You cant get AI to do physiotherapy. So maybe become a PT assistant.

Locksmithing/access control is an industry that is sorely lacking new people going into it and the only interaction I have with AI is from one coworker in marketing for the company who uses chatgpt to write her emails. I definitely don't make as much as my friends who are programmers though.

Day training and rescue. You could probably get AI and a robot to teach Pavlovian conditioning in a controlled environment (screen shows symbol, dog gives appropriate response, machine dispenses treat), but behavior modification, leash training in different environments, manners, social conditioning around other dogs/people/animals? A substantial number of humans can’t even train their own dogs to sit, much less behave in public. That’s why I have a job.

Firefighter. Willing to bet AI won’t touch it anytime soon.

End user IT support at any state, county, or city. It's only gonna get busier, plus you can tinker with hardware

trades and nursing.

Construction

forest ranger hehe

Any careers that involve blagging and bullshitting your way through life on the works of others. In fact it's actually enhanced by AI.

First thing you do is realize that AI ain't as great as they want you to believe. Physical work is probably the best way to avoid AI completely, but eventually the hype will die down, so if you still want to work in IT, maybe something like a data technician or IT support?

Anything that's done on site or with your hand. Forget about working from home or having your own hours though, most of the benefits you are used to won't exist and it will be arguably harder work physically depending.

I'd pick something that can't be automated since that's also a risk even if it's not directly AI. That means something to complicated for robots (not much), too big or messy, where it can't be trusted entirely to robots (high safety like making plane parts) or most likely where robots can't easily go (house plumbing and electricity for example).

A lot of trades and manual work pay very well but you have to look before hand, it's definitely not all of them. Cooking jobs for example are pretty safe but don't ever become a cook lol.

If you have dev experience, I'd go towards micro electronics. It's too niche for AI to be good at it yet and has the physical part of prototyping and soldering that isn't easily accessible by AI.

My BIL started brewing beer for a local brewery after he retired from the Army.

Idk maybe I’m wrong, but this feels like more of a hiring issue than AI. You should still be hiring good engineers, and you shouldn’t incentivize them to go so fast that they have to vibe code everything. Let good engineers use AI if they want, and not use it if they don’t want to. If their code is bad, it’s their fault, not the tools they are using.

Pest control. Pretty easy to get into, pays well, can't be done with AI. You have to have the stomach for it, and killing things sucks, and you have to be able to walk away from an incurable situation if the people won't change their ways.

For all intents, it seems CAD is good for a while, at least til someone shows me a tool that goes straight from drawing to CAD and CAM paths. At least I'm also hoping myself. Besides, someone has to make those drawings, and for as long as my supervisors boss doesn't know how even tools wear, I think we're in the clear for.