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Technicians and associate professionals · code 3111

Chemical and physical science technicians

Chemical and physical science technicians perform technical tasks to aid in research in chemistry, physics, geology, geophysics, meteorology and astronomy, and in the development of industrial, medical, military and other practical applications of research results. Tasks include - (a) collecting samples and preparing materials and equipment for experiments, tests and analyses; (b) carrying out routine laboratory tests and performing a variety of technical support functions to assist chemical and physical scientists in research, development, analysis and testing; (c) controlling the quality and quantity of laboratory supplies by testing samples and monitoring usage and preparing detailed estimates of quantities and costs of materials and labour required for projects, according to the specifications given; (d) setting up, operating, and maintaining laboratory instruments and equipment, monitoring experiments, making observations, and calculating and recording results; (e) preparing materials for experimentation such as freezing and slicing specimens and mixing chemicals; (f) collecting and testing earth and water samples, recording observations and analysing data in support of geologists or geophysicists. Examples of the occupations classified here: - Chemistry technician - Geology technician - Meteorology technician - Physics technician Some related occupations classified elsewhere: - Chemical engineering technician - 3116 - Chemical process technician - 3133 - Life science technician - 3141

None of this job's tasks scored high enough to count. It ranks 203 of 427 for holding up against AI.

Also known as

  • nuclear technician
  • geology technician
  • leather laboratory technician
  • environmental technician
  • remote sensing technician
  • chemistry technician
  • meteorology technician
  • soil surveying technician
  • hydrographic surveying technician
  • food analyst
  • radiation protection technician
  • physics technician
  • metrology technician
  • material testing technician

Job titles from the EU's ESCO list. Search for any of them on the jobs page and you'll end up here.

74.2
Holds up
against AI Not Exposed

AI could take on 25.8 of 100, on average
so it holds up at 100 − 25.8 = 74.2

That's the whole sum, and you can check it against the ILO's study.

48.2
How hands-on
out of 100

From O*NET, averaged across 4 US jobs

32.7
How fiddly
and cramped

finger skill 40.8 · hand skill 36.3 · cramped spaces 20.9 · averaged

Kind of hands-on work · hands-on under 50 Less than half hands-on

Less than half of this job is hands-on. Robots still matter, but for a smaller part of the work, so we don't sort it any further.

estimated O*NET 31.0 BLS occupational crosswalk chain ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC (Aug 2012, rev. Jun 2015); 2010 to 2018 SOC (Nov 2017); O*NET-SOC 2019 taxonomy data 0.7-work-setting measures chosen by Frey & Osborne (2017) · the grouping is a sorting, not a measurement

What this number leaves out This job rates 48.2 out of 100 for how hands-on it is. The score above only looks at AI tools, not robots, but for work this far from the physical that matters less.

The tasks behind the score

The score is the average of these. A job is really a bundle of tasks, and an average can hide how uneven that bundle is.

The task AI could do most of scores 41.3, while the average is 25.8. A big gap means some of this job is wide open to AI and some of it barely at all. That's quite different from a job where everything sits somewhere in the middle, even when the averages match.

  1. 41.3

    Controlling the quality and quantity of laboratory supplies by testing samples and monitoring usage and preparing detailed estimates of quantities and costs of materials and labour required for projects, according to the specifications given

    Low
  2. 28.8

    Setting up, operating, and maintaining laboratory instruments and equipment, monitoring experiments, making observations, and calculating and recording results

    Low
  3. 27

    Collecting and testing earth and water samples, recording observations and analysing data in support of geologists or geophysicists.

    Low
  4. 25.8

    Carrying out routine laboratory tests and performing a variety of technical support functions to assist chemical and physical scientists in research, development, analysis and testing

    Low
  5. 17

    Collecting samples and preparing materials and equipment for experiments, tests and analyses

    Very Low
  6. 14.8

    Preparing materials for experimentation such as freezing and slicing specimens and mixing chemicals

    Very Low

6 tasks · the High to Very Low labels are the ILO's

from the source Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs 2025 index data 0.7-work-setting

Helped, or replaced?

The score above can't tell a tool that makes you faster from one that does the task instead of you. Jobs and Skills Australia looked at those two things separately, and this is their result, matched to this job.

One Australian job matches, but only partly: not everyone in it does this job. Treat the numbers as a rough guide.

AI helps you
72
AI does it for you
40

Helping wins by 32 points.

estimated Our Gen AI Transition (Gen AI Capacity Study) September 2025 detailed data release data 0.7-work-setting matched to Australian jobs 3114

Compared with similar jobs

There are 82 jobs in the “Technicians and associate professionals” group, averaging 65.3. This one is above that.