Engineering Professors
Official O*NET title: Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary (25-1032.00)
Also called: assistant professor, associate professor, chemical engineering professor, electrical engineering professor, engineering instructor
Do you do this at work?
Answer each card — it takes about a minute.
Do you do this at work?
Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences
Swipe right for yes, left for not me. On a keyboard: → yes, ← not me, Z undo. +2 XP per answer.
How AI is changing engineering professors work
14 of 18 measurable main tasks for this job show up in real AI-use data, so we rate it Red (lots of AI use) — 78%.
This shows where people already use AI, not whether the job will disappear. How we measure this.
Tasks in this job and recorded AI use
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences (main task) — a lot of recorded AI use
- Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media (main task) — a lot of recorded AI use
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction (main task) — a lot of recorded AI use
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others (main task) — a lot of recorded AI use
- Start, help with, and moderate class discussions (main task) — a lot of recorded AI use
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as mechanics, hydraulics, and robotics (main task) — a lot of recorded AI use
- Prepare course materials (main task) — a lot of recorded AI use
- Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues (main task) — some recorded AI use
- Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues (main task) — some recorded AI use
- Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities (main task) — some recorded AI use
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, assignments, and papers (main task) — some recorded AI use
- Select and obtain materials and supplies (main task) — some recorded AI use
- Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students (main task) — some recorded AI use
- Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues (main task) — some recorded AI use
- Write grant proposals to procure external research funding (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Supervise students' laboratory work (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Provide professional consulting services to government or industry — a lot of recorded AI use
- Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments — a lot of recorded AI use
- Review manuscripts for professional journals — some recorded AI use
- Participate in campus and community events — some recorded AI use
- Act as advisers to student organizations — some recorded AI use
- Perform administrative duties — some recorded AI use
Tasks: O*NET 31.0. AI use: Anthropic Economic Index (exact or close text match).
Your first steps (guidance)
- Week 1: Open a free AI assistant and say hello. Follow our “Getting started with AI” guide. Ask it one simple question about your work.
- Week 2: Use AI on one task you do often. Try the prompt for: “Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences”. Try the prompt for: “Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media”.
Tick your own tasks above to get a plan based on what you really do. The first 2 weeks are free; Premium (coming soon) adds weeks 3–12. New to AI? Read our beginner’s guide.
Questions about AI and engineering professors
Will AI replace engineering professors?
Our data can’t predict job losses, and we don’t try to. What it does show: 14 of the 18 main tasks for this job match tasks people already use AI for (Anthropic Economic Index), giving a Red rating (lots of AI use). Using AI on a task is not the same as AI doing the whole job, and 4 of the 24 listed tasks show no recorded AI use yet.
Which engineering professor tasks is AI used for most?
In the data, the most AI use among this job’s tasks is for: keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences; conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media; plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, and course materials and methods of instruction.
Which engineering professor tasks show little or no AI use?
For example: write grant proposals to procure external research funding; supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work; supervise students' laboratory work. These are good places to keep building your own skills.
How does this job compare to others?
In Microsoft Research’s “Working with AI” study, this job’s AI applicability score is equal to or higher than 95% of the occupations they scored. That measures overlap with AI chat use, not risk of job loss.
How can a engineering professor start learning AI?
Start small: open a free AI assistant, try it on one task you do often, and always check facts and numbers yourself. The plan on this page is guidance, not professional advice.
See how this job ranks
Engineering Professors ranks #34 of 572 jobs for the share of main tasks with AI use (#1 = most), and #24 of 63 in Education. It’s in our top 50 jobs most changed by AI.
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