Computer and Information Research Scientists

Low Risk
30%

Where Would You Like to Go Next?

Share your results with friends and family.
Get results for another job Compare to another job

Or, Explore This Profession in Greater Detail...

Vote Comments (5)
AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
31%
(Low Risk)
POLLING
30%
(Low Risk, Based on 448 votes)
Average: 30%
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
25.6%
by year 2033
WAGES
$145,080
or $69.74 per hour
Volume
35,210
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
8.0/10
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.

People also viewed

Computer Programmers Web Developers Lawyers Graphic Designers Mechanical Engineers

Calculated automation risk

31% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): Jobs in this level have a limited risk of automation, as they demand a mix of technical and human-centric skills.

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

User poll

30% 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 31% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Computer and Information Research Scientists will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

The following graph is shown where there are enough votes to produce meaningful data. It displays user poll results over time, providing a clear indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Very fast growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Computer and Information Research Scientists' job openings is expected to rise 25.6% 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

Very high paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Computer and Information Research Scientists' was 145.080 $, or 70 $ per hour

'Computer and Information Research Scientists' were paid 201.9% higher than the national median wage, which stood at 48.060 $

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Lower range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2023 there were 35,210 people employed as 'Computer and Information Research Scientists' within the United States.

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

Put another way, around 1 in 4 thousand people are employed as 'Computer and Information Research Scientists'.

Job description

Conduct research into fundamental computer and information science as theorists, designers, or inventors. Develop solutions to problems in the field of computer hardware and software.

SOC Code: 15-1221.00

Comments (5)

Leave a comment
Adobe Wrestler
19 Nov 2025 00:41
With enough ML programming, AI will reach convergence . When ML programming hits an exponential curve, humans won't be able to catch up or understand what is happening. AI won't make it obvious; it would distract humans all the while this is happening.
Özgür Taylan Çelik (Moderate)
20 Jul 2025 09:25
There’s no way we’ll go two decades without some breakthrough—surely someone will cook up a clever wrapper AI that mimics human-centric skills. Honestly, give it 20 years and not only will AI replicate those skills, it’ll probably start churning out its own fresh takes on human impact (thematic analysis included).
Joe (Moderate)
22 Oct 2024 05:28
AI will continue to grow stronger, leaving less "medium" skilled positions available
Hot Take (No chance)
27 Mar 2024 00:12
Computer Science is developing AI currently. After AGI is achieved people still need to understand the mechanics behind it. Computer Scientists will be necessary to align AI with human goals.

I do see a lot of programming jobs getting obsolete, but programming is not Computer Science. Programming is a tool. If we ever render computer scientists obsolete then we might as well render physicists, mathematicians and other researchers obsolete.

I believe as the world become more digital the necessity to understand Computer Science will grow :)
BibirMengkeroet (No chance)
13 Sep 2022 11:51
AI could only replace (best) computer scientists when singularity happens. At that point, all jobs were already replaced. What's the point of the financial system anyway?
Leave a reply about this occupation
0/8000