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Occupation · 2026 assessment

Photonics Scientific Data Analyst

The Photonics Scientific Data Analyst role combines repeatable operations with decisions that require professional context. The index measures task exposure to AI, software automation and robotics—not the probability that the occupation disappears.

Low risk level Search jobs ↗
How risk may change

A forecast estimate, not a guaranteed scenario.

25%2026
31%2028
38%2030
47%2035

Which tasks are exposed

Risk applies to individual tasks—not to a person or an entire occupation.

TaskRisk
Cleaning, joining and preparing data49%
Creating standard reports and visualizations47%
Forming conclusions and checking causality19%
Searching and organizing scientific literature48%
Cleaning and preprocessing data47%
Standard statistical analysis44%
Generating hypotheses and experiment options37%
Conducting a non-standard experiment7%

Task map

AI replaces ↔ AI augments

Each task is positioned by AI capability and the degree of human involvement still required.

  1. 1Cleaning, joining and preparing dataAI 49% · human 66%
  2. 2Creating standard reports and visualizationsAI 47% · human 67%
  3. 3Forming conclusions and checking causalityAI 19% · human 84%
  4. 4Searching and organizing scientific literatureAI 48% · human 73%
  5. 5Cleaning and preprocessing dataAI 47% · human 79%
  6. 6Standard statistical analysisAI 44% · human 73%
  7. 7Generating hypotheses and experiment optionsAI 37% · human 70%
  8. 8Conducting a non-standard experimentAI 7% · human 93%

Why technology can change this work

  • AI automatically drafts analyses, finds correlations and explains standard deviations
  • AI accelerates pattern discovery and experimental analysis
  • laboratory platforms automate repetitive procedures
  • models generate hypotheses and candidate materials or molecules

What protects the occupation

  • choosing the right question and checking causality rather than correlation alone
  • framing meaningful research questions
  • a large share of value comes from human judgement, trust or personal accountability
  • causality and evidence-quality assessment
  • methodological and interpretive accountability

United States · before tax

Average pay and outlook

Estimated nominal monthly pay. The scenario reflects sector, demand and task resilience; it is not a guarantee of income.

2026$8 350per month
2035$11 300scenario estimate
2026: $8 35020262027: $8 65020272028: $8 95020282029: $9 25020292030: $9 55020302031: $9 85020312032: $10 20020322033: $10 55020332034: $10 90020342035: $11 3002035
Find jobs ↗The partner link may contain referral parameters. Data benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ↗

Practical next step

Where to move next

Do not restart from zero: carry your experience forward and add scarce skills.

Materials Discovery Specialist

Emerging role
New role risk13%
DemandHighDifficultyLowTime3–6 monthsSkill fit89%

Dataset Curator

Emerging role
New role risk34%
DemandHighDifficultyLowTime3–6 monthsSkill fit87%

Model Behavior Analyst

Emerging role
New role risk19%
DemandHighDifficultyMediumTime6–12 monthsSkill fit68%

Climate Risk Modeler

Emerging role
New role risk16%
DemandHighDifficultyLowTime3–6 monthsSkill fit83%

Environmental Digital Twin Specialist

Emerging role
New role risk14%
DemandHighDifficultyLowTime3–6 monthsSkill fit81%

AI Evaluation Engineer

Emerging role
New role risk16%
DemandHighDifficultyMediumTime6–12 monthsSkill fit64%

Job search and transitions

Find work with a lower risk index

Compare adjacent paths and open a current search for the selected occupation.

Environmental Digital Twin Specialist

Skill fit 81% · risk 14%

Search jobs ↗

Skills you already have

  • analytical question framing
  • metric interpretation
  • research methodology
  • critical analysis
  • experimental work
  • data interpretation

Skills to build

  • SQL and data preparation
  • visualization and forecasting
  • computational methods
  • laboratory automation
  • reproducible research
  • scientific AI-model validation
CurrentPhotonics Scientific Data Analyst · 25%
→
Keepanalytical question framing · metric interpretation · research methodology
→
AddSQL and data preparation · visualization and forecasting · computational methods

Sources and update

Updated: 2026-09-25 · Assessment confidence: Medium

International Labour Organization · 2025Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure

Nearly 30,000 tasks; a global assessment of GenAI exposure across detailed occupational groups.

World Economic Forum · 2025The Future of Jobs Report 2025

A survey of more than 1,000 employers representing over 14 million workers across 55 economies.

O*NET Resource Center · 2026O*NET Database

Occupational, task, skill and work-context structure.