Will engineering professors be replaced by AI?
Updated
Engineering professors score 50 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 53%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 12% outright, and 35% stays with people.
- 12% AI can do it
- 53% AI helps
- 35% Needs a person
High exposure
Higher than 75% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 24 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 3 of them today, speeds up 12 and leaves 9 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records. Attendance and grade records are routine data entry for software. | 82% AI can do it |
| Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments. AI compiles reading lists quickly; instructor verifies citations. | 78% AI can do it |
| Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts. AI drafts syllabi, assignments and handouts well; instructor reviews. | 72% AI can do it |
| Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, assignments, and papers. AI can grade routine work; instructor checks and is responsible for grades. | 50% AI helps |
| Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others. AI drafts and grades exam items; proctoring stays human. | 50% AI helps |
| Write grant proposals to procure external research funding. AI drafts proposal sections; PI shapes ideas and budget. | 45% AI helps |
| Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction. AI drafts curriculum options; faculty set goals and priorities. | 45% AI helps |
| Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences. AI summarizes papers quickly; conferences and networking stay in person. | 40% AI helps |
| Review manuscripts for professional journals. AI checks clarity and gaps; expert judgment on merit stays human. | 40% AI helps |
| Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media. AI speeds literature review and drafting; experiments stay human. | 35% AI helps |
Show the other 14 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as mechanics, hydraulics, and robotics. AI helps build slides; live delivery and interaction remain human. | 35% AI helps |
| Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and laboratory equipment. AI researches vendors and drafts orders; equipment checks are physical. | 35% AI helps |
| Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities. Registration is automatable; recruiting events and placement need people. | 30% AI helps |
| Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues. AI can draft plans and options; advising conversations stay personal. | 30% AI helps |
| Provide professional consulting services to government or industry. Expert consulting blends AI research with accountable judgment and client trust. | 25% AI helps |
| Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head. Department leadership and personnel decisions require human accountability. | 18% Needs a person |
| Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work. Mentoring students is interpersonal and tied to live judgment. | 15% Needs a person |
| Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues. Collegial problem solving relies on in-person judgment and trust. | 15% Needs a person |
| Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues. Committee votes and deliberation require human judgment and accountability. | 15% Needs a person |
| Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students. Office hours involve live one-on-one advising and personal support. | 12% Needs a person |
| Initiate, facilitate, and moderate class discussions. Live discussion facilitation depends on real-time human interaction. | 10% Needs a person |
| Supervise students' laboratory work. Supervising hands-on lab work requires physical presence and safety oversight. | 8% Needs a person |
| Act as advisers to student organizations. Advising student clubs depends on personal, live relationships. | 8% Needs a person |
| Participate in campus and community events. Attending campus and community events requires physical presence. | 5% Needs a person |
How engineering professors compare
All occupations (923)
Educational instruction and library (62)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $109,270 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 40,270 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +7.8% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Run hands-on lab sessions with safety oversight on physical equipment
- Model circuit and structural designs for students in MATLAB
- Draft and mark up technical drawings in AutoCAD
- Supervise graduate theses and research committees in person
- Write NSF grant proposals with your research aims and budget
- Hold a Professional Engineer PE license for industry credibility
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about engineering professors and AI
Will AI replace engineering professors?
Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly keeping attendance and grade records and compiling reading lists. Lectures, lab supervision, and mentoring stay with people because they need a person in the room.
Which engineering professor tasks is AI taking over?
Attendance and grade records lead, with an exposure score of 82. Compiling bibliographies scores 78 and preparing syllabi, homework, and handouts scores 72, since AI drafts these well and the instructor reviews the output before students see it.
Which engineering professor tasks stay human?
Supervising laboratory work scores 8 on exposure, because hands-on lab work needs physical presence and safety oversight. Office hours score 12 and supervising research scores 15, since live advising and mentoring depend on a person being present.
How can engineering professors stay valuable as AI grows?
Spend the hours AI frees on labs, mentoring, and grant work. Check every AI-drafted exam item and grade in your LMS, run lab sessions and modeling in MATLAB and AutoCAD, and shape the research ideas and budget in each grant proposal yourself.
Related jobs
Next steps for engineering professors
Check which roles in your team AI can take on
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