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Occupation · 2026 assessment

Virology Researcher

The Virology Researcher 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.

Very low risk level Search jobs ↗
How risk may change

A forecast estimate, not a guaranteed scenario.

17%2026
24%2028
32%2030
42%2035

Which tasks are exposed

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

TaskRisk
Searching and organizing scientific literature40%
Cleaning and preprocessing data39%
Standard statistical analysis36%
Generating hypotheses and experiment options29%
Conducting a non-standard experiment3%
Result interpretation and scientific accountability6%

Task map

AI replaces ↔ AI augments

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

  1. 1Searching and organizing scientific literatureAI 40% · human 81%
  2. 2Cleaning and preprocessing dataAI 39% · human 87%
  3. 3Standard statistical analysisAI 36% · human 81%
  4. 4Generating hypotheses and experiment optionsAI 29% · human 78%
  5. 5Conducting a non-standard experimentAI 3% · human 94%
  6. 6Result interpretation and scientific accountabilityAI 6% · human 89%

Why technology can change this work

  • AI accelerates pattern discovery and experimental analysis
  • laboratory platforms automate repetitive procedures
  • models generate hypotheses and candidate materials or molecules

What protects the occupation

  • framing meaningful research questions
  • causality and evidence-quality assessment
  • a large share of value comes from human judgement, trust or personal accountability
  • 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$9 150per month
2035$13 250scenario estimate
2026: $9 15020262027: $9 55020272028: $9 95020282029: $10 35020292030: $10 80020302031: $11 25020312032: $11 70020322033: $12 20020332034: $12 70020342035: $13 2502035
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.

Data Analyst

Established resilient role
New role risk51%
DemandHighDifficultyMediumTime6–12 monthsSkill fit72%

Synthetic Biology Process Engineer

Emerging role
New role risk14%
DemandHighDifficultyLowTime3–6 monthsSkill fit87%

Dataset Curator

Emerging role
New role risk34%
DemandHighDifficultyLowTime3–6 monthsSkill fit85%

Model Behavior Analyst

Emerging role
New role risk19%
DemandHighDifficultyMediumTime6–12 monthsSkill fit66%

Climate Risk Modeler

Emerging role
New role risk16%
DemandHighDifficultyLowTime3–6 monthsSkill fit81%

Environmental Digital Twin Specialist

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

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

  • research methodology
  • critical analysis
  • experimental work
  • data interpretation

Skills to build

  • computational methods
  • laboratory automation
  • reproducible research
  • scientific AI-model validation
CurrentVirology Researcher · 17%
→
Keepresearch methodology · critical analysis · experimental work
→
Addcomputational methods · laboratory automation · reproducible research

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.