{"id":293957,"date":"2026-01-20T13:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T13:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/293957\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T13:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T13:02:09","slug":"microsoft-researchers-have-revealed-the-40-jobs-most-exposed-to-ai-and-even-teachers-make-the-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/293957\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft researchers have revealed the 40 jobs most exposed to AI\u2014and even teachers make the list"},"content":{"rendered":"

As companies like Amazon publicly announce<\/a> AI-driven workforce reductions, workers are scrambling to understand which careers might soon disappear and be outsourced to technology.<\/p>\n

A report from Microsoft researchers studying the occupational implications of generative AI<\/a> offers some clarity.<\/p>\n

Translators, historians, and writers are among the roles with the highest AI applicability score, meaning the job\u2019s tasks are most closely aligned with AI\u2019s current abilities, according to the report<\/a> that ranked professions. Customer service and sales representatives\u2014which make up about 5 million jobs in the U.S.\u2014will also have to compete with AI.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Overall, the jobs most exposed are ones that involve knowledge work\u2014like people doing computer, math, or administrative work in an office, the researchers wrote. Sales jobs are also high on the list, since they often involve sharing and explaining information.<\/p>\n

While Microsoft said high applicability doesn\u2019t automatically mean those jobs will necessarily be replaced by AI, the list of roles quickly went viral\u2014with professionals deeming them \u201cmost at risk<\/a>.\u201d <\/strong>It comes as companies like IBM<\/a> have been freezing thousands of would-be new roles that it expects AI will take over in the next 5 years, and graduates in the U.K. are facing the worst job market since 2018 as employers pause hiring and use AI to cut costs, said Indeed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of course, there are some jobs that are unlikely to be touched by AI: Dredge operators; bridge and lock tenders; and water treatment plant and system operators are among the jobs with virtually no generative AI exposure, thanks in part to their hands-on equipment requirements.<\/p>\n

Still, business leaders like Nvidia<\/a> CEO Jensen Huang<\/a> have said every job will be touched by AI in some way, and so it\u2019s best to embrace it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery job will be affected, and immediately. It is unquestionable,\u201d Huang said<\/a> at the Milken Institute\u2019s Global Conference in 2025. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to lose your job to an AI, but you\u2019re going to lose your job to someone who uses AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

A degree won\u2019t save you from AI\u2019s jobs revolution<\/p>\n

Many of the jobs with high chances of getting upended by AI soon, like political scientists, journalists, and management analysts, are all ones that typically require a four-year degree to land a job. And as the researchers point out, having a degree\u2014which was once considered a surefire path to career advancement\u2014is no longer a safeguard against the changing tides.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of education requirements, we find higher AI applicability for occupations requiring a Bachelor\u2019s degree than occupations with lower requirements,\u201d wrote the researchers, who studied 200,000 real-world conversations of Copilot users and cross-compared the AI\u2019s performance with occupational data.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, there are some career paths with low AI exposure, that are growing in demand. The health care sector, in particular, is an area that is experiencing this heavily. The home health and personal care aid industry is expected to create among the greatest number of new jobs<\/a> over the next decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the researchers recognized even their findings don\u2019t capture the full scope of the AI revolution\u2014and there could be further automation caused by more than just generative technology: \u201cOur measurement is purely about LLMs: other applications of AI could certainly affect occupations involving operating and monitoring machinery, such as truck driving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kiran Tomlinson, a senior Microsoft researcher, told Fortune the study focused on highlighting where AI might change how work is done, not take away or replace jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur research shows that AI supports many tasks, particularly those involving research, writing, and communication, but does not indicate it can fully perform any single occupation. As AI adoption accelerates, it\u2019s important that we continue to study and better understand its societal and economic impact,\u201d Tomlinson said.<\/p>\n

Gen Z\u2019s big bet on education might not be all glam<\/p>\n

After seeing the rollercoaster of layoffs<\/a> across the tech industry over the past few years, many Gen Zers have turned to seemingly steadier fields like education.<\/p>\n

The sector was the fastest-growing industry among recent U.K. graduates<\/a> last year, and it was similarly a top career choice for American<\/a> graduates. And while the profession can provide further work-life balance<\/a> and decent benefits, the ability for AI to do the work may cause further headache<\/a>. The report singles out farm and home management educators\u2014as well as postsecondary economics, business, and library science teachers\u2014as roles with relatively high AI applicability.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s unlikely that schools will roll out AI teachers en masse, the report\u2019s findings underscore how quickly the technology could reshape the education profession<\/a>\u2014and many others.<\/p>\n

The top 10 least affected occupations by generative AI:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Dredge Operators<\/li>\n
  2. Bridge and Lock Tenders<\/li>\n
  3. Water Treatment Plant and System Operators<\/li>\n
  4. Foundry Mold and Coremakers<\/li>\n
  5. Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators<\/li>\n
  6. Pile Driver Operators<\/li>\n
  7. Floor Sanders and Finishers<\/li>\n
  8. Orderlies<\/li>\n
  9. Motorboat Operators<\/li>\n
  10. Logging Equipment Operators<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The top 40 most affected occupations by generative AI:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Interpreters and Translators<\/li>\n
    2. Historians<\/li>\n
    3. Passenger Attendants<\/li>\n
    4. Sales Representatives of Services<\/li>\n
    5. Writers and Authors<\/li>\n
    6. Customer Service Representatives<\/li>\n
    7. CNC Tool Programmers<\/li>\n
    8. Telephone Operators<\/li>\n
    9. Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks<\/li>\n
    10. Broadcast Announcers and Radio DJs<\/li>\n
    11. Brokerage Clerks<\/li>\n
    12. Farm and Home Management Educators<\/li>\n
    13. Telemarketers<\/li>\n
    14. Concierges<\/li>\n
    15. Political Scientists<\/li>\n
    16. News Analysts, Reporters, Journalists<\/li>\n
    17. Mathematicians<\/li>\n
    18. Technical Writers<\/li>\n
    19. Proofreaders and Copy Markers<\/li>\n
    20. Hosts and Hostesses<\/li>\n
    21. Editors<\/li>\n
    22. Business Teachers, Postsecondary<\/li>\n
    23. Public Relations Specialists<\/li>\n
    24. Demonstrators and Product Promoters<\/li>\n
    25. Advertising Sales Agents<\/li>\n
    26. New Accounts Clerks<\/li>\n
    27. Statistical Assistants<\/li>\n
    28. Counter and Rental Clerks<\/li>\n
    29. Data Scientists<\/li>\n
    30. Personal Financial Advisors<\/li>\n
    31. Archivists<\/li>\n
    32. Economics Teachers, Postsecondary<\/li>\n
    33. Web Developers<\/li>\n
    34. Management Analysts<\/li>\n
    35. Geographers<\/li>\n
    36. Models<\/li>\n
    37. Market Research Analysts<\/li>\n
    38. Public Safety Telecommunicators<\/li>\n
    39. Switchboard Operators<\/li>\n
    40. Library Science Teachers, Postsecondary<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      A version of this story originally published on Fortune.com<\/a> on July 31, 2025.<\/p>\n

      More on artificial intelligence:<\/p>\n

      Join us at the Fortune Workplace Innovation Summit <\/strong>May 19\u201320, 2026, in Atlanta. The next era of workplace innovation is here\u2014and the old playbook is being rewritten. At this exclusive, high-energy event, the world\u2019s most innovative leaders will convene to explore how AI, humanity, and strategy converge to redefine, again, the future of work. Register now<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As companies like Amazon publicly announce AI-driven workforce reductions, workers are scrambling to understand which careers might soon…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293958,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[261],"tags":[291,289,290,5500,93374,2788,18,126987,300,19,17,303,227,305,172,13270,29967,82,2795],"class_list":{"0":"post-293957","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-career-advice","12":"tag-career-change","13":"tag-careers","14":"tag-eire","15":"tag-evergreen-refresh","16":"tag-gen-z","17":"tag-ie","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-job-seekers","20":"tag-jobs","21":"tag-microsoft","22":"tag-research","23":"tag-teachers","24":"tag-tech-workers","25":"tag-technology","26":"tag-workers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115927563779193901","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}