Hydrologists

Minimal Risk
18%

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Vote Comments (3)
AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
7%
(Minimal Risk)
POLLING
29%
(Low Risk, Based on 45 votes)
Average: 18%
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
2.8%
by year 2033
WAGES
$88,770
or $42.67 per hour
Volume
6,150
as of 2023
SUMMARY
What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
6.3/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

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Calculated automation risk

7% (Minimal Risk)

Minimal Risk (0-20%): Occupations in this category have a low probability of being automated, as they typically demand complex problem-solving, creativity, strong interpersonal skills, and a high degree of manual dexterity. These jobs often involve intricate hand movements and precise coordination, making it difficult for machines to replicate the required tasks.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Originality

  • Social Perceptiveness

  • Persuasion

User poll

29% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a low chance this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 7% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Hydrologists will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Growth

Slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Hydrologists' job openings is expected to rise 2.8% by 2033

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Wages

High paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Hydrologists' was 88.770 $, or 43 $ per hour

'Hydrologists' were paid 84.7% higher than the national median wage, which stood at 48.060 $

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Significantly lower range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2023 there were 6,150 people employed as 'Hydrologists' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 24 thousand people are employed as 'Hydrologists'.

Job description

Research the distribution, circulation, and physical properties of underground and surface waters; and study the form and intensity of precipitation and its rate of infiltration into the soil, movement through the earth, and return to the ocean and atmosphere.

SOC Code: 19-2043.00

Comments (3)

Alex (Moderate)
25 Jul 2025 17:15
It depends. A hydrologist whose main occupation is field work will not geht automated away so easily for obvious reasons in the coming years. However, from my own experience, most field work is actually done by technical staff, and hydrologists are mainly office workers who analyze field data, run computer simulations, interpret their results and communicate their findings. I think most of that will be affected pretty strongly by AI in the coming years (coding, reporting, flood prediction, etc.), although for the largest part in a way that supports and complements humans rather than completely replacing them. Still, I think hydrologists should try to keep track of AI applications in their field and actively engage with the technology behind it.
Kevin M. (Low)
02 Jul 2024 11:12
It’s just a job that needs humans, there are few hydrologists to begin with (groundwater engineers) and they would need to code robots to do that which will probably not happen
Anonymous
15 Aug 2019 02:30
Good lol I’m one
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