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Natural Sciences Managers

Also known as: Analytical Services Manager, Chemical Engineer Supervisor, Chemical Process Exploration Manager, Environmental Program Manager, Lab Manager (Laboratory Manager)
median $167,22010-yr demand +3.7%AI exposure 6/100typical entry Bachelor's degree
Natural Sciences Managers is well paid, AI barely touches it so far, and demand is steady.

The full pay distribution

Not one number — the spread from the bottom 10% to the top 10% of filed salaries.

Where it pays the most

Median salary by metro — the bar in amber is the U.S. median for comparison.

How pay grows with experience

From entry to expert, by reported wage level.

How exposed is it to AI?

Two things matter: how much AI is actually used in the role today (right), and how much it could automate in theory (up). High potential, little real use yet.
Each faint dot is another occupation. The amber dot is Natural Sciences Managers — its position tells you whether the disruption is here yet or still over the horizon.
used today 6/100 automatable in theory 57/100 archetype The Sleeping Giant

If AI does come for this job — where could you go?

Adjacent careers ranked by how much safer + how much more they pay, and the skill gap to get there. Click any to see its full breakdown.

Which majors lead here

College paths that commonly feed this career — see each one's full outcomes.
Engineering Physics
CIP 14.12
see major →
Operations Research
CIP 14.37
see major →
Biology, General
CIP 26.01
see major →
Biochemistry, Biophysics And Molecular Biology
CIP 26.02
see major →
Botany/Plant Biology
CIP 26.03
see major →
Cell/Cellular Biology And Anatomical Sciences
CIP 26.04
see major →
Microbiological Sciences And Immunology
CIP 26.05
see major →
Zoology/Animal Biology
CIP 26.07
see major →
Genetics
CIP 26.08
see major →
Physiology, Pathology And Related Sciences
CIP 26.09
see major →
Pharmacology And Toxicology
CIP 26.10
see major →
Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, And Computational Biology
CIP 26.11
see major →
How this is built. Median pay and the full distribution come from filed U.S. wage data (BLS OEWS + DOL/LCA filings); AI exposure blends O*NET task content with model-based automation potential; escape routes are computed from skill overlap between occupations, then ranked by how much safer + better-paid the move is. This joins real distributions and projects them forward — it needs the real distributions and the skill graph, not a guess. Figures describe group medians and trends, not any one person's outcome.