Soil and Plant Scientists
Conduct research in breeding, physiology, production, yield, and management of crops and agricultural plants or trees, shrubs, and nursery stock, their growth in soils, and control of pests; or study the chemical, physical, biological, and mineralogical composition of soils as they relate to plant or crop growth. May classify and map soils and investigate effects of alternative practices on soil and crop productivity.
15,730 people do this job in the US. $78,850 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 27%
- 1%
- 72%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h 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, 1%. Today's estimate: 1%.
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 27 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Study soil characteristics to classify soils on the basis of factors such as geographic location, landscape position, or soil properties.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 2.8 work days6.7 h to 2.5 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Investigate responses of soils to specific management practices to determine the use capabilities of soils and the effects of alternative practices on soil productivity.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 4.2 work days2.1 work days to 3.5 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Study ways to improve agricultural sustainability, such as the use of new methods of composting.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.4 work weeks6.7 h to 1.3 work months | 0%Half by Jan 2030 | |
| Develop improved measurement techniques, soil conservation methods, soil sampling devices, or related technology.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 work weeks1.7 work days to 1.9 work months | Stays with people | |
| Conduct research to determine best methods of planting, spraying, cultivating, harvesting, storing, processing, or transporting horticultural products.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 work weeks2.1 work days to 1.6 work months | Stays with people | |
| Develop new or improved methods or products for controlling or eliminating weeds, crop diseases, or insect pests.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 work weeks2.5 work days to 3.2 work months | Stays with people | |
| Develop environmentally safe methods or products for controlling or eliminating weeds, crop diseases, or pests.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 work weeks2.5 work days to 3.2 work months | Stays with people | |
| Conduct experiments to develop new or improved varieties of field crops, focusing on characteristics such as yield, quality, disease resistance, nutritional value, or adaptation to specific soils or climates.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 3.5 work weeks4.2 work days to 2.4 work months | Stays with people | |
| Conduct experiments to investigate the underlying mechanisms of plant growth and response to the environment.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 3.5 work weeks2.5 work days to 1.9 work months | Stays with people | |
| Conduct experiments investigating how soil forms, changes, or interacts with land-based ecosystems or living organisms.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 3.5 work weeks4.2 work days to 2.4 work months | Stays with people | |
| Provide advice regarding the development of regulatory standards for land reclamation or soil conservation.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.3 work weeks | 1%Half by Jul 2028 | |
| Develop ways of altering soils to suit different types of plants.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 1.7 work weeks | 0%Half by Nov 2028 |
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).