Caleb Brawley is one year into his program at Rosedale Technical College in Pittsburgh, studying automotive technology. He graduates this November, and unlike many of his college-educated friends, he is not worried about his future.
“It was something I always considered, but I never really realized how prominent it was becoming until some of my friends started having trouble getting jobs as a result of AI,” Brawley said.
Career experts at Resume Now analyzed Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET data across two separate studies — one focused on high earners, another on entry-level workers — each looking for careers that include good pay, fast growth, and low automation risk.
They found that when it comes to the most AI-resistant careers, healthcare roles dominate the high-earner index, claiming eight of the top twenty spots.
- Nurse Anesthetists
- Emergency Physicians
- Judges
- General Surgeons
- Commercial Pilots
- Physician Assistants
- Airline Pilot, Copilot, or Flight Engineer
- Flight Test Engineers
- Air Traffic Controllers
- Veterinarians
- Anesthesiologists
- Chief Executive Officers (CEO)
- Chief Information Security Officers (CIO)
- Pharmacists
- Dentists
“Healthcare, like a lot of the other jobs in the index, involves responsibility for human safety, ethical decision making, or organizational success,” said Keith Spencer of Resume Now. “And they’re often in environments where serious consequences can happen when there are mistakes. You also saw aviation, law, cybersecurity, and even leadership roles where mistakes have consequences. You don’t want to leave things like that entirely up to AI — you want a human there to make the final call.”
On the entry-level side, wind turbine technicians are projected to grow 50% by 2034. Solar panel installers, 42%. Electricians account for more than 77,000 job openings alone.
12 Entry-Level Careers Marked by Fast Growth, High Pay, and AI Resistance:
- Dental Hygienists
- Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
- Respiratory Therapists
- Radiologic and MRI Technologists
- Occupational Therapy Assistants
- Wind Turbine Technicians
- Surgical Assistants and Technologists
- Electricians
- Physical Therapist Assistants
- Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics
- Solar Photovoltaic Installers
- EMTs and Paramedics
“We’re seeing AI reshape the job market,” Spencer said. “We are seeing greater emphasis and value placed on uniquely human skills — things like critical thinking, accountability, decision making, and emotional intelligence.”
At Rosedale Technical College, enrollment is up 36% in the last five years. The school will top 800 students this year, its second consecutive record. Thirty-five percent of incoming students already have some college credits — many abandoning four-year degrees for the trades.
“A lot of our growth is coming from students who came from traditional college prep programs in high school and are realizing that four, five, or six years to get a college degree, when you’re not sure what job you’re going to get, maybe doesn’t make as much sense,” said Dennis Wilke, president of Rosedale Technical College.
Wilke says AI is not the enemy of the trades — it is becoming part of the toolkit. Employers are incorporating AI into diagnostics and workflow, but someone still has to show up and do the work.
“AI-proof for us means, first of all, you need someone physically there to fix the machine, to run the cable — those kinds of things,” Wilke said.
For Caleb Brawley, watching his computer science friends struggle to find work after years of expensive schooling only reinforced his decision.
“AI is useful as a tool, but we shouldn’t allow it to make us lazy,” he said. “Whatever our occupations are, we should still seek to do what we do well, regardless of whether AI is involved or not.”
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