Top 100 Career Paths for 18-Year-Olds: Ranked by AI-Resistance, Economic Viability, and Real Job Security Through 2035
You're 18. You just graduated high school. Maybe you're working at In-N-Out. Maybe you're at community college. Maybe you're living at home wondering what the hell comes next.
Everyone's telling you to "follow your passion" or "learn to code" or "get a degree." But nobody's telling you the truth: AI is changing everything, and most career advice is already obsolete.
This guide is different. We ranked the Top 100 careers based on what actually matters in 2025-2035: Can AI replace this job? Can companies afford to automate it? Will there still be openings when you're ready?
No false hope. No corporate bullshit. Just facts, sources, and honest timelines.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook - Registered Nurses (2024)
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics State Occupational Employment Statistics (May 2024); Incredible Health State Salary Report (2024); NurseJournal.org Cost of Living Analysis (2024)
"Jobs requiring physical presence and human empathy are most protected."
— Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, October 2024 (Essay: "Machines of Loving Grace")
"Healthcare will see AI augmentation, not replacement. Nurses will use AI for documentation and monitoring."
— Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, 2024
"Only skilled healthcare jobs will survive automation... AI still can't perform a majority of tasks that healthcare workers can—like sterilizing surgical equipment, or administering at-home aid."
— Geoffrey Hinton, "Godfather of AI," June 2025 (AllWork.Space interview)
• Automated charting and documentation (EMR systems)
• Medication reminders and scheduling
• Basic patient triage via chatbots
• Vital sign monitoring with AI alerts
• Advanced patient monitoring systems
• AI-assisted diagnosis recommendations
• Administrative tasks (15% of nursing work)
• Bedside care - Physical patient care, turning patients, wound dressing
• Emotional support - Comforting patients and families during crisis
• Complex assessments - Reading non-verbal cues, intuitive problem-solving
• Emergency response - Split-second decisions in life-or-death situations
• Human touch - Patients WANT human nurses, not robots
Sources: McKinsey Global Institute "Transforming Healthcare with AI" (2020, 2024); Goldman Sachs AI Automation Report (2024); MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab Healthcare Study (2024)
Sources: Healthcare Robotics Industry Reports (2024); McKinsey Healthcare Economics Analysis (2025); Hospital Financial Data
✓ Physical presence required - Cannot be done remotely
✓ Human trust essential - Patients want human caregivers
✓ Unpredictable environments - Every patient is different
✓ Economic barrier - Hospitals can't afford robot replacement
✓ Growing demand - Aging population + chronic disease increase
✓ Current automation: <5% of tasks
Registered Nurse is the #1 career for 18-year-olds in 2025. You can start in 2 years, earn $60K-$130K+, and work for 40+ years without worrying about AI taking your job. Hospitals need humans. Patients want humans. The economics don't work for robot replacement. This is as close to a "safe" career as exists in the AI age.
Jobs 2-100 research in progress. Check back for updates.