Jobs at risk from AI

Data Entry Keyers

Routine structured entry, duplicate checks, and record transfer are highly exposed to direct automation. The strongest transition path moves workers from keystroke volume into data quality, exception handling, and workflow support.

Pressure: 86
Automation: 78%
Wage risk: 76

Telemarketers

Scripted cold outreach, list-based solicitation, and order capture are among the most automatable tasks in the economy, and AI voice agents are targeting exactly this work. Employment has been declining for years.

Pressure: 84
Automation: 74%
Wage risk: 82

Medical Transcriptionists

Speech recognition and ambient clinical documentation have automated the core dictation-to-text workflow that defined this occupation. Employment is declining sharply, and remaining work centers on editing AI output for terminology accuracy.

Pressure: 84
Automation: 76%
Wage risk: 70

Word Processors and Typists

Producing formatted documents from drafts and dictation was already contracting before generative AI; tools that draft, format, and transcribe in one step remove most remaining demand. This is one of the clearest full-substitution cases in the clerical family.

Pressure: 84
Automation: 78%
Wage risk: 66

File Clerks

Sorting, classifying, storing, and retrieving records is a workflow that document management systems and AI classification now perform almost entirely. Records retention judgment, confidentiality handling, and digitization oversight are the remaining footholds.

Pressure: 82
Automation: 72%
Wage risk: 66

Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service

Answering and routing calls was one of the first office jobs automation eliminated, and AI phone agents now handle the answering-service remainder with natural conversation. Emergency alarm monitoring and visitor management are the thin human layer left.

Pressure: 82
Automation: 74%
Wage risk: 68

Credit Authorizers, Checkers, and Clerks

Evaluating credit records against predetermined standards is precisely what automated underwriting does at scale. This occupation is one of the clearest historical examples of software absorbing a rules-based decision role, and its decline continues.

Pressure: 80
Automation: 72%
Wage risk: 64

Correspondence Clerks

Reading incoming letters, determining their concerns, and composing replies from rules and templates is exactly the workflow generative AI now performs. This is a documented-decline clerical role whose remaining work routes and reviews automated drafts.

Pressure: 80
Automation: 74%
Wage risk: 66

Proofreaders and Copy Markers

Error detection in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and cross-record consistency is exactly what language models now do at near-zero marginal cost. Standalone proofreading roles are shrinking into broader editing and content quality work.

Pressure: 79
Automation: 70%
Wage risk: 58

Cashiers

Transaction scanning, payment handling, price lookup, and routine customer routing are highly exposed to self-checkout, kiosks, and computer vision workflows. Service recovery, trust, store knowledge, and shift reliability remain the strongest anchors.

Pressure: 78
Automation: 58%
Wage risk: 90

Order Clerks

Order entry, completeness checks, inventory lookup, and invoice preparation are structured tasks that ecommerce and order-management systems absorb quickly. Complaint handling and order exceptions remain the resilient work.

Pressure: 78
Automation: 70%
Wage risk: 72

Insurance Claims Processing Clerks

Claim form preparation, completeness review, amount calculation, and file posting are structured workflows that claims automation platforms now process end-to-end. Missing-information follow-up and coverage questions remain the human residue.

Pressure: 78
Automation: 68%
Wage risk: 60

Call Center Agents

Voice AI and chat automation now absorb scripted questions, order status, and account lookups at scale. Complex complaints, retention saves, and frustrated-customer de-escalation remain the defensible human work.

Pressure: 77
Automation: 64%
Wage risk: 80

Interpreters and Translators

Text translation, captioning, and routine localization are highly exposed to machine translation and speech systems. Live interpretation, legal/medical nuance, cultural adaptation, and quality review remain more defensible.

Pressure: 76
Automation: 61%
Wage risk: 60

Tellers

Routine transactions left for apps and ATMs years ago, and AI assistants now absorb the service questions that justified remaining branch staff. Banks are converting teller lines into advisory roles, so the realistic path is upward into banker, lending, or operations tracks rather than defending the window.

Pressure: 76
Automation: 58%
Wage risk: 80

Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks

Wage computation, paycheck processing, and timekeeping entry are rules-based and highly exposed to payroll automation. Discrepancy resolution, tax-rule changes, and employee questions remain the human core.

Pressure: 76
Automation: 66%
Wage risk: 62

Bill and Account Collectors

Locating accounts, scripted payment reminders, and status recording are exactly what AI voice agents and automated dialing now handle. Negotiating repayment plans, handling disputes, and regulated consumer interactions keep some human collectors necessary.

Pressure: 76
Automation: 66%
Wage risk: 68

Brokerage Clerks

Documenting trades, computing dividends and fees, and coordinating certificate transfers are the core of a back-office workflow that straight-through processing automated decades ago and AI is now finishing. Account problem resolution is the remaining human task.

Pressure: 76
Automation: 68%
Wage risk: 60

Meter Readers, Utilities

Advanced metering infrastructure reads consumption remotely and continuously, removing the reason this job exists. This is one of the clearest documented technology-displacement cases: remaining work is inspection, tampering checks, and meter maintenance.

Pressure: 76
Automation: 66%
Wage risk: 60

Statistical Assistants

Compiling statistics, coding data for entry, and producing report charts are exactly what analytics tools and AI now do from raw data. Verification of source data and survey logistics remain, but the role is a clear automation-archetype.

Pressure: 76
Automation: 68%
Wage risk: 56

Writers and Authors

Drafting, summarization, outlines, headlines, product copy, and content variations are highly exposed to generative AI. Original reporting, taste, editorial judgment, audience trust, and subject-matter expertise become more important.

Pressure: 74
Automation: 54%
Wage risk: 58

Tax Preparers

Standard individual returns are the textbook case for document-driven automation: intake, classification, and form preparation are increasingly completed by software with AI review. Complex filings, representation, and planning conversations are where human preparers retain clear value.

Pressure: 74
Automation: 64%
Wage risk: 56

Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

Preparing and proofreading legal documents, maintaining case files, and scheduling attorney calendars are exposed to drafting tools and practice-management automation. Filing accuracy, court procedure knowledge, and attorney support remain anchors.

Pressure: 74
Automation: 60%
Wage risk: 56

Desktop Publishers

Layout software democratized this role decades ago, and AI layout and template generation now produce publishable pages from raw content. Print production judgment, prepress accuracy, and brand-critical design remain, but employment keeps contracting.

Pressure: 74
Automation: 68%
Wage risk: 58

Customer Service Representatives

Scripted inquiries, routing, and knowledge-base answers are highly exposed. Complex escalation, retention, empathy, and account context remain the transition anchors.

Pressure: 73
Automation: 57%
Wage risk: 79

Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

Calendar management, drafting, formatting, travel planning, note summaries, and routine follow-ups are exposed to AI assistants. Executive context, prioritization, confidentiality, and process ownership remain the transition anchors.

Pressure: 72
Automation: 55%
Wage risk: 66

Office Clerks, General

Filing, document typing, record compilation, and message routing form a broad task bundle that office software and AI assistants now handle well. Coordination across departments and exception handling remain the durable value.

Pressure: 72
Automation: 58%
Wage risk: 68

Billing and Posting Clerks

Invoice preparation, charge computation, and statement generation are structured workflows with strong automation exposure. Discrepancy investigation, customer account conversations, and rate-rule knowledge remain more durable.

Pressure: 72
Automation: 62%
Wage risk: 62

Copywriters

First-draft ad copy, slogan variations, and product descriptions are now generated cheaply at scale. Brand voice judgment, campaign strategy, client interpretation, and original creative concepts remain the defensible craft.

Pressure: 72
Automation: 56%
Wage risk: 52

Travel Agents

Routine booking, fare lookup, and standard itinerary building are directly targeted by AI travel planning tools. Complex multi-stop trips, group logistics, disruption handling, and trusted advisor relationships sustain the remaining niche.

Pressure: 72
Automation: 62%
Wage risk: 58

Translators

Written translation is the single most machine-exposed language task: neural and AI translation now produce usable drafts instantly. Post-editing, literary and marketing nuance, certified translation, and terminology governance are where the work is moving.

Pressure: 72
Automation: 60%
Wage risk: 58

Court, Municipal, and License Clerks

Filing court documents, recording minutes, and verifying application completeness are structured records workflows that e-filing and document automation absorb steadily. Procedural knowledge, records accountability, and public counter service remain for now.

Pressure: 72
Automation: 62%
Wage risk: 60

Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs

Determining benefit eligibility is a rules-based workflow that government modernization projects increasingly automate end-to-end. Complex case investigation, applicant interviews with unclear documentation, and fraud flags keep human reviewers in the loop.

Pressure: 72
Automation: 62%
Wage risk: 60

Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents

Booking, fare computation, and reservation confirmation are exactly what online booking and AI travel agents automate. Airport counter work — irregular operations, baggage tracing, passenger assistance — keeps a reduced human presence.

Pressure: 72
Automation: 62%
Wage risk: 62

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

Invoice matching, reconciliations, and routine reporting are exposed to automation. Judgment around controls, vendor context, audit trails, and anomaly escalation can become more valuable.

Pressure: 71
Automation: 59%
Wage risk: 64

Loan Interviewers and Clerks

Application verification, document assembly, and data recording are exactly the workflows digital lending platforms automate. Applicant interviews, complex file troubleshooting, and closing coordination keep experienced processors useful.

Pressure: 70
Automation: 56%
Wage risk: 52

Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators

Optical character readers and barcode sorters already process nearly all letter mail automatically — this occupation lives inside the machine. The remaining work is operating equipment, clearing jams, and hand-sorting odd-sized or unreadable items.

Pressure: 70
Automation: 62%
Wage risk: 58

Interviewers, Except Eligibility and Loan

Scripted survey and intake interviewing is a direct target for AI voice agents, which can administer questionnaires at unlimited scale. Probing inconsistent answers, maintaining response rates, and handling sensitive interviews keep some human interviewers.

Pressure: 70
Automation: 62%
Wage risk: 66

Receptionists and Information Clerks

Appointment scheduling, call routing, visitor instructions, and routine intake are exposed to AI agents and workflow software. Trust, escalation judgment, local context, and office operations coordination remain defensible.

Pressure: 69
Automation: 51%
Wage risk: 78

Procurement Clerks

Purchase-order preparation, requisition tracking, and bid comparison are structured workflows with high automation exposure. Supplier problem-solving, expediting, and purchasing-rule knowledge stay valuable.

Pressure: 68
Automation: 58%
Wage risk: 60

Receptionists

Call routing, appointment scheduling, and routine visitor instructions are being absorbed by AI phone agents and booking software. In-person greeting, sensitive exceptions, and office coordination remain human-centered.

Pressure: 68
Automation: 52%
Wage risk: 76

Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping

Personnel record maintenance, application processing, and routine policy answers are exposed to HR automation and employee self-service. Applicant screening judgment, sensitive documentation handling, and benefits guidance keep a human layer.

Pressure: 68
Automation: 52%
Wage risk: 58

New Accounts Clerks

Account opening, application intake, and document processing are moving to digital onboarding flows and AI document review. Needs-based conversations, error investigation, and referral to bankers for complex needs keep branch staff relevant.

Pressure: 68
Automation: 54%
Wage risk: 62

Electrical and Electronics Drafters

Producing wiring diagrams, circuit-board layouts, and connection specifications from engineer sketches is production drafting that design-automation tools now generate from models. Design coordination and revision judgment offer the remaining leverage.

Pressure: 68
Automation: 58%
Wage risk: 48

Telephone Operators

Telephone operators connect calls, provide directory information, and assist with special situations. This is one of the most thoroughly automated occupations in history: switchboards digitized decades ago, and voice AI now handles most remaining directory and routing calls. The honest reading is high, continuing pressure.

Pressure: 68
Automation: 52%
Wage risk: 64

Insurance Underwriters

Personal-lines risk scoring is already largely algorithmic, and AI extends that reach into small-commercial underwriting. Complex commercial, specialty, and excess lines still depend on negotiated judgment, broker relationships, and portfolio strategy, which is where underwriters should move.

Pressure: 66
Automation: 52%
Wage risk: 36

Drafters

Converting sketches and specifications into finished CAD drawings is precisely the production task generative design and BIM automation are absorbing. Code analysis, revision coordination, and engineering collaboration offer partial shelter.

Pressure: 66
Automation: 54%
Wage risk: 44

Postal Service Clerks

Mail sorting is heavily automated, and kiosks plus online postage absorb routine counter transactions. Complex mail questions, regulation guidance, identity verification, and accountable-mail handling remain the human counter work.

Pressure: 66
Automation: 52%
Wage risk: 62

Cargo and Freight Agents

Rate quoting, booking, and shipment documentation are precisely what digital freight marketplaces and AI quoting tools automate. Complex shipments, customs issues, and carrier problem-solving keep experienced agents valuable in brokerage operations.

Pressure: 66
Automation: 58%
Wage risk: 56

Insurance Appraisers, Auto Damage

Photo-estimating AI now generates repair estimates from smartphone images, directly targeting this occupation's core task. Complex structural damage, repair-shop negotiation, and total-loss judgment keep experienced appraisers in the workflow.

Pressure: 66
Automation: 60%
Wage risk: 50

Mechanical Drafters

Producing detailed mechanical drawings from sketches and specifications is precisely the task parametric CAD and generative detailing now automate. Design revision judgment, tolerance application, and engineer collaboration keep skilled drafters in the loop.

Pressure: 66
Automation: 56%
Wage risk: 48

Motion Picture Projectionists

Motion picture projectionists run and maintain theater projection equipment. This is the canonical displacement story: digital projection ended film threading, and automated booth systems now run multiplexes unattended — employment collapsed over two decades, long before generative AI.

Pressure: 66
Automation: 35%
Wage risk: 70

Technical Writers

First-draft documentation, release notes, and reference material now generate quickly from specs and code. What endures is information architecture, accuracy verification against real systems, audience judgment, and owning documentation as a product, which moves writers toward docs engineering and content strategy.

Pressure: 64
Automation: 50%
Wage risk: 42

Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners

Speech recognition can now produce rough verbatim transcripts cheaply, pressuring the core stenographic task. Certified accuracy, real-time captioning, legal formatting, and courtroom procedure keep certified reporters preferred for official records.

Pressure: 64
Automation: 56%
Wage risk: 52

Computer Programmers

Writing code to someone else's specification is exactly what AI coding tools now do well, and BLS projected this occupation to decline even before modern code generation. The defensible move is up the stack: owning design, integration, review, and outcomes rather than implementation alone.

Pressure: 63
Automation: 49%
Wage risk: 32

Fast Food and Counter Workers

Kiosk ordering, drive-through voice systems, scheduling tools, and prep automation can reduce routine counter work. Reliability, shift leadership, food safety, and customer recovery remain more resilient.

Pressure: 62
Automation: 39%
Wage risk: 88

Editors

Copyediting, style enforcement, and routine line edits are well within AI capability, and generative drafting changes what arrives on an editor's desk. Editorial judgment — deciding what is worth publishing, shaping arguments, managing writers, and owning standards — concentrates value at the top of the craft.

Pressure: 62
Automation: 48%
Wage risk: 44

Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants

Calendar management, travel booking, meeting minutes, and routine correspondence are exposed to AI scheduling and drafting tools. Executive trust, prioritization judgment, and gatekeeping remain difficult to automate.

Pressure: 62
Automation: 44%
Wage risk: 42

Book Authors

Generative writing can produce competent long-form drafts, flooding the market with content. Distinctive voice, deep research, lived experience, and reader relationships remain what separates working authors from commodity text.

Pressure: 62
Automation: 50%
Wage risk: 58

Medical Secretaries

Patient scheduling, claim forms, records routing, and transcription are being absorbed by portals, AI phone agents, and ambient documentation. Patient intake judgment, privacy handling, and clinical-office coordination keep the role present but shrinking.

Pressure: 62
Automation: 52%
Wage risk: 64

Taxi Drivers

Ride-hail apps already restructured this occupation, and robotaxis now compete directly on the same urban routes. Airport complexity, passenger assistance, local knowledge, and irregular trips keep human drivers in the mix, but the trajectory is clearly downward.

Pressure: 62
Automation: 48%
Wage risk: 70

Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

Distributing schedules, compiling production reports, and tracking materials are workflows that manufacturing execution systems automate. Expediting shortages, revising schedules around disruptions, and coordinating across departments keep human expediters valuable.

Pressure: 62
Automation: 52%
Wage risk: 52

Library Assistants, Clerical

Checkouts, renewals, fines, and routine inquiries are handled by self-service kiosks and online accounts. Shelving, patron technology help, program support, and branch operations keep assistants present but with a changing task mix.

Pressure: 62
Automation: 54%
Wage risk: 68

Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers

Searching liens, mortgages, and deeds to establish clear title is document analysis that AI reads increasingly well. Judgment about encumbrances, resolving defects, and the liability behind title commitments keep certified examination human.

Pressure: 62
Automation: 56%
Wage risk: 50

Office Machine Operators

Office machine operators run high-speed copiers, scanners, and bindery equipment for document production. Digital workflows eliminated most of the demand: documents are born digital now, and what remains concentrates in print shops and scanning bureaus converting legacy paper — a shrinking niche.

Pressure: 62
Automation: 44%
Wage risk: 62

Door-to-Door Sales Workers and Street Vendors

Door-to-door sales workers and street vendors demonstrate products, take orders, and deliver merchandise in person. E-commerce, targeted advertising, and lead-generation platforms displaced most of this channel years ago — a documented decline that digital marketing, not AI, drove.

Pressure: 62
Automation: 35%
Wage risk: 68

Paralegals and Legal Assistants

Document review, drafting, and research are exposed to AI assistance, while case context, client communication, attorney supervision, and jurisdiction-specific process remain important anchors.

Pressure: 61
Automation: 48%
Wage risk: 45

Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators

Document review, damage estimation from photos, and routine claim decisions are moving into automated pipelines. Contested claims, fraud investigation, catastrophe response, and empathetic communication during loss remain strongly human, so the role concentrates into its hardest cases.

Pressure: 61
Automation: 47%
Wage risk: 40

Loan Officers

Application intake, document review, credit summaries, and routine eligibility checks are exposed to automated underwriting. Relationship management, exception judgment, compliance, and borrower trust remain important.

Pressure: 60
Automation: 46%
Wage risk: 42

Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators

Mail clerks sort, meter, and route incoming and outgoing mail for organizations. Sorting machinery automated the volume decades ago, and digital communication keeps shrinking the mail itself — a documented decline that predates AI. What remains is exception handling, packages, and regulated physical correspondence.

Pressure: 60
Automation: 42%
Wage risk: 62

Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers

Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers record the quantity, quality, and condition of materials moving through production and shipping. In-line scales, machine vision, and sensor telemetry now capture exactly these readings automatically — this is one of the clearest cases of instrumentation replacing a recording job.

Pressure: 60
Automation: 43%
Wage risk: 58

Retail Salespersons

Product questions, checkout, inventory lookup, and scripted service can be augmented or automated. In-person trust, merchandising judgment, local customer knowledge, and service recovery remain important anchors.

Pressure: 58
Automation: 34%
Wage risk: 82

Computer User Support Specialists

Password resets, how-to questions, and known-issue triage are moving to AI assistants that resolve tickets before they reach a human. Hands-on hardware, escalations, endpoint security, and judgment calls in messy environments keep the human tier, which shifts the job toward harder tickets and systems work.

Pressure: 58
Automation: 44%
Wage risk: 52

News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists

Commodity coverage — earnings recaps, sports scores, weather, aggregation — is already automated, and AI summarization erodes rewrite work. Original reporting, sourced investigation, access journalism, and accountable verification remain human work that machines cannot do without the relationships behind it.

Pressure: 58
Automation: 42%
Wage risk: 50

Interpreters

Machine translation handles written text far better than live speech. Real-time spoken and signed interpretation in courts, hospitals, and schools carries latency, accuracy, confidentiality, and liability demands that keep human interpreters preferred.

Pressure: 58
Automation: 40%
Wage risk: 56

Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks

Online check-in, mobile keys, and chatbots absorb routine registration and question-answering. Guest problem resolution, upgrades and service recovery, local knowledge, and the hospitality impression remain human work in full-service properties.

Pressure: 58
Automation: 46%
Wage risk: 70

Shipping and Receiving Clerks

Shipment documentation, rate computation, and record keeping are increasingly automated by warehouse and transportation management systems. Verifying contents, resolving damages and discrepancies, and coordinating carriers keep a human layer.

Pressure: 58
Automation: 50%
Wage risk: 62

Library Technicians

Circulation, cataloging support, and routine reference inquiries are increasingly handled by self-checkout and AI search. Helping patrons with technology, running children's programs, and maintaining equipment keep library technicians useful.

Pressure: 58
Automation: 48%
Wage risk: 62

Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockeys

AI voice cloning is now good enough that stations experiment with synthetic hosts — a direct, concrete displacement case for generic announcing. Local personality, live interviews, and community presence keep human hosts defensible.

Pressure: 58
Automation: 50%
Wage risk: 68

Medical Records Specialists

Chart abstraction, data entry, and record retrieval are exposed to AI coding and documentation tools. Coding accuracy disputes, privacy rules, release-of-information judgment, and clinician clarification keep humans accountable.

Pressure: 57
Automation: 48%
Wage risk: 46

Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers

Manual regression passes and routine test-case writing are heavily exposed as AI generates tests and exercises applications directly. Quality strategy, risk-based judgment about what to test, and owning release confidence are the durable layer, pushing QA toward engineering and away from execution.

Pressure: 56
Automation: 45%
Wage risk: 30

Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance

Scheduling, routing, and status monitoring are increasingly automated by fleet and routing software. Urgent exceptions, crew coordination, customer negotiation, and real-time judgment keep experienced dispatchers valuable.

Pressure: 56
Automation: 42%
Wage risk: 54

Film and Video Editors

AI tools now handle rough cuts, captioning, silence removal, and format versioning quickly. Story structure, pacing judgment, director collaboration, and final-cut taste keep skilled editors valuable in a growing content market.

Pressure: 56
Automation: 42%
Wage risk: 46

Credit Analysts

Financial statement spreading, ratio generation, and draft risk reports are increasingly automated by credit decisioning platforms. Complex commercial judgment, customer context, and loan committee advocacy keep experienced analysts relevant.

Pressure: 56
Automation: 46%
Wage risk: 36

Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents

The government side of tax: reviewing returns, flagging discrepancies, and collecting delinquent accounts. Audit-selection algorithms and automated notices handle the volume; examiners keep the disputed, complex, and negotiated cases.

Pressure: 56
Automation: 48%
Wage risk: 42

Gambling Cage Workers

Gambling cage workers convert chips and tickets to currency, process advances, and reconcile the cage. Self-service redemption kiosks and cashless gaming now handle routine conversions — the visible front of this role — while reconciliation, large transactions, and regulatory reporting keep a licensed worker accountable.

Pressure: 56
Automation: 37%
Wage risk: 68

Prepress Technicians

Prepress technicians prepare files for printing: preflight checks, proofing, page assembly, and plate output. Desktop publishing and automated preflight software absorbed most of this work years ago — a documented displacement that predates AI — and web-to-print automation continues to shrink what remains.

Pressure: 56
Automation: 41%
Wage risk: 52

Parking Attendants

Parking attendants park and retrieve vehicles, collect fees, and manage lots. Ticketless payment and automated garages now handle the transaction and, increasingly, the parking itself — robotic garages stack cars without drivers. The honest reading is high pressure on the traditional lot model.

Pressure: 56
Automation: 31%
Wage risk: 72

Graphic Designers

Asset variation, layout drafts, and production design are exposed, while brand judgment, creative direction, client interpretation, and systems thinking become more important.

Pressure: 55
Automation: 42%
Wage risk: 48

Warehouse Workers

Robotics and warehouse automation are absorbing repetitive picking, sorting, and moving tasks in large facilities. Physical adaptability, exception handling, equipment operation, and safety judgment keep human crews essential in most warehouses.

Pressure: 55
Automation: 42%
Wage risk: 78

Special Effects Artists and Animators

Generative tools are changing asset production, in-betweening, and background work across animation pipelines. Story development, character performance, art direction, and pipeline craft remain the scarce skills.

Pressure: 55
Automation: 40%
Wage risk: 42

Fine Artists and Illustrators

Generative image models produce competent illustration at near-zero cost, flooding the commission and stock markets that sustain many working artists. Distinctive style, client collaboration, physical media, and artistic reputation remain the differentiators.

Pressure: 55
Automation: 42%
Wage risk: 64

Stockers and Order Fillers

Picking routes, inventory lookup, replenishment priorities, and warehouse slotting are increasingly shaped by software and robotics. Physical execution, exception handling, safety, and equipment operation remain important.

Pressure: 54
Automation: 36%
Wage risk: 74

Web Developers

Template sites, simple storefronts, and routine page builds are increasingly produced by AI site builders, squeezing the low end of the market. Value consolidates in product engineering, performance, accessibility, integrations, and owning outcomes for businesses rather than pages.

Pressure: 54
Automation: 42%
Wage risk: 38

Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers

Machine vision inspects products faster and more consistently than human eyes for standardized defects, putting real pressure on visual inspection work. Calibration, complex judgment calls, root-cause reporting, and quality-system accountability keep skilled inspectors relevant.

Pressure: 54
Automation: 48%
Wage risk: 56

Counter and Rental Clerks

Counter and rental clerks take orders, compute charges, and hand over rental equipment. Kiosks and mobile apps now handle routine transactions end to end — car rental is the visible case — leaving clerks the exceptions: damaged items, confused customers, and equipment that needs explaining or inspection.

Pressure: 54
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 66

Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners

Gambling and sports book writers take bets, verify amounts, and pay winnings at the counter. Legal mobile sportsbooks moved the volume to apps — the concrete, measurable displacement in this occupation — leaving counter work concentrated in casino sportsbooks serving guests who want the in-person experience.

Pressure: 54
Automation: 33%
Wage risk: 68

Accountants and Auditors

Transaction coding, reconciliation review, and first-draft reporting are increasingly handled by AI inside accounting platforms. Advisory judgment, controls ownership, attestation, and client communication remain the durable core, so the role is reshaping toward review and assurance rather than disappearing.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 34

Photographers

Generative imagery is compressing stock, product, and generic commercial photography. Event presence, client direction, lighting craft, and trusted capture of real moments remain things AI cannot replicate on location.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 60

Recruiters

AI sourcing, resume screening, and outreach drafting are compressing the transactional side of recruiting. Candidate assessment, hiring-manager partnership, offer negotiation, and talent market judgment remain the differentiators.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 40%
Wage risk: 38

Survey Researchers

Questionnaire drafting, data tabulation, and summary reporting are heavily AI-augmentable. Sampling design, methodology judgment, response-quality evaluation, and client consultation on research needs keep methodological expertise valuable.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 44%
Wage risk: 44

Public Relations Specialists

Press release drafts, media monitoring, and coverage reports are now AI-accelerated commodities. Journalist relationships, crisis judgment, executive counsel, and stakeholder trust remain work that cannot be delegated to a model.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 40%
Wage risk: 42

Advertising Sales Agents

Self-serve ad platforms have absorbed the transactional middle of advertising sales. Consultative selling, local business relationships, campaign strategy, and multi-channel package design remain where human agents earn their commissions.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 56

Insurance Sales Agents

Online quoting and AI comparison tools absorb transactional policy sales, especially simple auto and home coverage. Complex risk advice, commercial accounts, claims advocacy, and trusted relationships keep human agents in the loop.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 42%
Wage risk: 48

Postal Service Mail Carriers

Route optimization and sorting automation change how routes are planned, and mail volume keeps declining. Walking and driving routes, porch delivery, customer contact, and judgment about dogs, weather, and access remain physical last-mile work.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 40%
Wage risk: 58

Cost Estimators

AI takeoff tools now read blueprints and generate quantity estimates automatically, pressuring the calculation core of this role. Site judgment, subcontractor negotiation, scope ambiguity, and bid strategy keep experienced estimators valuable.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 42%
Wage risk: 36

Broadcast Technicians

Playout automation and IP-based transmission have consolidated master control work — one technician now monitors what once needed several. Emergency repair, signal troubleshooting, and live transmission accountability keep a smaller human crew.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 44%
Wage risk: 54

Models

AI-generated models now appear in real advertising campaigns — the concrete displacement case for commercial image work. Fit modeling, runway, and on-set presence remain physical, while likeness rights become the contested frontier.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 44%
Wage risk: 74

Packers and Packagers, Hand

Packing stations are warehouse automation's clearest target: dimensioning machines, auto-baggers, and robotic packers handle standard shipments. Fragile, oversized, and exception packing plus quality checks keep humans at the station.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 46%
Wage risk: 76

Judicial Law Clerks

Legal research, memo drafting, and opinion proofreading — the clerk's core output — are exactly what AI legal tools now produce in minutes. Confidential judgment, knowing the judge's reasoning, and the apprenticeship's training function keep clerkships human.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 46%
Wage risk: 38

Cartographers and Photogrammetrists

Cartographers compile aerial imagery, survey notes, and satellite data into maps, and automated generalization now drafts much of that compilation. AI feature extraction from imagery is genuinely good, so the role is shifting toward database design, accuracy verification, and editorial judgment about what a map should say.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 44%
Wage risk: 36

Printing Press Operators

Printing press operators set up, run, and adjust presses, monitoring registration, ink density, and automated fault systems. The displacement story here is documented history: print volume has declined for two decades as media went digital, and modern presses automate the adjustments operators once made by hand.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 34%
Wage risk: 56

Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs

Shuttle drivers and chauffeurs run fixed and on-demand routes for airports, hotels, and campuses. Autonomous shuttle pilots operate today on exactly these routes — low-speed, geofenced, predictable — making this one of the driving roles where automation is deployed fact rather than forecast.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 25%
Wage risk: 66

Agricultural Equipment Operators

Agricultural equipment operators drive the tractors, combines, and sprayers that plant and harvest crops. Autosteer and now driverless-capable machinery automate the driving itself — the core of this role — making it the most autonomy-exposed job in agriculture, with implement setup, field-edge judgment, and breakdown response as the remnant.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 24%
Wage risk: 62

Dental Laboratory Technicians

Dental laboratory technicians fabricate crowns, bridges, and dentures. Intraoral scanning and CAD/CAM milling genuinely transformed this role: digital design replaced waxing for routine units, compressing bench volume — while custom ceramics, shade matching, and complex implant work remain skilled craft.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 30%
Wage risk: 48

Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants

Automotive and watercraft service attendants fuel vehicles, check fluids, and sell accessories at stations and marinas. Self-service displaced most of this role decades ago — the automation here is complete history — leaving marina work, full-serve niches, and states where an attendant pumps by law.

Pressure: 52
Automation: 29%
Wage risk: 70

Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists

Salary benchmarking, job description drafting, and benefits data analysis are highly AI-assistable. Pay equity judgment, compliance with rapidly changing transparency laws, union negotiation support, and program design keep specialists valuable.

Pressure: 50
Automation: 40%
Wage risk: 34

Social Science Research Assistants

Social science research assistants clean datasets, run statistical analyses, and prepare the tables and reports behind academic research. This is squarely in the current AI competence zone: code generation, data cleaning, and first-draft summaries compress exactly the tasks that define the role.

Pressure: 50
Automation: 42%
Wage risk: 50

Print Binding and Finishing Workers

Bindery workers set up and run the machines that cut, fold, stitch, and bind printed pieces. Digital print workflows automated much of prepress upstream, and finishing equipment keeps adding automation — but short runs, specialty binding, and packaging finishing still need operators who set up and adjust machines.

Pressure: 50
Automation: 29%
Wage risk: 56

Social Media Managers

Post drafting, scheduling, and trend monitoring are heavily augmentable with AI tools. Community trust, crisis judgment, brand voice, and platform-native creativity keep the role more redesigned than replaced.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 36%
Wage risk: 40

Database Administrators

Routine tuning, backup scheduling, patching, and access provisioning are increasingly automated by cloud database platforms and AI operations tools. Data modeling, security architecture, migration judgment, and outage accountability keep experienced administrators valuable.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 40%
Wage risk: 30

UX Researchers

Transcription, theme extraction, and findings reports are now AI-accelerated, and synthetic-user tools promise cheap research. Study design, participant recruitment, behavioral observation, and organizational influence keep real research defensible.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 34

Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand

Manual loading, sorting, and moving work faces pressure from warehouse robotics and mechanized handling, especially in high-volume facilities. Irregular environments, construction sites, docks, and mixed physical tasks resist full automation.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 76

Art Directors

Generative tools produce layout variations, mockups, and visual explorations instantly, compressing production layers beneath this role. Creative direction, client interpretation, team leadership, and final aesthetic accountability remain the job's core.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 42

Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators

CNC operators work alongside the automation itself: loading workpieces, monitoring runs, listening for tool wear, and adjusting feeds. Lights-out machining absorbs pure button-pushing, while setup judgment, quality checks, and malfunction response stay human.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 42%
Wage risk: 52

Team Assemblers

Assembly line work is the historical heart of factory automation, and collaborative robots keep taking repetitive stations. Line balancing, quality checks, changeover judgment, and rotation across tasks keep human assemblers present in most plants.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 70

Budget Analysts

Compiling budget reports, checking estimates for completeness, and cost analysis are heavily AI-assistable workflows. Interpreting directives, advising managers on allocations, and defending budgets to fund-granting authorities keep the judgment layer human.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 30

Appraisers and Assessors of Real Estate

Automated valuation models price standard homes instantly, squeezing appraisal volume for routine properties. Complex properties, legal disputes, unique assets, and the certified signature that lenders and courts require keep appraisers necessary.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 40%
Wage risk: 44

Music Directors and Composers

Generative music tools now produce competent background scores and jingles on demand, pressuring commercial composition volume. Film scoring craft, ensemble direction, live arrangement, and an original musical voice remain the differentiators.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 40%
Wage risk: 60

Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians

Technicians run the routine tests automated analyzers increasingly own: sample loading, standard assays, and result entry. Specimen collection, equipment calibration, and abnormal-flag handling keep a human tier, but the role is more exposed than the technologist level above it.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 44%
Wage risk: 56

Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians

Drafting, quantity calculation, and specification documentation are increasingly AI-assisted. Field inspection, materials testing, and site evaluation under an engineer's direction keep technicians grounded in physical verification.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 40%
Wage risk: 46

Gambling Dealers

Electronic table games and AI surveillance handle game mechanics and integrity monitoring automatically. Live tables persist because players pay for the human game — the dealing ritual, table talk, and trusted handling of real money.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 40%
Wage risk: 72

Subway and Streetcar Operators

Driverless metro lines operate in several countries, making this one of transit's most concrete automation cases. US adoption faces union agreements, safety regulators, and platform-door capital costs — operators remain standard on American systems.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 44%
Wage risk: 42

Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products

Demand forecasting and assortment algorithms now recommend what to stock, compressing the analysis layer of buying. Vendor negotiation, product quality judgment, trend intuition, and supplier development keep experienced buyers valuable.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 40%
Wage risk: 44

Sewing Machine Operators

Sewing machine operators guide garments through machines, matching pieces and monitoring stitching. Soft, shifting fabric defeats robotic handling: sewbots work on a few rigid product types, while apparel's variety keeps human operators at the machine — trade policy, not technology, moves this employment.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 18%
Wage risk: 72

Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment

Vehicle and equipment cleaners wash, polish, and detail vehicles and machinery. Conveyor tunnel washes automated exterior washing at scale — the displacement already happened — while interior detailing, hand polishing, and equipment cleaning remain manual work with growing express-detail demand.

Pressure: 48
Automation: 23%
Wage risk: 70

Data Analysts

Routine reporting, data cleaning, and dashboard refreshes are highly exposed to automation. Analysts who frame business questions, validate model output, and translate findings into decisions remain strongly augmentable.

Pressure: 46
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 28

Supply Chain Analysts

Data compilation, forecast drafting, and performance reporting are strong AI augmentation candidates. Network design judgment, scenario modeling, and translating analytics into sourcing and inventory decisions keep analysts valuable.

Pressure: 46
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 32

Pharmacy Technicians

Counting, labeling, and inventory tasks are increasingly handled by dispensing robots and pharmacy automation. Patient interaction, insurance problem-solving, sterile compounding, and pharmacist support keep certified technicians needed.

Pressure: 46
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 54

Computer Systems Analysts

Requirements documentation, system diagrams, and cost-benefit drafts are heavily AI-assisted. Needs discovery, stakeholder translation, integration judgment, and implementation troubleshooting keep the analyst function valuable.

Pressure: 46
Automation: 36%
Wage risk: 28

Buyers and Purchasing Agents

E-sourcing platforms and AI price analysis automate bid collection, specification drafting, and supplier comparison. Negotiation, supplier relationship management, quality judgment, and strategic sourcing decisions keep buyers valuable.

Pressure: 46
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 38

Advertising and Promotions Managers

Generative tools now produce ad copy, layout variations, and media plans at scale, compressing agency production layers. Media-buying judgment, creative direction, client trust, and campaign accountability keep advertising leadership human-led.

Pressure: 46
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 34

Archivists

AI classification and OCR automate description and digitization workflows that used to consume archivist hours. Provenance judgment, appraisal of what to keep, authentication, and access policy keep the profession's judgment layer intact.

Pressure: 46
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 44

Parking Enforcement Workers

License-plate readers and pay-by-plate systems automate violation detection and citation issuance, making this one of the more automatable protective roles. Physical patrol, confrontation management, and disputed-citation handling keep a reduced human presence.

Pressure: 46
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 62

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

AI absorbs the clerical work these supervisors assign, which changes the job from supervising keystrokes to supervising exception queues, quality, and hybrid human-AI workflows. Scheduling and reporting automate; coaching and escalation judgment do not.

Pressure: 46
Automation: 36%
Wage risk: 46

Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers

Apparel patternmakers create and grade the master patterns garments are made from. CAD pattern software and 3D-fit simulation now handle drafting and virtual sampling — real, deployed tooling — while fit judgment, adjustment after live fittings, and translating a designer's sketch into producible geometry stay expert work.

Pressure: 46
Automation: 30%
Wage risk: 44

Market Research Analysts

Summarization, draft segmentation, and desk research are exposed, but domain judgment, study design, stakeholder context, and synthesis make this a strong augmentation case.

Pressure: 45
Automation: 37%
Wage risk: 38

Human Resources Specialists

Resume screening, policy answers, and first-draft communications can be automated or augmented, but employee relations, hiring judgment, trust, and process design keep the role human-centered.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 35%
Wage risk: 36

Logisticians

Tracking, allocation, and performance reporting are increasingly automated by logistics platforms. Carrier and subcontractor relationships, disruption response, and lifecycle coordination across product programs keep human logisticians central.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 34%
Wage risk: 34

Interior Designers

Consumer AI tools now generate room concepts and mood boards instantly, pressuring the visualization portion of the job. Code compliance, space planning judgment, contractor coordination, and client relationship management keep professional designers distinct.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 34%
Wage risk: 44

Radiologists

Radiology is the specialty AI was predicted to eliminate first — and instead it became the specialty most transformed by augmentation. AI triages studies, drafts measurements, and flags findings, while radiologists handle ambiguous cases, interventional procedures, and final diagnostic accountability.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 42%
Wage risk: 22

Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists

Automated analyzers already run most routine tests, and AI aids result review — real automation pressure on manual bench work. Result validation, quality assurance, instrument troubleshooting, and complex manual testing keep certified technologists essential.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 40%
Wage risk: 46

Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film

AI video generation creates footage from text, and automated production systems handle multi-camera studio switching. On-location framing, live sports and news coverage, complex camera movement, and director collaboration in unpredictable environments keep operators shooting.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 36%
Wage risk: 54

Commercial and Industrial Designers

Generative tools produce product concept sketches and renderings in seconds, compressing the ideation layer. Feasibility judgment, manufacturing constraints, safety evaluation, and engineering collaboration keep industrial designers accountable for what actually ships.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 36%
Wage risk: 38

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

Scheduling software, inventory analytics, and AI loss-prevention cameras automate much of the supervisor's information work. Coaching staff, resolving escalations, enforcing standards, and running a physical store keep first-line leadership human.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 34%
Wage risk: 52

Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars

This is the systems side of health information: designing record databases, maintaining retrieval systems, and running registry data for research. AI coding tools change data entry, but system design, privacy compliance, and data quality accountability grow with demand.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 42

Computer Network Support Specialists

AI diagnostics and automated remediation handle routine connectivity tickets, while cabling, hardware replacement, and multi-site outage triage keep physical and judgment layers. Unlike user helpdesk, this role owns the infrastructure itself.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 36%
Wage risk: 50

Biological Technicians

Lab automation and AI data analysis cover more of the routine testing and recording that define this role. Sample collection, instrument setup, and experiment monitoring keep technicians needed, but routine bench volume is genuinely compressing.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 52

Cooks, Fast Food

Standardized fry-and-grill lines are exactly where kitchen robotics work: fixed menus, fixed times, fixed portions. Multiple chains run automated fry stations today, making this the most exposed cooking role — though pace, cleaning, and exceptions still need people.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 80

Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop

Reservation apps and waitlist software automate the booking ledger that hosts once managed. Greeting, table-read judgment during rushes, guest recovery, and managing the door's human flow keep the role present in full-service dining.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 40%
Wage risk: 78

Chemical Technicians

Chemical technicians set up experiments, run chromatography and spectroscopy tests, and monitor product quality. Automated analyzers and lab information systems handle the repetitive runs, while sample prep, instrument maintenance, and catching results that look wrong keep technicians on the bench.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 36%
Wage risk: 50

Gambling Surveillance Officers

Gambling surveillance officers watch casino floors through camera systems to catch cheating and theft. AI video analytics now do the first pass — tracking cards, reading bets, flagging anomalies — turning the officer's job from watching screens into adjudicating what the system flags.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 32%
Wage risk: 52

Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers

Laundry and dry-cleaning workers sort, wash, dry, and fold articles in commercial and industrial laundries. Tunnel washers and automated folding systems now move most of the volume in large plants, with workers feeding machines, catching misfolds, and handling the delicate items automation cannot.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 28%
Wage risk: 72

Parts Salespersons

Parts salespersons look up, locate, and sell replacement parts for vehicles, machinery, and equipment. Online catalogs with VIN-based lookup took the simple transactions, but the counter survives on the hard ones: superseded part numbers, fitment judgment, and the mechanic who needs it right now.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 28%
Wage risk: 60

Driver/Sales Workers

Driver/sales workers run established routes delivering food, beverages, and supplies while selling to regular customers. Route-optimization software and online ordering compress the logistics, but the role survives on the relationship: the regular customer, the informal credit, the complaint handled at the door.

Pressure: 44
Automation: 24%
Wage risk: 66

Financial Analysts

Data gathering, model maintenance, and first-draft commentary compress sharply under AI assistance. The role tilts toward framing questions, challenging model output, and defending recommendations to decision-makers, which raises the bar for junior entry while augmenting experienced analysts.

Pressure: 43
Automation: 31%
Wage risk: 26

Business Analysts

Information gathering, requirements documentation, and draft recommendations are exposed to AI assistance. Problem framing, stakeholder interviews, and implementation judgment keep the role augmentation-heavy.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 32%
Wage risk: 24

Tutors

AI tutoring apps now answer questions, generate practice problems, and explain concepts on demand, competing directly with routine homework help. Motivation, accountability, diagnosis of misconceptions, and parent trust keep human tutors relevant.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 26%
Wage risk: 64

UX Designers

Generative UI tools can produce wireframes, layout variations, and draft copy in seconds. User research, interaction judgment, accessibility expertise, and cross-functional negotiation keep strong designers ahead of the tools.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 34%
Wage risk: 30

Fashion Designers

AI image generation accelerates concept sketches, trend boards, and variation exploration. Material selection, fit judgment, production coordination, and original creative vision remain the craft that separates designers from prompt output.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 32%
Wage risk: 46

Security Guards

AI cameras and remote monitoring change what guards watch, shifting routine observation to software. Physical response, de-escalation, emergency first aid, and on-site judgment keep human presence necessary at most posts.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 32%
Wage risk: 66

Librarians and Media Collections Specialists

Search and retrieval — once the heart of reference work — is exactly what AI now does instantly. Collection curation, information literacy instruction, community programming, and guidance on evaluating AI-era information quality keep librarians relevant.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 32%
Wage risk: 44

Training and Development Specialists

Course materials, manuals, and e-learning drafts are now generated in hours instead of weeks. Needs assessment, live facilitation, behavior change design, and measuring whether training actually works keep learning specialists valuable.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 32%
Wage risk: 36

Actuaries

Data preparation, rate-table construction, and draft analysis are increasingly AI-assisted. Model governance, assumption judgment, regulatory defense of pricing, and the exam credential keep actuarial work augmentation-led.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 34%
Wage risk: 26

Securities and Financial Services Sales Agents

Algorithms already execute most trading, and AI research tools compress analysis workflows. Client relationships, complex deal structuring, market color, and trusted execution judgment keep human brokers and advisors relevant at the institutional level.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 34%
Wage risk: 44

Financial Examiners

Document review, compliance checking, and examination report drafting are strongly AI-augmentable. On-site examination judgment, meetings with institution leadership, and solvency recommendations keep examiners in regulatory authority.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 32%
Wage risk: 30

Audio and Video Technicians

AI tools automate editing passes, switching, and audio cleanup in post-production. Live event work — rigging, mixing in real time, troubleshooting on site — plus system design and client-facing production support keep technicians busy.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 34%
Wage risk: 56

Sales Representatives of Services

AI prospecting, proposal drafting, and CRM automation compress the volume work of services sales. Consultative discovery, negotiation, ongoing client support, and trust in complex service purchases keep relationship sellers valuable.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 32%
Wage risk: 40

Sound Engineering Technicians

AI mixing, mastering, and noise-cleanup tools now produce competent audio from raw recordings, compressing routine studio work. Live sound mixing, acoustic problem-solving, and producer collaboration on creative mixes keep engineers valuable.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 36%
Wage risk: 56

Concierges

AI concierges answer routine questions and book standard reservations, absorbing the information layer. The concierge's value is the unusual request: hard-to-get reservations, local relationships, and judgment about what a specific guest will actually love.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 64

Surveying and Mapping Technicians

Surveying and mapping technicians hold the rods, run the total stations, and turn field measurements into map layers. GNSS receivers, drones, and automated plotters compress both collection and drafting, leaving instrument setup, error checking, and boundary research as the durable core.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 34%
Wage risk: 52

Opticians

Opticians measure faces, interpret prescriptions, and fit and adjust eyewear. Online retailers with virtual try-on and mail-order lenses have taken the commodity segment, while complex prescriptions, progressive-lens fitting, and adjustment work still reward a skilled pair of hands.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 28%
Wage risk: 52

Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary

Graduate teaching assistants lead discussion sections, run labs, and grade mountains of undergraduate work. AI grading and feedback tools target exactly the grading portion — the most compressible part of the assistantship — while leading a live section and mentoring students stays human.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 30%
Wage risk: 60

Medical Dosimetrists

Medical dosimetrists design radiation treatment plans, calculating dose distributions that maximize tumor coverage while sparing organs. Auto-contouring and auto-planning AI now draft plans in minutes — a genuine, deployed capability — making this one of the more exposed allied-health specialties, with verification and oncology-team consultation as the anchor.

Pressure: 42
Automation: 31%
Wage risk: 26

Real Estate Sales Agents

Listing descriptions, market comps, scheduling, and lead qualification are automating quickly, and AI search changes how buyers discover homes. The transaction's emotional weight, negotiation, local knowledge, and licensed accountability keep agents central — but commission pressure and fewer, more productive agents are the realistic trajectory.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 28%
Wage risk: 46

Management Analysts

Desk research, data gathering, and recommendation-report drafting are increasingly AI-assisted. Engagement scoping, on-site observation, organizational politics, and implementation follow-through keep consulting work human-led.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 30%
Wage risk: 26

Compliance Officers

AI review tools accelerate document examination, policy mapping, and monitoring report preparation. Regulatory interpretation, investigation judgment, auditor relationships, and accountability for violations keep the role human-anchored.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 30%
Wage risk: 30

Instructional Coordinators

AI course generation accelerates lesson drafts, assessment items, and material adaptation. Needs assessment, teacher coaching, curriculum standards alignment, and measuring what actually improves learning keep instructional design human-led.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 30%
Wage risk: 34

Statisticians

Computation, visualization, and report drafting are heavily AI-accelerated. Statistical judgment — choosing valid methods, designing studies, questioning data quality, and defending inference — is precisely what distinguishes statisticians from generated output.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 36%
Wage risk: 24

Meeting and Event Planners

AI planning tools draft agendas, compare venues, and automate vendor outreach. Live event execution, contract negotiation, on-site problem solving, and client relationship management keep experienced planners valuable when events actually happen.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 30%
Wage risk: 42

Financial Risk Specialists

Risk quantification, scenario generation, and report production are deeply AI-augmentable. Model design judgment, communicating uncertainty to decision-makers, and governing the AI models themselves keep risk specialists on the right side of automation.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 34%
Wage risk: 26

Public Relations Managers

AI drafts press releases, executive speeches, and media kits instantly, compressing the production layer of PR teams. Crisis communication strategy, media relationships, executive counsel, and reputation accountability keep PR leadership human-led.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 34%
Wage risk: 32

Real Estate Brokers

AI listing tools, valuation models, and virtual tours compress the information work agents and brokers once monopolized. Transaction negotiation, legal compliance accountability, agent supervision, and office management keep licensed brokers in the deal.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 30%
Wage risk: 44

Couriers and Messengers

Routing and dispatch apps already run this job's logistics, and delivery drones target the same short hops. Medical specimens, legal documents, and signed-chain deliveries keep humans carrying items where custody and timing matter.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 32%
Wage risk: 66

Fundraisers

AI writes appeal letters, segments donor lists, and scores prospects — the production layer of fundraising. Securing major gifts, building sponsor relationships, and representing a cause credibly remain relationship work.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 32%
Wage risk: 50

Disc Jockeys, Except Radio

Automated playlists and AI mixing software handle background music cheaply, compressing the commodity end of DJ work. Reading a live crowd, MC energy, and event pacing keep working DJs booked — the room responds to a person.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 34%
Wage risk: 66

Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers

CAM software with AI assistance now generates toolpaths from models, compressing routine programming hours. Prove-out judgment, tolerance strategy, and shop-floor problem solving keep programmers accountable for what the machine actually cuts.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 38%
Wage risk: 40

Semiconductor Processing Technicians

Fabs are already among the most automated production environments on earth — this occupation exists inside that automation, tending equipment, inspecting wafers, and keeping processes running. US fab expansion matters more to its outlook than any new automation.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 44%
Wage risk: 50

Retail Loss Prevention Specialists

AI cameras now detect concealment and self-checkout fraud in real time — this role's surveillance layer is genuinely automated. What remains human is the intervention: approaching suspects, documenting evidence for prosecution, and safety judgment.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 34%
Wage risk: 62

Clinical Research Coordinators

Electronic data capture, AI protocol review, and remote monitoring automate trial administration. Protocol compliance, patient safety oversight, site coordination, and regulatory documentation accountability keep coordinators central to drug development.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 32%
Wage risk: 36

Postmasters and Mail Superintendents

Sorting automation and declining mail volume drive postal facility consolidation, which postmasters manage rather than face. Retail operations, carrier supervision, community service, and facility accountability keep the role present but shrinking.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 30%
Wage risk: 44

Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians

Mechanical engineering technicians build test rigs, run instrumented tests, and turn sketches into fabrication-ready drawings. Simulation software and AI-assisted CAD compress the drafting and calculation load, while rigging, instrumentation, and hands-on troubleshooting stay on the bench.

Pressure: 40
Automation: 34%
Wage risk: 40