Takeover Tracker
29%medium risk
Physicists
vs

36 shared · 37 different

core competencies

32%medium risk
Operations Research Analysts

Side-by-Side Comparison

MetricPhysicistsOperations Research Analysts
Risk Score29.3%31.9%
Risk TierMedium RiskMedium Risk
Risk Percentile35th51th
Tasks at Risk (>50%)6 / 156 / 15
Median Salary$166,290$91,290
Employment21K108K

Skill Comparison

|

Sorted by largest difference

Physics
Science
Visualization
Speed of Closure
Speech Clarity
Learning Strategies
ProgrammingAI-Vulnerable
Engineering and Technology
InstructingAI-Resistant
Originality
Reading ComprehensionAI-Vulnerable
Oral Comprehension

Protective Factors

Higher values indicate stronger protection against AI displacement

Physicists

34%

total discount

Operations Research Analysts

30%

total discount

Task Risk Comparison

Tasks sorted by AI automation risk — higher means more automatable

Physicists

6 of 15 at risk
76%Direct testing and monitoring of contamination of radioactive equipment, and recording of personnel and plant area radiation exposure data.
53%Write research proposals to receive funding.
53%Report experimental results by writing papers for scientific journals or by presenting information at scientific conferences.
52%Design computer simulations to model physical data so that it can be better understood.
51%Analyze data from research conducted to detect and measure physical phenomena.

Operations Research Analysts

6 of 15 at risk
59%Review research literature.
53%Specify manipulative or computational methods to be applied to models.
52%Study and analyze information about alternative courses of action to determine which plan will offer the best outcomes.
52%Break systems into their components, assign numerical values to each component, and examine the mathematical relationships between them.
51%Formulate mathematical or simulation models of problems, relating constants and variables, restrictions, alternatives, conflicting objectives, and their numerical parameters.

Wage Comparison

Operations Research Analysts earns -$75,000(-45%) vs Physicists
PhysicistsOperations Research Analysts
10th
$80,020$53,910
25th
$117,450$66,910
Median
$166,290$91,290
75th
$210,260$124,120
90th
$239,200$159,280

Premium Head-to-Head Analysis

Displacement Timeline Comparison

Physicists2028–2035
Operations Research Analysts2028–2035
20242030203520402045

Physicists has a longer runway before significant displacement, projected 0 years later than Operations Research Analysts.

Risk-Adjusted Salary

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

Physicists

$117,534

from $166,290

Operations Research Analysts

$62,159

from $91,290

After adjusting for AI risk, Physicists offers $55,374 more in risk-adjusted pay.

Transition Feasibility

1%

Skill Overlap

Low overlap — significant retraining needed for transition

0

Unique to Physicists

0

Unique to Operations

Combined Protection Strategy

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

Fine Manipulation
Social Intelligence
Creativity
Regulatory Barriers
PhysicistsOperations Research Analysts
Find transitions from PhysicistsFind transitions from Operations Research Analysts