Nurses, HVAC Techs and Electricians Feel Safest From AI. Here’s What That Means for Your Money

Quick answer: In a new Careerminds survey of 3,088 workers, nurses, HVAC technicians and electricians felt most secure about their careers over the next 10 years. And 62% of respondents said they would rather their child become an electrician than a software developer because of AI. For your wallet, the message is less about which job is “safe” and more about building income that is hard to automate, plus a cushion for when the job market shifts.

For years, “learn to code” was standard advice for anyone chasing a secure, well-paid career. A new survey suggests many workers now see it differently.

Careerminds, a global workforce solutions firm, asked 3,088 workers how secure they expect their careers to be over the next decade. Here are the 10 professions where the highest share said they felt “very secure” or “somewhat secure”:

Rank	Profession	Feel secure over next 10 years
1	Nurse	81%
2	HVAC technician	80%
3	Electrician	78%
4	Dentist	78%
5	Auto mechanic	78%
6	Carpenter	77%
7	Physical therapist	76%
8	Paramedic	74%
9	Firefighter	73%
10	Plumber	69%

Other key findings:

• 62% would rather their child become an electrician than a software developer, given concerns about AI replacing jobs.
• 41% would accept a pay cut in exchange for a guarantee their job would never be replaced by AI. 26% would give up at least 20% of their pay, and 4% would give up half.
• HVAC technicians reported the highest career satisfaction (7.5 out of 10) and were the most optimistic about AI: 53% said it would make their work better.
• 38% of workers 55 and older would take early retirement now rather than risk being replaced by AI before retirement age.
• 77% said they feel sorry for people in careers at risk of AI replacement.

“For years, entering a white-collar profession was almost shorthand for future-proofing your career. AI is beginning to complicate that assumption,” says Amanda Augustine, Certified Professional Career Coach and resident career expert for Careerminds.

Why it matters

Career security is a money issue. Your paycheck funds everything else: your emergency fund, retirement contributions, debt payments and the education choices you make for your kids. When workers start rethinking which careers are “safe,” household financial plans shift with them.

Hands-on work is gaining a reputation for staying power

Several of the most confident professions involve physical, in-person work. AI can help diagnose a broken air conditioner or walk someone through a repair. It still can’t crawl into an attic, rewire a house or care for a sick patient.

Augustine says the workers who feel most confident tend to be those whose jobs rely on physical skills, human care, or work that must be done in person. “That doesn’t mean AI won’t play an important role in those professions. In fact, many of these workers believe AI will make their jobs better,” she says. “The difference is that they are more likely to see AI as a tool that can support the work they do, rather than technology that could eliminate the need for their role altogether.”

Workers are putting a price on security

The pay-cut finding is striking. Four in 10 respondents would trade some salary for a guarantee against AI replacement, and more than a quarter would give up at least 20%.

That’s a real number. On a $70,000 salary, a 20% cut is $14,000 a year, or about $1,167 a month. People are signaling that predictable income is worth a lot, sometimes more than a higher paycheck that feels fragile.

The education math is changing

The child-career question may be the most important finding for families. Choosing a path for your child, or helping them choose, is also a financing decision. A trade apprenticeship or certificate program can cost far less than a four-year degree, and many apprentices earn while they learn.

“Perhaps the most eye-opening finding is what career paths people would choose for their own children,” Augustine says. “It’s no longer enough to ask which jobs require the most technical knowledge. These days, people are also asking which skills are the most difficult to automate and where uniquely ‘human’ capabilities still matter most.”

Older workers are weighing an early exit

Nearly four in 10 workers 55 and older would retire early rather than risk being replaced by AI before retirement age. Leaving early can mean a smaller pension, fewer years of savings and a longer stretch of retirement to fund. Retiring early doesn’t require claiming Social Security early, but if you do claim before full retirement age, your monthly benefit is generally reduced. That choice deserves careful math, not just a gut reaction to headlines.

What we don’t know

This survey measures how workers feel, not what will actually happen to their jobs. A few limits are worth keeping in mind.

The sample leans confident

According to Careerminds’ methodology, participants were screened to confirm they considered themselves happy and secure in their careers. That means the results describe confidence among workers who already feel good about their jobs. They don’t tell us how anxious the broader workforce is, and they likely overstate security across the board.

Confidence isn’t a forecast

Feeling secure and being secure are different things. A profession can feel safe right up until a new technology, a recession or a policy change hits it. The rankings are a useful read on worker sentiment, not a prediction of which jobs AI will or won’t affect.

Software isn’t suddenly a bad career

The 62% figure reflects perceptions of AI risk. It doesn’t say software development has stopped paying well or that electricians have an easy job. Both paths have real costs, physical demands and earning ceilings that a single survey question can’t capture.

Pay and costs aren’t in the data

The survey didn’t compare wages, training costs or student debt across professions. Those numbers matter as much as perceived security when you’re choosing a career or helping a child choose one.

What to do next

You can’t control whether AI reaches your industry. You can control how exposed your finances are if it does.

1. Build a job-disruption cushion

If your work feels vulnerable, aim for an emergency fund that covers more months of essential expenses than the usual minimum. A bigger cushion buys you time to retrain or job-hunt without high-interest debt.

2. Make yourself harder to replace

The workers in this survey feel secure because their value comes from judgment, hands-on skill and human connection. Whatever your field, look for the parts of your job that require those things, and grow them. Learning to use AI tools well can also make you more valuable, not less.

3. Run the numbers before trading pay for security

If you’re considering a lower-paying job for stability, calculate the full cost: lost salary, smaller retirement contributions and reduced employer match. Then weigh it against what you’d gain in predictability. Sometimes the trade is worth it. Just make it on purpose.

4. Compare education paths by total cost and payoff

If you’re helping a child choose a path, compare the full price of each option (tuition, tools, licensing and time out of the workforce) against realistic starting pay. Look at apprenticeships, community college certificates and four-year degrees side by side. Avoid borrowing heavily for any path without a clear plan to repay.

5. Don’t make an early-retirement decision out of fear

If you’re 55 or older and worried about being replaced, model what early retirement would actually look like. That includes pension reductions, health insurance before Medicare and when you’d claim Social Security. A fee-only financial planner can help you test the plan before you commit.

FAQs: Careers Safest From AI and What It Means for Your Money

Which careers feel most secure from AI?

In the Careerminds survey of 3,088 workers, nurses (81%), HVAC technicians (80%) and electricians (78%) were most likely to say they felt secure about their careers over the next 10 years. Dentists, auto mechanics, carpenters, physical therapists, paramedics, firefighters and plumbers rounded out the top 10.

Would parents rather their kids become electricians than coders?

In this survey, 62% of respondents said they would rather their child become an electrician than a software developer, given concerns about AI replacing jobs. 38% chose software developer.

How much pay would workers give up for an AI-proof job?

41% would accept some pay cut for a guarantee their job would never be replaced by AI. 26% would accept a cut of at least 20%, 17% at least 30%, and 4% would give up half their salary.

Which workers are most optimistic about AI?

HVAC technicians. 53% said AI would make their work somewhat or much better over the next 10 years, compared with 40% across all other careers surveyed.

Does this survey prove these jobs are safe from AI?

No. It measures how workers feel, and participants were screened to confirm they already considered themselves happy and secure in their careers. It’s a read on sentiment, not a forecast.

How can I protect my finances if my job is at risk from AI?

Build a larger emergency fund, keep high-interest debt low, invest in skills that are hard to automate, and run the numbers before making big moves like a career switch or early retirement.

Who conducted the survey?

Careerminds, a global workforce solutions provider specializing in outplacement, career transition and talent development, surveyed 3,088 workers from a geographically representative online panel of double opt-in members. Read the full Careerminds report.