Sociologists
In short: today's best AI models could do about 13% 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 61% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 35% of the time, stays with people.
Study human society and social behavior by examining the groups and social institutions that people form, as well as various social, religious, political, and business organizations. May study the behavior and interaction of groups, trace their origin and growth, and analyze the influence of group activities on individual members.
2,260 people do this job in the US. $106,030 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on5 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet21 h
- Stays with people14 h
Sociologists, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 5 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 21 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 14 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Analyze and interpret data to increase the understanding of human social behavior (about 1 h); Develop, implement, and evaluate methods of data collection, such as questionnaires or interviews (about 1 h); Develop approaches to the solution of groups' problems, based on research findings in sociology and related disciplines (about 1 h).
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.
- 65%
- 12%
- 22%
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.
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, 0%. Today's estimate: 13%.
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, 0.15% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 127th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 2 of its 15 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.23% to 0.14% (released February and March 2025); 0.099% to 0.12% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.011% to 0.15% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.23% | 83 of 708 | 8 of 15 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.14% | 122 of 703 | 7 of 15 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.099% | 156 of 655 | 8 of 15 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.11% | 142 of 672 | 8 of 15 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.12% | 140 of 677 | 8 of 15 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.011% | 388 of 434 | 1 of 15 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.15% | 127 of 447 | 2 of 15 |
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 15 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analyze and interpret data to increase the understanding of human social behavior.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 12% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | 31%Half by Mar 2027 | |
| Develop problem intervention procedures, using techniques such as interviews, consultations, role playing, and participant observation of group interactions.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 12% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | Stays with people | |
| Prepare publications and reports containing research findings.Done more than yearly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 12% | 2.5 work days6.7 h to 1.7 work weeks | 18%Half by Jun 2027 | |
| Plan and conduct research to develop and test theories about societal issues such as crime, group relations, poverty, and aging.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 12% | 1.7 work weeks2.1 work days to 1.2 work months | 1%Half by Jun 2028 | |
| Develop approaches to the solution of groups' problems, based on research findings in sociology and related disciplines.Done more than yearly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 11% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 1.3 work weeks | 24%Half by May 2027 | |
| Develop, implement, and evaluate methods of data collection, such as questionnaires or interviews.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 11% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | 31%Half by Mar 2027 | |
| Teach sociology.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Collect data about the attitudes, values, and behaviors of people in groups, using observation, interviews, and review of documents.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 8% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | Stays with people | |
| Write grants to obtain funding for research projects.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 7% | 1.3 work weeks1.7 work days to 3.3 work weeks | 3%Half by Feb 2028 | |
| Direct work of statistical clerks, statisticians, and others who compile and evaluate research data.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 2% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Observe group interactions and role affiliations to collect data, identify problems, evaluate progress, and determine the need for additional change.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 2% | 5 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Collaborate with research workers in other disciplines.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 1% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people |
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.
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.
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 Sociologists is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 13% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 61% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (44% to 65% 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 Sociologists 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: Analyze and interpret data to increase the understanding of human social behavior (31% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Develop, implement, and evaluate methods of data collection, such as questionnaires or interviews (31% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); and Develop approaches to the solution of groups' problems, based on research findings in sociology and related disciplines (24% of the task's time now, 98% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Sociologists stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Develop problem intervention procedures, using techniques such as interviews, consultations, role playing, and participant observation of group interactions; Teach sociology; and Collect data about the attitudes, values, and behaviors of people in groups, using observation, interviews, and review of documents. Together such tasks are about 35% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Sociologists?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.15% went to this job's tasks, the 127th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 2 of its 15 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 38%. 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 Sociologists?
- 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 15 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, 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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This occupation has not been reviewed task by task yet, so the full personal report is not offered for it; 402 of 923 occupations are reviewed so far, largest first.