Hydrologic Technicians
Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations- O*NET-SOC code
- 19-4044.00
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.
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
Very 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: ILOPublished: 2025
0.26–0.28· 3 ISCO-08 groups
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
- Data source: OpenAIPublished: 2023
0.531
0.000Range of values carried here0.844Scale, basis and source
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.
ILO value for each linked ISCO-08 group
- ISCO-08 3111Chemical and Physical Science Technicians0.26
- ISCO-08 3117Mining and metallurgical technicians0.28
- ISCO-08 3119Physical and Engineering Science Technicians Not Elsewhere Classified0.26
Task-level exposure
Show 3 hidden tasks16 rated tasks · 13 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (81.3%)
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
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 |
|---|---|
Develop computer models for hydrologic predictions.O*NET Task ID 22297 | 1.0 |
Write groundwater contamination reports on known, suspected, or potential hazardous waste sites.O*NET Task ID 22306 | 1.0 |
Write materials for research publications, such as maps, tables, and reports, to disseminate findings.O*NET Task ID 22307 | 1.0 |
Analyze ecological data about the impact of pollution, erosion, floods, and other environmental problems on bodies of water.O*NET Task ID 22292 | 0.5 |
Answer technical questions from hydrologists, policymakers, or other customers developing water conservation plans.O*NET Task ID 22293 | 0.5 |
Apply research findings to minimize the environmental impacts of pollution, waterborne diseases, erosion, or sedimentation.O*NET Task ID 22294 | 0.5 |
Assist in designing programs to ensure the proper sealing of abandoned wells.O*NET Task ID 22295 | 0.5 |
Estimate the costs and benefits of municipal projects, such as hydroelectric power plants, irrigation systems, and wastewater treatment facilities.O*NET Task ID 22298 | 0.5 |
Investigate complaints or conflicts related to the alteration of public waters by gathering information, recommending alternatives, or preparing legal documents.O*NET Task ID 22299 | 0.5 |
Investigate the properties, origins, or activities of glaciers, ice, snow, or permafrost.O*NET Task ID 22300 | 0.5 |
Locate and deliver information or data as requested by customers, such as contractors, government entities, and members of the public.O*NET Task ID 22301 | 0.5 |
Perform quality control checks on data to be used by hydrologists.O*NET Task ID 22303 | 0.5 |
Provide real time data to emergency management and weather service personnel during flood events.O*NET Task ID 22305 | 0.5 |
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®, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page
All O*NET 31.0 task statements (16)
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 |
|---|---|
| Analyze ecological data about the impact of pollution, erosion, floods, and other environmental problems on bodies of water. | — |
| Answer technical questions from hydrologists, policymakers, or other customers developing water conservation plans. | — |
| Apply research findings to minimize the environmental impacts of pollution, waterborne diseases, erosion, or sedimentation. | — |
| Assist in designing programs to ensure the proper sealing of abandoned wells. | — |
| Collect water and soil samples to test for physical, chemical, or biological properties, such as pH, oxygen level, temperature, and pollution. | — |
| Develop computer models for hydrologic predictions. | — |
| Estimate the costs and benefits of municipal projects, such as hydroelectric power plants, irrigation systems, and wastewater treatment facilities. | — |
| Investigate complaints or conflicts related to the alteration of public waters by gathering information, recommending alternatives, or preparing legal documents. | — |
| Investigate the properties, origins, or activities of glaciers, ice, snow, or permafrost. | — |
| Locate and deliver information or data as requested by customers, such as contractors, government entities, and members of the public. | — |
| Measure the properties of bodies of water, such as water levels, volume, and flow. | — |
| Perform quality control checks on data to be used by hydrologists. | — |
| Prepare, install, maintain, or repair equipment used for hydrologic study, such as water level recorders, stream flow gauges, and water analyzers. | — |
| Provide real time data to emergency management and weather service personnel during flood events. | — |
| Write groundwater contamination reports on known, suspected, or potential hazardous waste sites. | — |
| Write materials for research publications, such as maps, tables, and reports, to disseminate findings. | — |
0.78/ 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 |
|---|---|
| Collect water and soil samples to test for physical, chemical, or biological properties, such as pH, oxygen level, temperature, and pollution. | E2 structured facilities |
| Investigate the properties, origins, or activities of glaciers, ice, snow, or permafrost. | E0 none |
| Measure the properties of bodies of water, such as water levels, volume, and flow. | E2 structured facilities |
| Prepare, install, maintain, or repair equipment used for hydrologic study, such as water level recorders, stream flow gauges, and water analyzers. | E0 none |
Occupation information
Employment outlook (BLS)
- Employment, 2025
- 3K
- Projected employment, 2035
- 3K
- Change (2025–35)
- -1.3%
- Median annual wage, 2025
- $64,790
- Typical education needed for entry
- Associate'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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21333 | 지구 및 기상 과학 시험원 | 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 3111Chemical and Physical Science Technicians
- ISCO-08 3117Mining and metallurgical technicians
- ISCO-08 3119Physical and Engineering Science Technicians Not Elsewhere Classified
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.
- hydrogeologistESCO 2114.1.4Overlapping, not the same
Hydrogeologists in mining study the distribution, quality and flow of water in order to keep mine workings free of nuisance water and to ensure an adequate supply of process water. They supply and evaluate information which will protect ground and surface water from contamination.
- hydrologistESCO 2114.1.5Overlapping, not the same
Hydrologists research and study the quality, current challenges, and distribution of water in the Earth. They study water supply from rivers, streams, and springs to determine their adequate and sustainable use. Together with a cross functional team of professionals, they plan and develop how water can be supplied to cities and urban areas while ensuring efficiency and resource conservation.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A1322 | Technicien / Technicienne de rivière | Related, not a matchprovisional |
| F1124 | Hydrologue | Related, not a matchprovisional |
| H1530 | Technicien / Technicienne de la qualité de l'eau | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 3121 | Técnicos en ciencias físicas y químicas | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
| 3129 | Otros técnicos de las ciencias físicas, químicas, medioambientales y de las ingenierías | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 31142 | Berufe in der Wasserwirtschaft - fachlich ausgerichtete Tätigkeiten | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
| 42113 | Berufe in der Geotechnik - komplexe Spezialistentätigkeiten | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 119 | その他の技術者 | Related, not a match |
| 592 | 生産類似作業従事者 | 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