Ranked list
Safety from automation usually gets discussed separately from pay — this list crosses the two. Every job here has a BLS median of $80,000+ and sits in our Resilient band (score ≤ 34) for AI exposure, with at least 25,000 US workers. 24 of the 40 clear six figures at the median.
Updated July 2026 · wages: BLS OEWS May 2024 · scoring methodology
| # | Occupation | AI score | Band | Median pay | US workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Family Medicine Physicians | 30 | Resilient | $238,380 | 107,950 |
| 2 | Physician / Surgeon | 15 | Resilient | $230,000 | 750,000 |
| 3 | Nurse Anesthetists | 22 | Resilient | $223,210 | 50,350 |
| 4 | Pediatricians, General | 22 | Resilient | $210,130 | 42,960 |
| 5 | Airline Pilot | 21 | Resilient | $171,000 | 90,000 |
| 6 | Dentist | 11 | Resilient | $166,000 | 155,000 |
| 7 | Marketing Manager | 32 | Resilient | $157,000 | 380,000 |
| 8 | Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates | 22 | Resilient | $156,210 | 25,580 |
| 9 | Pharmacist | 21 | Resilient | $137,000 | 330,000 |
| 10 | Wind Energy Operations Managers | 22 | Resilient | $136,550 | 630,980 |
| 11 | Optometrists | 18 | Resilient | $134,830 | 41,890 |
| 12 | Physician Assistants | 30 | Resilient | $133,260 | 155,540 |
| 13 | Anesthesiologist Assistants | 25 | Resilient | $133,260 | 155,540 |
| 14 | Veterinarians | 18 | Resilient | $125,510 | 80,630 |
| 15 | Geothermal Production Managers | 22 | Resilient | $121,440 | 234,380 |
| 16 | Biofuels Production Managers | 20 | Resilient | $121,440 | 234,380 |
| 17 | Biomass Power Plant Managers | 25 | Resilient | $121,440 | 234,380 |
| 18 | Hydroelectric Production Managers | 25 | Resilient | $121,440 | 234,380 |
| 19 | Wind Energy Engineers | 30 | Resilient | $117,750 | 150,750 |
| 20 | Naturopathic Physicians | 30 | Resilient | $113,730 | 30,870 |
| 21 | Orthoptists | 25 | Resilient | $113,730 | 30,870 |
| 22 | Construction Managers | 32 | Resilient | $106,980 | 348,330 |
| 23 | Facilities Managers | 22 | Resilient | $104,690 | 141,090 |
| 24 | Security Managers | 30 | Resilient | $104,690 | 141,090 |
| 25 | Power Plant Operators | 28 | Resilient | $99,670 | 30,720 |
| 26 | Biomass Plant Technicians | 16 | Resilient | $99,670 | 30,720 |
| 27 | Hydroelectric Plant Technicians | 12 | Resilient | $99,670 | 30,720 |
| 28 | Physical Therapist | 12 | Resilient | $99,000 | 250,000 |
| 29 | Mechanical Engineer | 23 | Resilient | $99,000 | 280,000 |
| 30 | Project Manager | 28 | Resilient | $98,000 | 900,000 |
| 31 | Clinical and Counseling Psychologists | 30 | Resilient | $95,830 | 72,190 |
| 32 | Civil Engineer | 24 | Resilient | $95,000 | 330,000 |
| 33 | Architect | 26 | Resilient | $93,000 | 130,000 |
| 34 | Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers | 22 | Resilient | $92,560 | 123,680 |
| 35 | First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers | 30 | Resilient | $92,430 | 93,680 |
| 36 | Dental Hygienist | 23 | Resilient | $87,000 | 220,000 |
| 37 | School Psychologists | 32 | Resilient | $86,930 | 63,830 |
| 38 | Registered Nurse | 14 | Resilient | $86,000 | 3,300,000 |
| 39 | Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels | 32 | Resilient | $85,540 | 35,390 |
| 40 | Talent Directors | 32 | Resilient | $83,480 | 145,270 |
Almost everything on this list is a job where a human is legally or personally on the hook for the outcome — a diagnosis, a structure, a flight, an organization. AI is already inside these jobs as a drafting and analysis layer, which tends to make the accountable human more productive and more valuable, not redundant. That's the inversion worth understanding: in exposed jobs AI competes with you; in accountable jobs it works for you.
The trade-off is the moat itself: most of these careers require a license, an advanced degree or a long apprenticeship. If you're mid-career and the entry cost is too high, look one step adjacent — every occupation page on this site lists safer pivot roles that reuse your existing experience. Start from your current job to see them.
Three filters: a BLS median wage of at least $80,000 (May 2024 OEWS), an AI exposure score of 34 or below (our Resilient band), and at least 25,000 US workers so it's a realistic career path. Ranked by pay.
Because those fields combine every automation moat at once: licensure and legal accountability, hands-on procedures, high-stakes judgment and in-person trust — and the pay reflects the years of training the license requires. Management roles appear for a different reason: AI drafts and analyzes, but organizations still put humans in charge of humans.
The trades are the shortcut on this spectrum: electricians, plumbers and similar licensed trades score in the resilient band, reach $60-80k medians (higher with overtime or your own crew) and take an apprenticeship, not a doctorate. They just fall below this page's $80k line — see the full safest-jobs list for them.