List

The best paid jobs AI cannot do that need no degree

O*NET Job Zone 1 or 2, in the untouched band, with a published median wage, ranked from the highest pay downward. Release v2026.Q3, capability reference date 2026-09-15, built on O*NET 31.0.

The combination most people are actually looking for: work a machine cannot produce, that pays, and that does not start with four years of tuition.

#	Occupation	Exposed	Assisted	Median pay	Rank of 923	Band
1	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	26.4%	18.8%	$106,040	476	untouched
2	Power Plant Operators	22.9%	15.9%	$102,040	533	untouched
3	Biomass Plant Technicians	19.7%	14.3%	$102,040	604	untouched
4	Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers	25.4%	15.1%	$96,710	485	untouched
5	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	5.1%	5.9%	$95,320	872	untouched
6	Transportation Vehicle, Equipment and Systems Inspectors, Except Aviation	21.0%	20.9%	$92,100	573	untouched
7	Gas Plant Operators	26.2%	19.6%	$87,820	479	untouched
8	Locomotive Engineers	24.2%	17.2%	$81,410	502	untouched
9	Roof Bolters, Mining	2.8%	4.5%	$78,540	898	untouched
10	Non-Destructive Testing Specialists	27.9%	18.8%	$78,350	462	untouched
11	Chemical Plant and System Operators	28.1%	19.0%	$78,120	457	untouched
12	Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators	32.6%	16.1%	$77,320	401	untouched
13	Boilermakers	4.6%	4.8%	$76,410	881	untouched
14	Terrazzo Workers and Finishers	2.8%	1.0%	$76,170	897	untouched
15	Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining	10.9%	6.8%	$74,500	776	untouched
16	Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers	9.1%	4.7%	$74,330	813	untouched
17	Pile Driver Operators	2.0%	3.0%	$73,300	904	untouched
18	Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators	1.0%	1.2%	$70,070	914	untouched
19	Wellhead Pumpers	18.0%	10.5%	$69,960	644	untouched
20	Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers	15.3%	11.5%	$68,840	704	untouched
21	Tapers	3.0%	2.8%	$68,270	894	untouched
22	Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas	5.1%	4.2%	$67,890	873	untouched
23	Rail Car Repairers	9.7%	6.3%	$67,530	800	untouched
24	Transportation Security Screeners	19.5%	23.2%	$66,770	610	untouched
25	Athletes and Sports Competitors	8.4%	6.2%	$66,710	821	untouched
26	Millwrights	4.7%	3.3%	$65,700	879	untouched
27	Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers	3.4%	2.4%	$65,380	892	untouched
28	Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic	17.1%	6.4%	$63,870	660	untouched
29	Flight Attendants	31.7%	12.6%	$63,580	412	untouched
30	Structural Iron and Steel Workers	2.6%	2.2%	$62,780	900	untouched
31	Riggers	7.8%	4.4%	$62,640	832	untouched
32	Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters	9.0%	4.9%	$62,620	816	untouched
33	Biofuels Processing Technicians	19.8%	16.8%	$62,470	600	untouched
34	Brickmasons and Blockmasons	7.2%	6.2%	$62,120	845	untouched
35	Continuous Mining Machine Operators	7.4%	11.5%	$61,810	840	untouched
36	Sheet Metal Workers	6.8%	7.2%	$61,800	850	untouched
37	Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers	28.4%	14.5%	$61,770	456	untouched
38	Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters	9.1%	7.0%	$61,390	811	untouched
39	Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons	0.0%	0.0%	$61,290	919	untouched
40	Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers	18.2%	11.5%	$60,600	636	untouched

How to read this

Exposed is the share of an occupation’s weighted task load that a generally available AI system can produce today with little structural friction. Assisted is work it can produce but cannot finish alone, because somebody has to be present, accountable, or because checking the output costs as much as doing the work. Untouched is work it cannot produce at all.

Every figure here is computed from task level ratings, and every occupation links to the page that shows its own tasks. If a rating looks wrong, the task is the level to argue at: how this is measured.

Questions about this list

What tops the list?

First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives, with 26.4% of its weighted task load exposed to current AI systems, 18.8% assisted and 54.8% untouched. Release v2026.Q3.

How is this list decided?

O*NET Job Zone 1 or 2, in the untouched band, with a published median wage, ranked from the highest pay downward. Scores come from rating every standardised work activity in each occupation against a published rubric, not from rating the occupation as a whole.

Does a high score mean the job disappears?

No. Exposure is not displacement. This measures what current systems can produce and what structurally stands in the way, not what an employer will do about it.

Other cuts of the same data

Exposure is not displacement. This index measures what current systems can produce and what stands in the way. It does not forecast job losses, and it models no adoption, employment or wage effect.