Takeover Tracker
34%medium risk
Materials Scientists
vs

64 shared · 20 different

core competencies

28%medium risk
Petroleum Engineers

Side-by-Side Comparison

MetricMaterials ScientistsPetroleum Engineers
Risk Score34.3%28.3%
Risk TierMedium RiskMedium Risk
Risk Percentile63th31th
Tasks at Risk (>50%)8 / 155 / 15
Median Salary$104,160$141,280
Employment8K19K

Skill Comparison

|

Sorted by largest difference

Chemistry
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material
Controlling Machines and Processes
Science
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization
Thinking Creatively
Physics
Training and Teaching Others
English Language
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
CoordinationAI-Resistant
Production and Processing

Protective Factors

Higher values indicate stronger protection against AI displacement

Materials Scientists

31%

total discount

Petroleum Engineers

31%

total discount

Task Risk Comparison

Tasks sorted by AI automation risk — higher means more automatable

Materials Scientists

8 of 15 at risk
77%Test individual parts and products to ensure that manufacturer and governmental quality and safety standards are met.
70%Test metals to determine conformance to specifications of mechanical strength, strength-weight ratio, ductility, magnetic and electrical properties, and resistance to abrasion, corrosion, heat, and cold.
68%Prepare reports, manuscripts, proposals, and technical manuals for use by other scientists and requestors, such as sponsors and customers.
55%Recommend materials for reliable performance in various environments.
53%Write research papers for publication in scientific journals.

Petroleum Engineers

5 of 15 at risk
86%Maintain records of drilling and production operations.
86%Write technical reports for engineering and management personnel.
51%Analyze data to recommend placement of wells and supplementary processes to enhance production.
51%Monitor production rates, and plan rework processes to improve production.
51%Simulate reservoir performance for different recovery techniques, using computer models.

Wage Comparison

Petroleum Engineers earns +$37,120(+36%) vs Materials Scientists
Materials ScientistsPetroleum Engineers
10th
$61,460$78,840
25th
$79,980$107,330
Median
$104,160$141,280
75th
$134,140$191,100
90th
$168,500$228,790

Premium Head-to-Head Analysis

Displacement Timeline Comparison

Materials Scientists2028–2035
Petroleum Engineers2028–2035
20242030203520402045

Petroleum Engineers has a longer runway before significant displacement, projected 0 years later than Materials Scientists.

Risk-Adjusted Salary

Salary weighted by displacement risk: salary × (1 − risk%)

Materials Scientists

$68,464

from $104,160

Petroleum Engineers

$101,312

from $141,280

After adjusting for AI risk, Petroleum Engineers offers $32,848 more in risk-adjusted pay.

Transition Feasibility

1%

Skill Overlap

Low overlap — significant retraining needed for transition

0

Unique to Materials

0

Unique to Petroleum

Combined Protection Strategy

Regardless of which path you choose, focus on these protective factors

Fine Manipulation
Creativity
Social Intelligence
Decision Complexity
Materials ScientistsPetroleum Engineers
Find transitions from Materials ScientistsFind transitions from Petroleum Engineers