–3 by the setting in which robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated could do it (0 none · 1 purpose-built robot settings such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line · 2 structured facilities such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port · 3 unstructured settings such as a private home or a construction site), and the grades are averaged by share of working time
Physical tasks among this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks
Anthropic estimated the grades and time shares with Claude Opus 5 using web search, as of 2026.
The robot exposure index is a different measure from the AI exposure figures on this site and cannot be added to or compared with them. It does not measure actual adoption or cost, and 0 also covers occupations with no physical tasks.
Tier of each physical task
Robot environment tiers (E0–E3)
E0 noneDetails
Rated not doable by robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated, even in a purpose-built setting
E1 purpose-built robot settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting built around the machine, such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line
E2 structured facilitiesDetails
Rated doable in a human work facility that an institution keeps to a working standard, such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port
E3 unstructured settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting that no institution keeps to a working standard, such as a private home or a construction site
Only tasks classified as physical are listed; other tasks have no tier in the source.
| Task (O*NET 29.3) | Robot environment tier |
|---|---|
| Conduct, or oversee the conduct of, chemical, physical, and biological water quality monitoring or sampling to ensure compliance with water quality standards. | E2 structured facilities |
Occupation information
Employment outlook (BLS)
Values for the whole SOC 11-9121 group (Natural sciences managers), not for this O*NET occupation alone.
- Employment, 2025
- 112K
- Projected employment, 2035
- 122K
- Change (2025–35)
- +8.2%
- Median annual wage, 2025
- $167,220
- Typical education needed for entry
- Bachelor's degree
Korea classification links (KSCO)
Links from the current release of the Korea Occupation Direct Crosswalk v1.1, made by AI Changing Work. Relation values are read from the O*NET-SOC occupation side.
| KSCO code | KSCO title | Relation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14123 | 수도 관련 관리자 | Related, not a match | reviewed |
| 23712 | 수질 환경 기술자 및 연구원 | Related, not a match | confirmed |
Relation and status definitions(kr-direct v1.1)
ILO occupational description
AI Changing Work links the ISCO-08 unit groups below to this occupation by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (2018 SOC to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to ISCO-08) as published, without case-by-case selection; each link may be whole or partial.
- ISCO-08 1223Research and Development Managers
The definition, tasks and examples below are the ILO's description of that unit group, not of this occupation.
Research and development managers plan, direct and coordinate the research and development activities of an enterprise or organization or of enterprises that provide related services to other enterprises and organizations.
Tasks
- (a) planning, directing and coordinating research and development activities, in-house or commissioned from external research organizations, to develop new or improved technical processes, products, knowledge, or utilization of materials;
- (b) planning the overall research and development programme of an enterprise or organization, specifying goals and budgetary requirements;
- (c) leading and managing the activities of research and development staff;
- (d) establishing and managing budgets, controlling expenditure and ensuring the efficient use of resources;
- (e) establishing and directing operational and administrative procedures;
- (f) planning and directing daily operations;
- (g) overseeing the selection, training and performance of staff;
- (h) representing the enterprise or organization at conventions, seminars and conferences.
Example occupations
Product development manager · Research manager
Sources: ILO ISCO-08 — details: Credits
ESCO occupational vocabulary
Each entry below is matched to this occupation in the published ESCO-O*NET Crosswalk (version 1, 2022). The match types are that crosswalk's; the wording is AI Changing Work's.
- environmental engineerESCO 2143.1Overlapping, not the same
Environmental engineers integrate environmental and sustainable measures in the development of projects of various natures. They seek to preserve natural resources and natural sites. They work together with engineers from other fields to envision all the implications that projects might have in order to design ways to conserve natural reserves, prevent pollution, and deploy sanitary measures.
- environmental policy officerESCO 2422.10.5Overlapping, not the same
Environmental policy officers research, analyse, develop and implement policies related to the environment. They give expert advice to entities such as commercial organisations, government agencies and land developers. Environmental policy officers work on reducing the impact of industrial, commercial and agricultural activities on the environment.
- natural resources consultantESCO 2133.8Overlapping, not the same
Natural resources consultant provide advice on the protection and management of natural resources, namely fauna, flora, soil and water to companies and governments which exploit these resources. They strive to guide companies on an appropriate policy for exploiting natural resources in industrial contexts, raise awareness on health issues, and ensure the conservation of ecosystems for sustainable interventions in natural habitats.
- water engineerESCO 2142.1.11Overlapping, not the same
Water engineers research and develop methods for the provision of clean water, water treatment and flood damage prevention and reaction. They research water needs in a location and develop methods for meeting those needs, such as designing and developing projects for managing water resources such as treatment plants, pipelines, pump systems, irrigation or draining systems and other water supply systems. Water engineers also ensure proper installation of these systems on construction sites. Water engineers also maintain, repair and build structures that control water resources, such as bridges, canals and dams.
Source: European Commission, DG EMPL — ESCO API 2026-08-08 (bridge v1.2.1)
License: CC BY 4.0 (EU Reuse Notice)
ESCO reuse terms and the modification notice are in Credits.
France classification links (ROME)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and ROME 4.0 job profiles, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side. Links marked “provisional” were adopted on the judgments of two judges from the same model family (Claude) alone, or by an operator rule applied to their judgments, so they rest on weaker evidence than confirmed links.
| ROME code | ROME title (French) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| F1124 | Hydrologue | Overlapping, not the same |
| I1328 | Conseiller / Conseillère en hydraulique agricole | Related, not a match |
| K2313 | Technicien chargé / Technicienne chargée de la police des eaux | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: France Travail — Répertoire Opérationnel des Métiers et des Emplois (ROME 4.0), version 61, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/repertoire-operationnel-des-metiers-et-des-emplois-rome). Licence Ouverte 2.0.
ROME codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET-SOC occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a France Travail correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: fr-direct v1)
Spain classification links (CNO-11)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and CNO-11 occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| CNO-11 code | CNO-11 title (Spanish) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 2426 | Profesionales de la protección ambiental | This occupation is narrower |
| 2437 | Ingenieros ambientales | Related, not a match |
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11, Royal Decree 1591/2010) — www.ine.es · Licensed CC BY 4.0. CNO-11 codes and Spanish titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not an INE correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: es-direct v1)
Germany classification links (KldB)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and KldB occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| KldB code | KldB title (German) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 42314 | Berufe in der Umweltschutzverwaltung und -beratung - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
| 31144 | Berufe in der Wasserwirtschaft - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | Overlapping, not the same |
| 42124 | Berufe in der Geologie - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | Related, not a match |
| 42324 | Gewässer-, Immissionsschutz- und Abfallbeauftragte - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | Related, not a match |
Source: © Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 – überarbeitete Fassung 2020, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de. KldB codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own mapping (eigene Zuordnung) and are not a Bundesagentur für Arbeit correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: de-direct v1)
Japan classification links (JSCO)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and JSCO occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| JSCO code | JSCO title (Japanese) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 092 | 土木技術者 | Related, not a match |
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan Standard Occupational Classification (Dec. 2009, MIC Notification No. 555). JSCO codes and Japanese titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a MIC correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: jp-direct v1)
Sources, licenses and AI Changing Work's modification and translation notices for this page: Credits & sources