The jobs most at risk of AI… and how you can future-proof your career and finances: JOE MINIHANE lost his livelihood after 25 years and was left struggling to pay the bills. This is his warning to those at risk

For decades, I had the luxury of having the most exciting job in the room.

As a travel writer, I’ve been on flying safaris around Kenya. I trekked deep into the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda to meet a family of mountain gorillas. I swam with whale sharks off the coast of Okinawa and went stargazing in Peru’s Sacred Valley.

As a freelancer, my income has always been a little unpredictable but I supplemented it with regular copywriting work for large companies, which paid well. The £45,000 I earned most years was plenty for me and my family to live comfortably.

But this wonderful lifestyle came to a crashing halt last year.

In a devastating end to a 25-year writing career, I’ve officially been replaced by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Company after company has told me my services are no longer required, informing me that AI programmes can now do my job.

The stress has been unbearable. Unable to make ends meet, my credit card bills have spiralled and with a young family to look after, I’ve had no choice but to shift gears. I’ve found myself handing fliers out around my neighbourhood in a desperate bid to reinvent myself and offer out my services.

I’m far from alone in facing this threat. Millions of jobs are at risk of being taken over by AI. Titans of the tech world leading the AI revolution have long warned of a looming jobs apocalypse. Dario Amodei, chief executive of AI start-up Anthropic claimed the software could wipe out half of entry level white-collar employment.

An estimated eight million UK jobs could be threatened in the next three to five years in the worst-case scenario, according to forecasts from think-tank the Institute for Public Policy Research.

So far, the picture has been a lot less bleak than predicted. Some companies have even boasted that AI has led to job creation.

Speaking at the Labour Party conference on Monday, AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said there was no evidence so far of an overall reduction in jobs as a result of AI.

While, on paper, the change isn’t happening as quickly as some AI leaders predicted it would, my own experience shows that the threat is still real.

The jobs most at risk

Those of us who are impacted the most, it seems, are graduates going into a hugely competitive job market and older workers who do not have the skills required to meet the ever-growing demands of employers.

The jobs with the highest odds of being replaced are telephone operators and office administration or support roles, with a risk level of 83 per cent, according to experts at Kickresume.

Analysis by Microsoft of 200,000 conversations with a chatbot found that AI could complete at least 90 per cent of the work carried out by historians and coders, 80 per cent of salespeople and journalists, and 75 per cent of DJs and data scientists. Other jobs that were particularly exposed were customer service assistants, financial advisers and product promoters.

For me, the shift started gradually, with work slowly drying up.

At first, the spectre of AI was almost mythical. There were horror stories of fellow writers being impacted by the rapid rise of ChatGPT. Surely, though, we would be safe for a few years yet.

Yet by late 2024, it was clear that something seismic was happening. A large website for which I wrote consumer guides suddenly stopped offering me work. Like many freelance writers, I preferred having a regular paying gig that could be topped up through other, more exciting jobs.

With my steady income drying up, I no longer had the time or means to take on the more adventurous work either.

It was only when I received a sheepish email from an editor that it finally hit home just how serious the situation was. He told me his company would be using AI to produce its writing. My regular £2,000 a month income dried up overnight.

Until last year, I had never wanted for work. My writing career was, by most measures, a massive success.

As I was self-employed, when the hammer did fall, I wasn’t entitled to any sort of pay-off or given the chance to give feedback to HR via an exit interview.

My initial reaction was one of rage. Officially, I followed the guidance of one of my early mentors, thanking senior staff for the work and expressing my hope that we would work together again soon. Unofficially, I spoke with my editor over WhatsApp about how furious I was, telling him they were making a terrible mistake. Like me, he was furious. Like me, he too soon found himself out of work.

For three months, I scrabbled around desperately looking for a new, regular gig to replace it. When it came, it involved editing copy written by an AI programme for a travel brand.

Naturally, I felt somewhat uncomfortable when the opportunity for regular work presented itself turned out to be editing AI-written travel pieces.

However, the pay was good and the job itself straightforward. While it was tedious at times, my contract was renewed and I felt a sense of stability return.

But to my horror, within eight months, I was told I’d unwittingly taught the AI software how to improve its own writing. My services weren’t needed any more.

I was told just a week before the end of my contract that it would not be renewed again. This time, there was no more writing work to fall back on. A career I had spent 25 years building had disintegrated.

A colossal impact

The impact on my finances and home life were immense. My taxable income fell by more than a third.

As someone with a lifelong anxiety condition, who’s also prone to bouts of depression, the stress was horrific.

I felt ashamed that I was unable to give my family the lifestyle that I wanted for them.

Thankfully, with my partner in full-time work in the NHS, we were able to hold it together, pay the mortgage and keep up my monthly pension contributions.

But holidays, trips out with the kids, takeaway coffee and subscriptions were all cut out.

Our credit card bill swelled. Our savings were depleted. It was abundantly clear that I needed to change tack. All the jobs I searched for on LinkedIn were either for roles reviewing AI copy or writing for social media.

Nothing appealed and those I did apply for came to nothing.

A dramatic career change

It was on the phone with my sister in December 2025, reminiscing about our grandparents’ garden and how we used to tend it, that she suggested I take that childhood passion and turn it into a business.

I had my own garden, which I adored, and an urge to work outdoors, as far away from AI as possible. I began by making flyers offering my gardening services and posted them around the local area.

I set up an Instagram page and I messaged friends on local WhatsApp groups about my plans. Soon, friends were calling on me for jobs and leaving reviews on Google. My new work as a gardener snowballed.

A couple at my local gym saw my poster and asked me to build them a pond. In June this year I dug into the dirt and created a space for newts and frogs, joined by robins and goldfinches as I worked, looking out across the Hope Valley in the heart of the Peak District. At that moment, I knew I’d made the right decision.

It hasn’t been without its challenges. My earnings fluctuate wildly from as little as £750 a month to £3,000, although decades as a freelancer mean I am good at budgeting. The credit card bill has been paid. Our finances are on a more even keel.

I’m not the only one who has had to deal with this abrupt change.

One old friend has quit the music industry to retrain as a counsellor while another writer I know retrained and went into NHS mental health services.

Safeguard your career

The reality is that there is plenty of work that can be done outside of AI’s reach. These tend to be more trade-oriented roles, where human trust is valued by customers who want a connection and a relationship with someone who has expertise.

According to Microsoft’s analysis, tradespeople such as painter-decorators, cleaners and roofers tend to be the safest from the rise of AI.

If you fear that AI could have your job in its sights, take a step back and consider what you enjoy doing and what you’re good at. Do you enjoy DIY? Could this lead to work as a plasterer, an electrician or plumber? Or do you like working with people?

It’s more than likely that you have picked up transferrable skills from your day job that you can apply to a new occupation.

A career as a teacher, police officer, midwife or nurse might be a good option. Some switches will be easier than others. It’s important to consider whether you will need to retrain or obtain any qualifications. It’s never too late to retrain but you will need to set time aside to learn the skills required. 

It’s also vital to keep your finances in order to cushion them from a shock. Most workers should set some money aside for a rainy day.

Having a pot ready in case anything goes wrong, such as losing your job, will allow you to absorb the cost without going into debt.

Keep this in an easy-access savings account so you can get your hands on it quickly.

Experts say you need between three to six months of spending.

It may feel as if AI is everywhere, especially in the workplace. And, despite what has happened to me, I know it has a value, as long as guardrails and strong regulations are placed around it.

It may seem a leap but it is possible to find work that is satisfying and beyond the reach of the robots. You might just need a little gumption to make the dream a reality.

Have you switched careers? We’d like to hear from you. Email moneymail@dailymail.co.uk

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