Operations Research Analysts vs Software Developers
Operations Research Analysts carries the higher exposed share at 57.8% against 54.7%, a gap of 3.1 points. The difference is driven by both capability and friction: the two jobs differ in what a system can produce and in what stops it, by roughly the same amount. Release v2026.Q3.
| Occupation | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Capability | Friction | Median pay | Rank | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operations Research Analysts | 57.8% | 25.2% | 17.0% | 0.83 | 0.32 | $88,940 | 59 | exposed |
| Software Developers | 54.7% | 26.2% | 19.1% | 0.81 | 0.34 | $135,980 | 71 | exposed |
What stands in the way, in each
Operations Research Analysts: the dominant friction is that it runs on knowledge of the organisation that a model cannot hold. Capability sits at 0.83 of 1 and friction at 0.32 of 1.
Software Developers: the dominant friction is that it runs on knowledge of the organisation that a model cannot hold. Capability sits at 0.81 of 1 and friction at 0.34 of 1.
Capability asks whether a generally available system can produce the work product at all. Friction asks what stops it finishing the job: physical work, being present, being accountable, unseen context, or the cost of checking the output. The rubric is here.
Read each in full
Exposure is not displacement. A higher score does not rank two jobs by how safe they are, and nothing here models adoption, employment or pay.