Computer Systems Analysts
In short: today's best AI models could do about 35% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 89% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 8% of the time, stays with people.
Analyze science, engineering, business, and other data processing problems to develop and implement solutions to complex applications problems, system administration issues, or network concerns. Perform systems management and integration functions, improve existing computer systems, and review computer system capabilities, workflow, and schedule limitations. May analyze or recommend commercially available software.
519,530 people do this job in the US. $105,850 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work14 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet23 h
- Stays with people3 h
Computer Systems Analysts, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 14 hours become checking its work, 23 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 3 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Test, maintain and monitor programs and systems (about 2 h, a person checks); Troubleshoot program and system malfunctions (about 2 h, a person checks); Find and correct code problems (about 2 h, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 72%
- 19%
- 7%
- 1%
- 0%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 35% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 6%. Today's estimate: 35%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 2% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 7th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 9 of its 22 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 2.3% to 1.6% (released February and March 2025); 2.9% to 2.4% (August 2025 to February 2026); 2.3% to 2% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 2.3% | 5 of 708 | 14 of 22 |
| Released March 2025 | 1.6% | 8 of 703 | 13 of 22 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 2.9% | 5 of 655 | 13 of 22 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 2.2% | 7 of 672 | 13 of 22 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 2.4% | 7 of 677 | 14 of 22 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 2.3% | 7 of 434 | 11 of 22 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 2% | 7 of 447 | 9 of 22 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates almost none of this job's working time as physical work, so robots do not reach it.
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
8% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Supervise programmers or lead projects, the conversation, 3%
- Interview workers and observe their work, the conversation, 2%
- Train staff and users, the conversation, 1%
- Help staff and users with computer problems, the conversation, 1%
- Confer with clients about their needs, the conversation, 0.8%
What becomes checking the machine
87% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it.
- Analyze needs and design computer systems, costly if wrong, 14%
- Analyze and solve business problems by computer, costly if wrong, 14%
- Program with object-oriented languages, costly if wrong, 13%
- Link the organization's computer systems, costly if wrong, 8%
- Test, maintain and monitor programs and systems, costly if wrong, 6%
- Troubleshoot program and system malfunctions, costly if wrong, 5%
What to learn
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 72% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
- Running AI inside the business systems. About 19% of the time is work inside business systems, which a model can do only once it is connected: knowing the systems well enough to set that up and watch it.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 22 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Use the computer in the analysis and solution of business problems, such as development of integrated production and inventory control and cost analysis systems.Analysis and design, with data drawn from the systems.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 14% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 1.7 work weeks | Documents 80%, systems 20% | 20%Half by Aug 2027 |
| Use object-oriented programming languages, as well as client and server applications development processes and multimedia and Internet technology.Writing code.Done several times a day by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 14% | 1.7 work days2.5 h to 1.7 work weeks | Documents 100% | 16%Half by Oct 2027 |
| Analyze information processing or computation needs and plan and design computer systems, using techniques such as structured analysis, data modeling, and information engineering.Analysis and design on paper.Done daily by most who do it. | 14% | 2.5 work days6.7 h to 2.1 work weeks | Documents 100% | 15%Half by Aug 2027 |
| Coordinate and link the computer systems within an organization to increase compatibility so that information can be shared.Configuration in the systems, with the design on paper.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 8% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 4.2 work days | Systems 60%, documents 40% | 40%Half by Jan 2027 |
| Test, maintain, and monitor computer programs and systems, including coordinating the installation of computer programs and systems.Work in the systems themselves, with test plans and notes.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 6% | 2.5 h50 min to 1.7 work days | Systems 70%, documents 30% | 79%Half by now |
| Troubleshoot program and system malfunctions to restore normal functioning.Working in the system to find the fault, with logs and code read.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 h25 min to 6.7 h | Systems 60%, documents 40% | 88%Half by now |
| Expand or modify system to serve new purposes or improve work flow.Design and code, and changes made in the system.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.7 work weeks | Documents 70%, systems 30% | 15%Half by Oct 2027 |
| Review and analyze computer printouts and performance indicators to locate code problems, and correct errors by correcting codes.Reading output and code, and changing the code.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 5% | 2.5 h50 min to 1.3 work days | Documents 80%, systems 20% | 87%Half by now |
| Prepare cost-benefit and return-on-investment analyses to aid in decisions on system implementation.Financial analysis on paper.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | Documents 100% | 44%Half by Dec 2026 |
| Supervise computer programmers or other systems analysts or serve as project leaders for particular systems projects.Conversation with the team, and review of their work.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.7 work days | Conversation 70%, documents 30% | 21%Desk part half by now |
| Develop, document, and revise system design procedures, test procedures, and quality standards.Pure document work.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | Documents 100% | 31%Half by Mar 2027 |
| Specify inputs accessed by the system and plan the distribution and use of the results.Design work on paper.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 3% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | Documents 100% | 55%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Software Developers48% now, 78% by 2028
- Computer Systems Engineers/Architects45% now, 67% by 2028
- Database Administrators68% now, 88% by 2028
- Computer and Information Systems Managers45% now, 75% by 2028
- Database Architects28% now, 89% by 2028
- Network and Computer Systems Administrators54% now, 89% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Computer Systems Analysts is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 35% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 89% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (71% to 92% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Computer Systems Analysts come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Test, maintain and monitor programs and systems (79% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Troubleshoot program and system malfunctions (88% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); and Find and correct code problems (87% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Computer Systems Analysts stay with people?
- Every task has a desk part, so each can come partly within reach; the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of each task stay with people, about 8% of the working time.
- What should Computer Systems Analysts learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are reviewing work you did not do yourself; briefing a model and checking its drafts; and running AI inside the business systems. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 8% of the working time stays with people, 87% becomes checking a model's work and 1% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Computer Systems Analysts?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 2% went to this job's tasks, the 7th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 9 of its 22 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 28%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Computer Systems Analysts?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds almost none of the working time is physical work, so robots do not reach it.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 22 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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The full personal report is $19, to print or save as a PDF: every task with when it comes within reach, which ones your description names, the parts of your description the task list does not cover, what stays with you, what becomes checking the machine and what to learn.