High-Paying Careers Immune to AI Replacement

As artificial intelligence reshapes many industries, students planning their education abroad are increasingly concerned about which careers will remain secure. The 2025/26 IDP report addresses this shift by identifying professions that face little to no automation risk and still offer strong earning potential. It highlights how human-centric roles, especially those in healthcare, continue to stand firm even as technology accelerates.

List of the Highest-Paying AI-Safe Jobs

According to the report, these 10 occupations have 0% risk of AI replacement and rank among the highest-paying across Australia, Canada, the UK and the US:

1. Specialist Physicians (Anesthesia, Critical Care, Emergency Medicine)
2. Hospitalists
3. General Internal Medicine Physicians
4. Psychiatrists
5. Nurse Anesthetists
6. Nurse Midwives
7. Medical Scientists
8. Physical Therapists
9. Medical and Health Services Managers
10. Radiologic and MRI Technologists

The report states that physicians working in anesthesiology, hospital medicine and internal medicine remain the highest earners among AI-safe professions. These roles demand expert clinical judgment, real-time decision-making and procedural skills that technology cannot replicate.
Psychiatrists continue to feature prominently in the ranking. The report notes that mental health care requires interpersonal communication and empathic understanding, areas where AI tools cannot replace human practitioners.

Nurse anesthetists and nurse midwives also appear in the top tier. They provide specialised care that relies on hands-on intervention, patient monitoring and collaborative judgment with physicians. These responsibilities keep the risk of automation at zero.

The report explains that the highest-paying AI-safe jobs rely on critical thinking, physical presence, empathy and advanced medical skills. AI may support documentation or data analysis, but it cannot independently perform the essential tasks these roles require. As a result, healthcare continues to offer both income stability and long-term career security.