AI exposure: Computer Network Support Specialists
Analyze, test, troubleshoot, and evaluate existing network systems, such as local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), cloud networks, servers, and other data communications networks. Perform network maintenance to ensure networks operate correctly with minimal interruption.
Reading this score
computed48.2% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Computer Network Support Specialists at the 87th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.8 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.
What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 26 tasks it averages 1.71 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.
The most exposed thing this job does is Back up network data, at 80.0%. The least is Install and configure wireless networking equipment, at 0.0%. A gap of 80.0% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within computer and mathematical occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 57.8% across the group's 36 roles, with 30 scoring higher. Being in an exposed family does not make a particular job exposed, and the reverse holds too.
What would move this score. Of 26 tasks, 21 are currently banded exposed, 1 assisted and 4 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take systems being given deeper access to the organisation's own records and history, which is already happening. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Task by task
26 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Back up network data. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 4.44 | exposed |
| Analyze network data to determine network usage, disk space availability, or server function. | 80.0% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 3.94 | exposed |
| Document network support activities. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.09 | exposed |
| Create or update technical documentation for network installations or changes to existing installations. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.61 | exposed |
| Maintain logs of network activity. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.44 | exposed |
| Document help desk requests and resolutions. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.43 | exposed |
| Run monthly network reports. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.05 | exposed |
| Create or revise user instructions, procedures, or manuals. | 66.7% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 3.29 | exposed |
| Monitor industry Web sites or publications for information about patches, releases, viruses, or potential problem identification. | 65.0% | 10.0% | 25.0% | 3.66 | exposed |
| Install network software, including security or firewall software. | 60.0% | 15.0% | 25.0% | 4.02 | exposed |
| Train users in procedures related to network applications software or related systems. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 3.58 | exposed |
| Evaluate local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN) performance data to ensure sufficient availability or speed, to identify network problems, or for disaster recovery purposes. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.96 | exposed |
| Test repaired items to ensure proper operation. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.57 | exposed |
| Provide telephone support related to networking or connectivity issues. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.96 | exposed |
| Research hardware or software products to meet technical networking or security needs. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.34 | exposed |
| Test computer software or hardware, using standard diagnostic testing equipment and procedures. | 43.8% | 18.8% | 37.5% | 3.67 | exposed |
| Analyze and report computer network security breaches or attempted breaches. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.26 | exposed |
| Troubleshoot network or connectivity problems for users or user groups. | 37.5% | 25.0% | 37.5% | 3.96 | exposed |
| Configure and define parameters for installation or testing of local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), hubs, routers, switches, controllers, multiplexers, or related networking equipment. | 37.5% | 25.0% | 37.5% | 3.89 | exposed |
| Configure security settings or access permissions for groups or individuals. | 35.0% | 40.0% | 25.0% | 4.37 | assisted |
| Identify the causes of networking problems, using diagnostic testing software and equipment. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 4.18 | exposed |
| Configure wide area network (WAN) or local area network (LAN) routers or related equipment. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 4.04 | exposed |
| Install new hardware or software systems or components, ensuring integration with existing network systems. | 26.2% | 11.2% | 62.5% | 3.87 | untouched |
| Install or repair network cables, including fiber optic cables. | 14.2% | 10.8% | 75.0% | 3.66 | untouched |
| Perform routine maintenance or standard repairs to networking components or equipment. | 13.3% | 11.7% | 75.0% | 3.92 | untouched |
| Install and configure wireless networking equipment. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.53 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 2.85 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 0.92 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.19 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.85 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.71 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.38 | 0-3 |
What this means in practice
Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.