Two jobs growing with AI are data scientists and information security analysts. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects data scientist jobs will grow 34.6% from 2025 to 2035, about 95,400 more jobs. Customer service rep jobs are projected to shrink over the same years. AI jobs are also showing up outside tech. In 2026, two health systems posted openings for managers who run AI.

Last updated: October 26, 2026

Why it matters

The new jobs and the shrinking jobs sit side by side. BLS projects information security analyst jobs will grow 21.0% from 2025 to 2035, about 40,600 more jobs. Over the same years, customer service rep jobs are projected to fall 5.3%, about 141,800 fewer jobs. All jobs together are projected to grow 3.5%.

Shrinking does not mean closed. BLS still expects about 289,500 customer service openings a year, all from replacing workers who leave.

The pay gap is wide. In May 2025, the median pay was $120,230 for data scientists, $129,180 for information security analysts, and $44,770 for customer service reps.

BLS also rates all three jobs as having "very high" AI exposure compared to other occupations, the two growing ones and the shrinking one. BLS says plainly that "exposure does not imply job loss." A high rating means AI overlaps with the tasks in a job. It is not a forecast that the job will grow or shrink.

New AI jobs outside big tech

You do not need a tech company. Health systems are one place to look. MUSC Physicians in Charleston, South Carolina, posted a job for a manager of AI strategy and operations on May 7, 2026. The posting asks this person to "identify operational workflows poised for AI-driven efficiency gains or cost savings." The job covers AI tools the practice builds itself or buys, from finding where they save time and money to helping build and launch them. Mayo Clinic posted a job for an associate manager of AI in Rochester, Minnesota, on October 21, 2026, paying $127,961.60 to $185,515.20 a year and asking for working AI fluency, not model building.

If you run a small business

Of all U.S. employer businesses, 24.6% used AI in the two weeks from September 21 to October 4, 2026, according to the Census Bureau's Business Trends and Outlook Survey. Firms with 1 to 4 employees came in at 24.3%. Firms with 250 or more employees came in at 43.6%.

You do not need to hire for this first. Start with a task you give someone you already have, like the office manager who sets up an AI scheduling or invoicing tool and checks what it produces. The Small Business Administration says to "start small." When you use free AI tools, it says to "have another person review all AI products."

What to do next

For workers

  1. Look up your job in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook and write down its projected change for 2025 to 2035 and its median pay.

  2. Search a job board for "AI" plus your department, like "AI operations" or "AI manager" at hospitals, and save three postings from employers outside tech.

  3. Copy the duties list from one of those postings and mark each duty you already do. Turn the strongest one into a line on your resume.

For small businesses

  1. Watch SCORE's free recorded webinar "AI in 2026: What's Changing and What It Means for Small Business," which runs about an hour.

  2. Pick one repeated task, like quotes or appointment reminders, try a free AI tool on it, and have a second person check every result before it goes out.

Sources

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