Will AI replace Hydrologic Technicians?
AI reaches a large part of this job’s work.
53/100
High exposure
More exposed to AI than 84% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 0% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 81% of the work
What the job involves
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.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Within reach(13)
- 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.
- Develop computer models for hydrologic predictions.
and 8 more
Out of reach(3)
- Collect water and soil samples to test for physical, chemical, or biological properties, such as pH, oxygen level, temperature, and pollution.
- Measure the properties of bodies of water, such as water levels, volume, and flow.
- Prepare, install, maintain, or repair equipment used for hydrologic study, such as water level recorders, stream flow gauges, and water analyzers.
Also called
Groundwater Monitoring Technician · Field Technician (Field Tech) · Field Tech · GIS Technician (Geographic Information System Technician) · GIS Technician · Hydro Operator · Hydrographer · Hydrography Technician
Related jobs
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics