The jobs AI can’t steal (yet)

Larry from Louisiana writes: “Kim, what jobs are safe from AI and don’t need a college degree? I’m losing sleep worrying about my future and how I’m going to support a wife and three teenagers.”

Larry, you’re spot-on to be thinking about this. Supporting a family of five in this economy is basically a full-contact sport. You’re also asking exactly the right question.

AI is coming in hot, and a bunch of jobs we once thought were safe are going straight into the chatbot blender.

🤖 AI taking over jobs

Everywhere you look, the headlines are screaming about AI taking over jobs. It’s not hype. A report from Goldman Sachs estimates that AI could impact up to 300 million jobs globally

The World Economic Forum says 25% of all jobs could be disrupted by AI by 2027. That’s only a year and a half from now.

Not all jobs are on the chopping block. Ones that rely on human traits like empathy, dexterity, real-world problem-solving, and yes, getting your hands dirty are thriving.  

Many don’t require a college degree, just skill, training and the drive to get started. 

👊 13 AI-proof jobs

A new report from Resume Now highlights 13 AI-proof jobs. Here’s a peek with the average annual salary:

  • Forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists – $71,420. Try programming AI to make split-second safety calls.
  • Flight attendants – $68,370. A chatbot can’t calm down a nervous flier.
  • Electricians – $60,040. Wires, walls and intuition make for a hands-on profession.
  • Plumbers and pipe fitters – $59,880. Good luck getting AI to fix a burst pipe.
  • Chefs and head cooks – $53,380. AI can’t taste a special sauce.
  • Hearing aid specialists – $52,630. It takes empathy to help someone hear again.
  • Security and fire alarm installers – $49,700. Critical for keeping us safe in real life.

Also on the list: machinery mechanics, hotel managers, aircraft cargo supervisors, insurance sales pros and more.

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Honor their service: How to get official military records

If you’ve ever lost someone who served, or even just want to understand your family better, listen to this. I was poking around online, and I found my dad’s actual WWII draft card application. His name, his handwriting, his signature, where he lived. It was all there. I didn’t expect to get so emotional, but wow.

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Nintendo used to make the Wii. It’s time for a switch

The Nintendo Switch has sold over 146 million units since its 2017 debut, second only to the Nintendo DS. A new trailer shows the first console morphing into the fancy Nintendo Switch 2. The screen is bigger and the Joy-Cons snap magnetically instead of sliding. There’s no release date yet, so you have time to begin saving.

🤺 Who are their competitors? You’re researching a new service for your business and don’t know who to compare it to. Or maybe you’re looking for new sales prospects. Ask ChatGPT or your favorite AI bot! It’ll spit out a list. Take it with a grain of salt; some results could be outdated.

Memorial Day

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More than sales and barbecues, today is for honoring those who gave their lives for our freedom.

🤡 Alienating your customers is bad for your brand: Jaguar’s sales plummeted 97.5% after it released that super weird ad last November with nonbinary models wearing a rainbow of colors with slogans like “Copy Nothing” and “Live Vivid” but excluded any images of its new electric cars. In April, they only sold 49 cars in all of Europe. Wow.

$100 million

In sales for the first-ever AI real estate agent. The Portuguese company using it says a bot knows more about each of their 5,000 properties than a real human could — and is available 24/7. Speaking of … What does a house wear? Address. (I heard a groan!)

Memorial Day deals for under $50

Memorial Day is not designed to be a day for special sales and barbecues, although there will be plenty of both. And while we value and appreciate all the veterans and active-duty military, it’s not their day either. 

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Good post + bad timing = zero likes. Let’s fix that.

Are your carefully crafted social media posts getting the same amount of attention as a tree falling in the forest with no one around? As the French say, that’s no bueno.

Running a business is hard enough without your social media posts falling flat. You spent 30 minutes picking the perfect image, debated emojis for another 12, added hashtags that deserve a Pulitzer, and then? Radio silence.  

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 🍳 AI hits Applebee’s: This is flipping great! IHOP and Applebee’s are rolling out AI for everything from upselling pancakes to spotting dirty tables. The idea? Less drama, more sales. Soon, a robot won’t forget your preferred side of ranch dressing and spin an iPad with a 25% recommended tip.

🛍️ “As ever” more like “as never”: Meghan Markle’s online shop sold out … for all the wrong reasons. Her “As ever” products supposedly flew off the shelves in 30 minutes. But the company running her sales, Snow Commerce, has a bad rep for selling things that don’t exist or aren’t in stock. Did Meghan even check all the one-star reviews? Maybe she was too busy putting Trader Joe’s snacks for guests in a plastic bag, pretending she made them. Ouch.

The truth about Zillow’s Zestimate

🙋‍♀️Raising my hand … Hello, everyone. My name is Kim, and I am a Zillow junkie. 

I have saved every home I owned, own now and would like to own. It’s fun to track what Zillow thinks the places are worth in what they call a “Zestimate.”

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The end of the Apple Watch?

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Once a must-have, even for Rolex owners, the Apple Watch has lost its shine. Sales are down 20%. Can Apple turn it around?

Stop making these AI mistakes

If you’re not using AI in your business or professional life yet, guess what? Your competitors are and they’re getting ahead. Time to change that. 

The secret to making AI actually useful? Asking the right questions. A lazy prompt gets you a lazy answer. A smart one is where the magic happens. Here are three power-packed AI prompts to start using today.

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I like big bots and I cannot lie: Your HR department can’t write you up for saying that. Your new coworker could be an AI bot. OpenAI is about to create special “agents” for jobs like sales and software development. They’ll start at $2,000 and go up to $20,000 a month for PhD-level research. Upside: The bots never call in sick.

Delete it: Go ahead and remove the chat app Telegram from kids’ phones because “more than 90%” of drug deals and illegal gun sales start there. Telegram, of course, says crime happens on every online platform. I’m all for privacy, but kids don’t need encrypted chat.

Make more money using AI

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Struggling to grow your business? AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini can help boost sales, fix your website, and find new revenue streams. 

$100 million

Reported sales price for Brookhaven, a virtual city in Roblox. Some 60 billion people have played the life-sim game. Think building fancy houses, driving around in nice cars and exploring the city. Around 120 million players log on a month. That’s almost the population of Japan!

$1,875,000 severance

For Patrick Spence, the canned Sonos CEO. Spence also will get $7,500 a month for “strategic advisory” until June. The drama started in May 2024 with Sonos’ buggy app that got pushed out way too early so they could sell fancy headphones. Sales numbers were awful, employees quit, and it spiraled into a full-on PR disaster. Way to go, Mr. CEO!

$26 million

In rare medical book sales predicted for the 2020s — everything from guides to bloodletting to how-tos for treating a gunshot wound with boiling oil (paywall link). Last year, a 1555 edition of the anatomy book “Fabrica” sold for $2.2 million. Time to start browsing yard sales for old medical texts.