SOC 25-1052

Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary AI displacement risk

Chemistry faculty teach organic and analytical chemistry while supervising laboratories full of hazardous materials. AI solves textbook problems and drafts lab reports, but teaching students to handle chemicals safely — and catching the mistake before it becomes an incident — is in-person accountability.

Exposure50

Share and intensity of work current AI systems can materially affect.

Automation24%

Likely potential for exposed tasks to move to software after workflow integration.

Risk bandLow

Safety rules make the lab a supervised environment by regulation and by sense: compliance monitoring of student technique is not delegable. Research demand for computational chemistry skills grows alongside the tooling.

Distribution

Where Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary sits across 620 tracked roles

Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary · 26050100

Displacement pressure 26 — higher than 37% of the 620 occupations tracked on displacement.ai.

Score version

This page uses Seed model v0.4 (seed-v0.4-2026-05), last reviewed 2026-08-15. Directional occupation-level planning model using hand-reviewed public research, task exposure estimates, wage context, and transition-pathway assumptions.

28 O*NET task statements matched to SOC 25-1052. The displayed task profile combines these official task statements with the current public score model.

Median wage context: $93,250 (May 2025, US national). The latest BLS row matched SOC 25-1052.

Scores are planning signals, not forecasts. Local hiring demand, employer-specific workflows, licensing, and credentials must be validated before making career decisions.

2030 economic stress test

How Anthropic's scenarios classify Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary

SOC 25-1052 places this role in the paper's cognitive occupation group. These group-level outcomes do not change the 26/100 role score and are not an occupation forecast.

Modest change

+0.4% group wage

-0.5% cognitive employment since mid-2026; 2.9% cognitive unemployment.

Economy-wide: +1.6% GDP and 3.9% unemployment.

Substantial change

-0.3% group wage

-3.9% cognitive employment since mid-2026; 4.5% cognitive unemployment.

Economy-wide: +8.3% GDP and 4.6% unemployment.

Extreme change

-11.5% group wage

-21.5% cognitive employment since mid-2026; 17.9% cognitive unemployment.

Economy-wide: +32.4% GDP and 11.9% unemployment.

Compare the assumptions and limitations across all three scenarios. Source: The Anthropic Institute Working Paper No. 2026-02.

Official task evidence

O*NET task matches for Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary

The current evidence import matched 28 task statements from Task Statements 31.0 (August 2026). These rows are used as a grounding layer for judging which parts of the occupation are repeatable, language-heavy, analytical, social, physical, or compliance-sensitive.

Dataset31.0 (August 2026)
Matched tasks28
SOC25-1052
  • Core task / ID 5868

    Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, and chemical separation.

  • Core task / ID 20071

    Establish, teach, and monitor students' compliance with safety rules for handling chemicals, equipment, and other hazardous materials.

  • Core task / ID 5870

    Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory performance, assignments, and papers.

  • Core task / ID 5869

    Supervise students' laboratory work.

  • Core task / ID 5872

    Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.

  • Core task / ID 5876

    Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.

Source: O*NET Resource Center, Task Statements. Raw import target: data/raw/onet/task-statements-31-0.txt.

Task profile

Where AI changes the work

language

Prepare and deliver chemistry lectures

Exposure 54, automation 27%, augmentation 70%.

O*NET evidence: Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as or... (ID 5868)

compliance

Monitor student compliance with safety rules

Exposure 26, automation 10%, augmentation 52%.

O*NET evidence: Establish, teach, and monitor students' compliance with safety rules for handling chemi... (ID 20071)

physical

Supervise student laboratory work

Exposure 24, automation 8%, augmentation 50%.

O*NET evidence: Supervise students' laboratory work. (ID 5869)

analytical

Compile, administer, and grade examinations

Exposure 58, automation 34%, augmentation 62%.

O*NET evidence: Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others. (ID 5871)

TaskExposureAutomationAugmentation
Prepare and deliver chemistry lectures5427%70%
Monitor student compliance with safety rules2610%52%
Supervise student laboratory work248%50%
Compile, administer, and grade examinations5834%62%

Transition pathways

Adjacent moves that preserve existing skills

credentialed transition

Department Chair

Training horizon: 12-24 months. Skill overlap 64. Wage preservation signal 116.

  • Lead curriculum redesign
  • Manage research portfolios
  • Own program outcomes
Low
role redesign

Chemical Safety Officer

Training horizon: 6-12 months. Skill overlap 62. Wage preservation signal 110.

  • Own lab safety programs
  • Lead compliance audits
  • Train teaching assistants
Low

Comparison guides

Compare the next move before you commit

What the AI risk score means for Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary

The displacement pressure score for Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary is 26. That score blends task exposure, automation pressure, augmentation potential, wage vulnerability, transition feasibility, and source confidence. It is designed to help workers and workforce teams decide where to act first, not to claim a specific date when a job will disappear.

For this role, the clearest risk pattern is visible at the task level. Compile, administer, and grade examinations carries 34% automation pressure, while Prepare and deliver chemistry lectures carries 70% augmentation potential. That means the best response is usually a targeted redesign of work: move away from repeatable production tasks and toward judgment, exception handling, coordination, stakeholder context, and accountable use of AI tools.

Labor-market context and wage risk

Median wage: $93,250 (May 2025, US national). Employment context: Faculty role where safety supervision is the job. Typical education: Doctoral degree typical.

Wage vulnerability is 30, while transition feasibility is 70. A high wage-vulnerability score means workers should pay close attention to salary preservation before making a move. A high transition-feasibility score means there are adjacent paths that can reuse existing skills without requiring a complete career reset.

  • Low displacement pressure
  • Problem-solving AI hits homework first
  • Lab safety supervision is mandated

Upskilling priorities

Skills that make this role more resilient

The safest upskilling plan starts with skills already close to the work. For Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary, the strongest near-term skill priorities are listed below. These are useful whether the goal is to stay in the role, move to a redesigned version of the role, or transition into an adjacent occupation.

Priority 1

Chemistry instruction

Build proof of this skill through a work sample, checklist, dashboard, case note, workflow map, or portfolio artifact tied to the transition paths on this page.

Priority 2

Laboratory safety

Build proof of this skill through a work sample, checklist, dashboard, case note, workflow map, or portfolio artifact tied to the transition paths on this page.

Priority 3

Assessment design

Build proof of this skill through a work sample, checklist, dashboard, case note, workflow map, or portfolio artifact tied to the transition paths on this page.

Priority 4

Research supervision

Build proof of this skill through a work sample, checklist, dashboard, case note, workflow map, or portfolio artifact tied to the transition paths on this page.

90-day transition plan

The most practical next step is not to wait for a layoff or a full role redesign. Use the next 90 days to create evidence that you can operate in a safer, more AI-augmented version of the work.

  1. In the first 30 days, document the repetitive tasks in your current work and identify where AI can reduce drafting, lookup, classification, or reporting time.
  2. By 60 days, complete one small project connected to Department Chair, such as lead curriculum redesign.
  3. By 90 days, compare internal openings and external postings for Department Chair or Chemical Safety Officer and update your resume around measurable workflow outcomes.

FAQ

Questions about AI and Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary

Will AI replace Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary?

Chemistry faculty teach organic and analytical chemistry while supervising laboratories full of hazardous materials. AI solves textbook problems and drafts lab reports, but teaching students to handle chemicals safely — and catching the mistake before it becomes an incident — is in-person accountability. The better planning signal is not full replacement, but which tasks become automated, which tasks become AI-assisted, and which responsibilities still need human judgment.

Which parts of Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary work are most exposed to AI?

Compile, administer, and grade examinations and Prepare and deliver chemistry lectures show the strongest automation pressure in this model. Prepare and deliver chemistry lectures and Compile, administer, and grade examinations are better treated as AI-augmented work.

What should Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary learn next?

Start with Chemistry instruction, Laboratory safety, Assessment design. The most practical adjacent paths in this model are Department Chair and Chemical Safety Officer.

How should this score be used?

Use it as a planning signal, not a prediction. Confirm local hiring demand, wages, licensing, credentials, and employer adoption before making a career move.

Sources

Evidence trail