Career Explorer Office and admin
Changing shape
Eligibility interviewers, government programs
Determine eligibility of persons applying to receive assistance from government programs and agency resources, such as welfare, unemployment benefits, social security, and public housing.
Among the careers AI is changing fastest: more resilient than 9% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very high (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it very high), and US jobs are projected to change by +1.6% by 2035, slower than average. The work leans on emotional intelligence and ethical judgement.
AI can do many of the tasks, and hiring is expected to grow slower than average or to shrink. The job is likely to change, so build the human parts of it.
- Median pay (2025)
- $54,210
- Job growth to 2035
- +1.6%
- Openings a year
- 12,700
- People doing it (2025)
- 163,000
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Explain regulations, policies, or procedures
- Assist others to access additional services or resources
- Compile records, documentation, or other data
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Interview people to obtain information
- Collect data about consumer needs or opinions
- Record information about legal matters
What the work looks like
- Compute and authorize amounts of assistance for programs, such as grants, monetary payments, and food stamps.
- Keep records of assigned cases, and prepare required reports.
- Compile, record, and evaluate personal and financial data to verify completeness and accuracy, and to determine eligibility status.
- Interview and investigate applicants for public assistance to gather information pertinent to their applications.
- Interview benefits recipients at specified intervals to certify their eligibility for continuing benefits.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Court, municipal, and license clerksChanging shape, Index 13, +3.4%
- Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerksChanging shape, Index 18, +2.5%
- TellersChanging shape, Index 11, -13.2%
- Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerksChanging shape, Index 22, +1.8%
Also known as: Eligibility Specialist, Eligibility Worker, Social Welfare Examiner (SWEX), Workforce Services Representative (WSR), Benefits Program Tech (Benefits Program Technician), Business and Employment Specialist, Case Manager, Eligibility Examiner.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.