Animal Scientists
Also called: Animal Nutritionist, Animal Scientist, Beef Cattle Nutritionist, Research ScientistConduct research in the genetics, nutrition, reproduction, growth, and development of domestic farm animals.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 8 of its 9 tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 5.8% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 3.1% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Agricultural and food scientists”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 7.9 hires for every 10 job openings in professional and business services, which employs about 51% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.7.9 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | not published | not published | 60 |
| California | not published | not published | 140 |
| Georgia | not published | not published | 60 |
| Illinois | $47,930 | $44,350 to $47,960 | not published |
| Iowa | $75,290 | $59,280 to $135,690 | 60 |
| Kansas | $80,090 | $63,200 to $112,190 | not published |
| Kentucky | not published | not published | 30 |
| Maryland | $77,750 | $64,350 to $109,970 | 190 |
| Michigan | $60,010 | $48,850 to $66,320 | 80 |
| Minnesota | $88,640 | $76,530 to $143,610 | 100 |
| Nebraska | $55,300 | $48,730 to $98,820 | 210 |
| North Dakota | $72,100 | $53,390 to $90,710 | 40 |
| Ohio | not published | not published | 90 |
| Pennsylvania | $77,660 | $69,490 to $82,880 | 90 |
| South Dakota | $77,300 | $63,420 to $101,990 | 90 |
| Texas | $132,830 | $76,110 to $182,590 | 40 |
| Washington | $83,160 | $63,730 to $95,220 | 40 |
| Wisconsin | $84,310 | $70,150 to $100,300 | 280 |
Nationally: $68,940. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 8 of its 9 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AI alone | Study nutritional requirements of animals and nutritive values of animal feed materials. | Not published |
| AI alone | Write up or orally communicate research findings to the scientific community, producers, and the public. | Not published |
| AI + software | Develop improved practices in feeding, housing, sanitation, or parasite and disease control of animals. | Not published |
| AI alone | Advise producers about improved products and techniques that could enhance their animal production efforts. | under 0.01% |
| AI alone | Conduct research concerning animal nutrition, breeding, or management to improve products or processes. | Not published |
| AI alone | Study effects of management practices, processing methods, feed, or environmental conditions on quality and quantity of animal products, such as eggs and milk. | Not published |
See all 9 tasks
| AI alone | Research and control animal selection and breeding practices to increase production efficiency and improve animal quality. | Not published |
| AI + software | Determine genetic composition of animal populations and heritability of traits, using principles of genetics. | Not published |
| Not much | Crossbreed animals with existing strains or cross strains to obtain new combinations of desirable characteristics. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 1 of the 9 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 9 tasks fall under 6 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #20 Present research or technical information
- #45 Research biological or ecological phenomena
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research agricultural processes or practices | |||
| Present research or technical information | |||
| Research biological or ecological phenomena | |||
| Develop operational or technical procedures or standards | |||
| Care for plants or animals | |||
| Advise others on business or operational matters |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- An explanation or answer22%
- Advice or a recommendation17%
- A document or report14%
- A plan or strategy9%
- An analysis or summary6%
How they worked with Claude
34% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for animal scientists specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 964 moves out
- 1 First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers Very high +0.1% 20%
- 2 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 20%
- 3 Personal Care Aides 18%
- 4 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 5 Office Clerks, General Very high -6.0% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 736 moves in
- 1 First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers Very high +0.1% 15%
- 2 Personal Care Aides 13%
- 3 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 6%
- 4 Office Clerks, General Very high -6.0% 6%
- 5 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 4% postsecondary certificate
- 4% associate's
- 13% bachelor's
- 22% master's
- 43% research doctorate
- 13% post-doctoral training
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 23 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 65% bachelor's
- 24% master's
- 11% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Agricultural and food scientists” · 355 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Agricultural and food scientists”
20 programs, such as Agriculture, General, Apiculture and Animal Sciences, General.
See all
- Agriculture, General
- Apiculture
- Animal Sciences, General
- Agricultural Animal Breeding
- Animal Health
- Animal Nutrition
- Dairy Science
- Poultry Science
- Animal Sciences, Other
- Range Science and Management
- Large Animal/Food Animal and Equine Surgery and Medicine
- Veterinary Anatomy
- Veterinary Infectious Diseases
- Veterinary Microbiology and Immunobiology
- Veterinary Pathology and Pathobiology
- Veterinary Physiology
- Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Epidemiology, and Public Health
- Veterinary Toxicology and Pharmacology
- Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Other
- Anthrozoology
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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