Most Resilient Careers: Job Growth, Pay, and AI Risk by Education (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Electrical power-line installers and repairers tops EDsmart Data's career resilience ranking, which blends BLS projected job growth for 2025–35, median pay, and low exposure to AI. Education remains the best protection overall: unemployment runs 1.8% for doctoral degree holders versus 6.1% for workers without a high school diploma. 19 of the 25 most resilient careers require education after high school.
Key Facts
- #1 resilient career: Electrical power-line installers and repairers
- Its projected growth: +10.3%
- Unemployment, bachelor's holders: 2.8%
- Occupations ranked: 374
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Most resilient careers: top 15 by resilience score
Healthcare and skilled technical jobs dominate
Our analysis ranks Electrical power-line installers and repairers first, with +10.3% projected growth, a $95,320 median wage, and an AI exposure score of 0.3%.
Occupations with 50,000+ jobs in 2025. Resilience score = average percentile of projected growth, median wage, and low AI exposure.
Top 25 most resilient careers in the U.S.
| Occupation | Resilience score | Projected growth 2025–35 | Median wage | Annual openings | AI exposure score | Typical education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Electrical power-line installers and repairers | 90.4% | +10.3% | $95,320 | 10,900 | 0.3% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| 2. Nurse anesthetists | 82.6% | +9.7% | $236,590 | 2,400 | 47.8% | Master's degree |
| 3. Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers | 79.6% | +8.3% | $232,140 | 11,200 | 52.3% | Bachelor's degree |
| 4. Diagnostic medical sonographers | 79.6% | +13.9% | $96,590 | 6,000 | 44.1% | Associate's degree |
| 5. Physician assistants | 79.2% | +21.1% | $135,880 | 11,500 | 60.6% | Master's degree |
| 6. Industrial machinery mechanics | 78.1% | +17.8% | $64,520 | 44,400 | 26.2% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| 7. Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers | 77.5% | +10.9% | $61,010 | 40,600 | 13.7% | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| 8. Veterinarians | 76.9% | +9.4% | $130,100 | 3,100 | 57.7% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 9. Electricians | 76.8% | +9.2% | $63,190 | 72,700 | 16.5% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| 10. Dental hygienists | 76.6% | +8.0% | $98,100 | 15,000 | 43.0% | Associate's degree |
| 11. Health specialties teachers, postsecondary | 76.6% | +17.9% | $107,310 | 24,900 | 62.6% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 12. Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines | 76.6% | +6.7% | $65,510 | 15,000 | 11.9% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| 13. Physical therapists | 76.5% | +11.9% | $102,760 | 13,400 | 56.0% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 14. Commercial pilots | 76.4% | +5.2% | $123,220 | 5,200 | 35.8% | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| 15. Dentists, general | 76.1% | +5.7% | $170,950 | 4,200 | 49.0% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 16. Physical therapist assistants | 75.6% | +23.0% | $68,380 | 18,500 | 40.1% | Associate's degree |
| 17. Occupational therapists | 75.6% | +14.8% | $100,330 | 10,000 | 58.8% | Master's degree |
| 18. Respiratory therapists | 75.4% | +8.5% | $82,280 | 8,600 | 41.6% | Associate's degree |
| 19. Nurse practitioners | 74.7% | +41.0% | $132,300 | 29,400 | 73.8% | Master's degree |
| 20. Radiologic technologists and technicians | 74.5% | +5.0% | $80,110 | 13,000 | 21.5% | Associate's degree |
| 21. Occupational therapy assistants | 73.4% | +21.5% | $72,300 | 8,100 | 49.5% | Associate's degree |
| 22. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers | 72.5% | +3.7% | $93,530 | 6,600 | 19.9% | Postsecondary nondegree award |
| 23. Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters | 72.4% | +6.8% | $63,800 | 42,000 | 22.4% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| 24. Flight attendants | 71.6% | +8.8% | $63,580 | 18,500 | 31.5% | High school diploma or equivalent |
| 25. Medical equipment repairers | 71.3% | +12.6% | $61,660 | 8,200 | 36.1% | Associate's degree |
Most resilient career at each education level
| Typical education | Occupation | Resilience score | Projected growth | Median wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No formal educational credential | Roofers | 69.0% | +5.3% | $55,440 |
| High school diploma or equivalent | Electrical power-line installers and repairers | 90.4% | +10.3% | $95,320 |
| Some college, no degree | Computer, automated teller, and office machine repairers | 44.2% | -3.0% | $47,810 |
| Postsecondary nondegree award | Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers | 77.5% | +10.9% | $61,010 |
| Associate's degree | Diagnostic medical sonographers | 79.6% | +13.9% | $96,590 |
| Bachelor's degree | Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers | 79.6% | +8.3% | $232,140 |
| Master's degree | Nurse anesthetists | 82.6% | +9.7% | $236,590 |
| Doctoral or professional degree | Veterinarians | 76.9% | +9.4% | $130,100 |
Unemployment rate and weekly earnings by education level
More education, lower unemployment
BLS data for 2025 show unemployment falling at each step up the education ladder, from 6.1% without a high school diploma to 1.8% with a doctorate.
Workers 25 and older. Source: BLS Employment Projections, Table 5.1.
Projected job growth by typical entry-level education, 2025–35
| Typical education for entry | Jobs 2025 | Projected growth | Median wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doctoral or professional degree | 4,543,200 | +6.4% | $128,870 |
| Master's degree | 3,941,300 | +11.0% | $83,210 |
| Bachelor's degree | 42,870,100 | +5.6% | $96,480 |
| Associate's degree | 3,554,100 | +4.9% | $64,990 |
| Postsecondary nondegree award | 10,679,100 | +5.7% | $49,910 |
| Some college, no degree | 4,172,900 | -3.2% | $46,670 |
| High school diploma or equivalent | 60,319,000 | +2.0% | $48,050 |
| No formal educational credential | 40,201,200 | +2.3% | $36,400 |
What the data shows
Resilient careers share three traits in our analysis: employers are adding jobs, the work pays well, and the core tasks are physical, clinical, or interpersonal rather than pure information processing. Many are in healthcare and the skilled trades.
Education still matters. Unemployment drops at each step up the education ladder, and most of the top-ranked careers require a postsecondary credential. The strongest path combines a credential with a hands-on or client-facing field.
Methodology
Occupations come from BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 (Table 1.2), limited to detailed occupations with at least 50,000 jobs in 2025. Resilience score = average of three percentile ranks: projected employment growth 2025–35, 2025 median annual wage, and (1 − AI exposure score). It is a 0–1 composite displayed ×100 as a percentage.
The AI exposure score is EDsmart Data's task-based index. For each occupation we take the average O*NET importance rating of information and computer activities (getting, processing, analyzing, documenting, and interpreting information; working with computers; administrative work) minus the average importance of physical, repair, equipment, and hands-on care activities, then convert that difference to a percentile rank across all occupations (a 0–1 value displayed ×100 as a percentage). A higher score means more of the job is the kind of work current AI tools can assist with or perform; it is not a forecast of job losses.
Unemployment and weekly earnings by education are BLS 2025 figures for workers 25 and older (Table 5.1); growth by typical entry-level education is BLS Table 5.2.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most resilient careers?
In our ranking, Electrical power-line installers and repairers, Nurse anesthetists, and Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers score highest on a blend of projected job growth, pay, and low AI exposure.
Does education make careers more recession-proof?
Yes. BLS data show 2025 unemployment of 1.8% for doctoral degree holders versus 6.1% for workers without a high school diploma.
What is the most resilient job that doesn't need a bachelor's degree?
Electrical power-line installers and repairers (high school diploma or equivalent) ranks highest among careers that do not require a bachelor's degree, with +10.3% projected growth and a $95,320 median wage.
How is the resilience score calculated?
Each occupation gets a percentile rank for projected 2025–35 job growth, median wage, and low AI exposure. The resilience score is the average of the three, shown as a percentage.
Data sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35 (occupational employment, openings, wages, and typical entry-level education)
- National Center for O*NET Development, O*NET 28.0 database (Work Activities importance ratings)