Can Agents Work?

Jobs / Science and research / 19-1031.03

Park Naturalists

Plan, develop, and conduct programs to inform public of historical, natural, and scientific features of national, state, or local park.

US jobs
25,950 (SOC 19-1031 group, "Conservation Scientists")
Median wage
$73,010 a year
Job family
Science and research

Can agents do the work of park naturalists?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Science and research:

  • Task levelPartialThin evidence. CORE-Bench asks agents to reproduce the results of published papers in computer science, social science, and medicine from the authors' code and data. Princeton's HAL team declared it solved in December 2025: Claude Code with Claude Opus 4.5 scored 95.5% after manual regrading. No benchmark in our collection tests new experiments or lab work.
  • Project levelNot yetThin evidence. On PaperBench, where agents replicate machine learning papers from scratch, the best official result is 26.0% (o1, April 2025). On a small subset, ML PhDs scored 41.4% against o1's 26.6%. No newer official results exist, and no benchmark tests research projects in other sciences.

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in science and research, not always this occupation's tasks.

  • CORE-Benchby Princeton UniversityTask level · CORE-Bench-Hard accuracy (public test set)
    95.5%Claude Code + Claude Opus 4.5 (after manual regrading) · 3 Dec 2025
    Solved
  • PaperBenchby OpenAIProject level · Average replication score
    26%IterativeAgent o1-high (36h limit) · 2 Apr 2025
    Emerging

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Provide care for park program animals.
  • Conduct field trips to point out scientific, historic, and natural features of parks, forests, historic sites, or other attractions.
  • Provide visitor services, such as explaining regulations, answering visitor requests, needs and complaints, and providing information about the park and surrounding areas.
  • Prepare and present illustrated lectures and interpretive talks about park features.
  • Plan and organize public events at the park.
  • Assist with operations of general facilities, such as visitor centers.
  • Train staff and volunteers on park programs.
  • Plan, organize and direct activities of seasonal staff members.
  • Develop environmental educational programs and curricula for schools.
  • Confer with park staff to determine subjects and schedules for park programs.
  • Perform emergency duties to protect human life, government property, and natural features of park.
  • Survey park to determine forest conditions and distribution and abundance of fauna and flora.
Other job titles for this occupation (16)

Environmental Education Specialist · Environmental Educator · Interpretive Naturalist · Interpretive Park Ranger · Natural Resource Educator · Naturalist · Park Activities Coordinator · Park Guide · Park Interpretive Specialist · Park Ranger · Camp Ranger · Interpretation Park Ranger · National Park Ranger · Park Interpretive Ranger · Park Protection Ranger · Park Specialist