Job Check
Astronomers
Observe, research, and interpret astronomical phenomena to increase basic knowledge or apply such information to practical problems.
10 main tasks · most important first
Your main tasks and AI
Importance- 01Analyze research data to determine its significance, using computers.People already use AI for this at work
- 02Present research findings at scientific conferences and in papers written for scientific journals.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 03Study celestial phenomena, using a variety of ground-based and space-borne telescopes and scientific instruments.People already use AI for this at work
- 04Collaborate with other astronomers to carry out research projects.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 05Mentor graduate students and junior colleagues.Mostly human for now
- 06Supervise students' research on celestial and astronomical phenomena.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 07Teach astronomy or astrophysics.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 08Develop theories based on personal observations or on observations and theories of other astronomers.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 09Measure radio, infrared, gamma, and x-ray emissions from extraterrestrial sources.Mostly human for now
- 10Develop instrumentation and software for astronomical observation and analysis.People already use AI for this at work
Tasks from O*NET® 31.0 (US Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0, changed by us), most important first. “Already use” comes from Anthropic’s data on real work chats with Claude; “could speed up” from task ratings made with GPT-4 in 2023.
Four studies, side by side
None is a forecast of job loss39%of this job’s work time goes to tasks that people already do with Claude at work, counting tasks where AI only helps as half (2026).Anthropic, 2026
44%of this job’s tasks an AI model could do in half the time, counting tasks that need extra tools as half (rated in 2023).Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, 2023
Above 85% of jobsin how often and how well AI helped with this job’s work in Microsoft Copilot chats (2024 data).Microsoft Research (Tomlinson et al.), 2025
Your human edge
The main tasks with no real AI use seen and no big speed-up expected. This is where your skill counts most today.
- Mentor graduate students and junior colleagues.
- Measure radio, infrared, gamma, and x-ray emissions from extraterrestrial sources.