
Soft Skills Take Center Stage as US News Names Top AI-Proof Careers
US News's 2026 best jobs rankings highlight growth in healthcare and tech and emphasize skills AI can’t match—communication, judgment, creativity and other durable soft skills. Nurse practitioner tops the list for the third year, followed by roles such as financial manager, IT manager, information security analyst, physician assistant, medical and health services manager, software developer, data scientist, speech-language pathologist, and pilot; more than 20% of top jobs don’t require a degree, underscoring the value of human-centered skills in an AI-driven market.













