BLS 2024–2034 · O*NET

Career rankings

Occupations ranked across seven lenses, AI exposure, projected growth, and pay, from BLS Employment Projections and the O*NET task database covering 832 U.S. occupations. Methodology.

832
Occupations ranked
581
Projected to grow
272
High AI exposure
7
Ranking lenses

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024) and Employment Projections 2024-2034, roughly 170,000,000 U.S. jobs are ranked across these seven lenses; see the methodology for how each ranking is computed.

The landscape these rankings slice

Every ranking below is a slice of one chart: the 16 largest occupations by AI exposure (horizontal) and projected growth (vertical). The "safest from AI" list lives top-left; "most at-risk" lives bottom-right.

Future-proofGrowing but exposedStable, lower-AIMost at risk16.8%34.4%52%69.6%87.2%-11.2%-3.8%3.5%10.9%18.3%AI exposure (%) →Projected growth (%) →Home healthRetail salespersonsFast foodGeneralRegistered nursesCashiersLaborersCustomer service repreStockersOffice clerksJanitorsWaitersHeavySecretariesSoftware developersMaintenance

Bubble size = employment. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis of O*NET data.

Most At-Risk from AI

Occupations with the highest AI exposure scores, most likely to be disrupted by automation.

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  1. 1 Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks 95%
  2. 2 Billing and posting clerks 88%
  3. 3 Accountants and auditors 87%
  4. 4 Office clerks, general 84%
  5. 5 Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants 83%

Safest from AI

Occupations with the lowest AI exposure scores, most resilient to automation.

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  1. 1 Helpers--electricians 5%
  2. 2 Physicians, all other 11%
  3. 3 Manufactured building and mobile home installers 11%
  4. 4 Pediatricians, general 13%
  5. 5 Electricians 13%

Fastest Growing

Occupations with the highest projected employment growth through 2034.

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  1. 1 Wind turbine service technicians +49.9%
  2. 2 Solar photovoltaic installers +42.1%
  3. 3 Nurse practitioners +40.1%
  4. 4 Data scientists +33.5%
  5. 5 Information security analysts +28.5%

Fastest Declining

Occupations with the largest projected employment declines through 2034.

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  1. 1 Word processors and typists -36.1%
  2. 2 Roof bolters, mining -34.2%
  3. 3 Telephone operators -27.5%
  4. 4 Switchboard operators, including answering service -26.3%
  5. 5 Data entry keyers -25.9%

Highest Paying

Occupations with the highest median annual wages.

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  1. 1 Family medicine physicians $238,380
  2. 2 General internal medicine physicians $236,350
  3. 3 Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers $226,600
  4. 4 Dentists, all other specialists $225,770
  5. 5 Nurse anesthetists $223,210

High Pay + Growing

High-paying occupations that are also projected to grow, best of both worlds.

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  1. 1 Family medicine physicians $238,380
  2. 2 General internal medicine physicians $236,350
  3. 3 Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers $226,600
  4. 4 Dentists, all other specialists $225,770
  5. 5 Nurse anesthetists $223,210

Largest Occupations

Occupations with the largest current employment totals.

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  1. 1 Home health and personal care aides 4.3M
  2. 2 Retail salespersons 3.9M
  3. 3 Fast food and counter workers 3.8M
  4. 4 General and operations managers 3.7M
  5. 5 Registered nurses 3.4M