BETA
Updated: Feb 6
BETA
Updated: Feb 6
Evolving
Last Update: 11/21/2025
Your role’s AI Resilience Score is
41.0%
Median Score
Changing Fast
Evolving
Stable
What does this resilience result mean?
These roles are shifting as AI becomes part of everyday workflows. Expect new responsibilities and new opportunities.
AI Resilience Report for
Food Science Technicians
They help make food safe and tasty by testing ingredients, checking quality, and assisting scientists with food research and experiments.
Summary
The career of a Food Science Technician is labeled as "Evolving" because while AI and automation are increasingly handling tasks like data recording and temperature monitoring, many essential duties still need a human touch. Tasks such as tasting and smelling foods rely on human senses, and technicians are also needed for machine maintenance.
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View analysisChat with CoachLatest newsMore career infoSummary
The career of a Food Science Technician is labeled as "Evolving" because while AI and automation are increasingly handling tasks like data recording and temperature monitoring, many essential duties still need a human touch. Tasks such as tasting and smelling foods rely on human senses, and technicians are also needed for machine maintenance.
Read full analysisContributing Sources
AI Resilience
All scores are converted into percentiles showing where this career ranks among U.S. careers. For models that measure impact or risk, we flip the percentile (subtract it from 100) to derive resilience.
CareerVillage.org's AI Resilience Analysis
AI Task Resilience
Evolving30.6%
30.6%
Microsoft's Working with AI
AI Applicability
Evolving69.7%
69.7%
Anthropic's Economic Index
AI Resilience
Evolving38.8%
38.8%
Will Robots Take My Job
Automation Resilience
Changing fast17.6%
17.6%
Medium Demand
Labor Market Outlook
We use BLS employment projections to complement the AI-focused assessments from other sources.
Learn about this scoreGrowth Rate (2024-34):
4.8%
Growth Percentile:
71.4%
Annual Openings:
3.2
Annual Openings Pct:
30.9%
Analysis of Current AI Resilience
Food Science Technicians
Updated Quarterly • Last Update: 11/21/2025
State of Automation & Augmentation
Food-testing labs already use a lot of software. For example, digital lab information systems (LIMS) are common – they automatically record test results, create graphs, and track data instead of paper logs [1] [1]. New food-safety laws even require electronic record-keeping, pushing labs to adopt these systems [1].
Many routine checks are now automated: temperature sensors and controllers monitor storage conditions and send alerts if something goes wrong [1] [2]. This reduces errors and ensures safety.
Other tasks still need people. Cleaning, calibrating, and repairing lab machines usually can’t be done by robots yet, so technicians must handle that work. Tasting and smelling foods is also mostly manual.
Engineers are working on “electronic nose” devices, and one experiment with an AI-powered e-nose correctly judged meat freshness 98% of the time [3], but such tools are still experimental. In general, computers help with data and monitoring tasks (like making reports or watching temperatures), while humans still do hands-on lab support and sensory tests.
Sources
AI Adoption
Adopting AI tools in food labs has clear benefits, but also some hurdles. On the plus side, automation improves speed and accuracy. Industry experts note that automation in labs “can streamline processes, reduce human error, and increase testing capacity” [4].
New rules (like the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act) actually mandate better digital tracking, so labs often adopt technology quickly to stay compliant [1] [4]. Many lab managers find that hands-off monitoring (for example, automatic temperature logs) saves money and avoids mistakes [1] [2].
On the other hand, some AI is still costly or complex. Smaller labs may hesitate to buy expensive new equipment or software. Also, quality-testing jobs need human judgment: tasting, creativity in problem solving, and understanding subtle results.
Customers and regulators trust that human experts verify food quality. So while AI tools for data and routine checks are likely to grow quickly, tasks that need a person’s senses or intuition will change more slowly. In all, technical systems will handle more record-keeping and monitoring, but food science technicians’ lab skills and taste expertise will remain valuable.
Sources
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More Career Info
Career: Food Science Technicians
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Employment & Wage Data
Median Wage
$49,430
Jobs (2024)
20,400
Growth (2024-34)
+4.8%
Annual Openings
3,200
Education
Associate's degree
Experience
None
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024-2034
Task-Level AI Resilience Scores
AI-generated estimates of task resilience over the next 3 years
1
Taste or smell foods or beverages to ensure that flavors meet specifications or to select samples with specific characteristics.
2
Prepare or incubate slides with cell cultures.
3
Provide assistance to food scientists or technologists in research and development, production technology, or quality control.
4
Perform regular maintenance of laboratory equipment by inspecting, calibrating, cleaning, or sterilizing.
5
Examine chemical or biological samples to identify cell structures or to locate bacteria or extraneous material, using a microscope.
6
Analyze test results to classify products or compare results with standard tables.
7
Mix, blend, or cultivate ingredients to make reagents or to manufacture food or beverage products.
Tasks are ranked by their AI resilience, with the most resilient tasks shown first. Core tasks are essential functions of this occupation, while supplemental tasks provide additional context.
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