Career Explorer Personal care
Human edge, growing
Manicurists and pedicurists
Clean and shape customers' fingernails and toenails. May polish or decorate nails.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 91% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by +9.2% by 2035, faster than average.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $35,760
- Job growth to 2035
- +9.2%
- Openings a year
- 21,900
- People doing it (2025)
- 202,000
- Usual route in
- College certificate
Where people already use AI for this work
- Advise patients or clients on medical issues
- Promote products, services, or programs
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Apply hygienic or cosmetic agents to skin or hair
- Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas
- Replenish inventories of materials, equipment, or products
What the work looks like
- Clean and sanitize tools and work environment.
- Apply undercoat and clear or colored polish onto nails with brush.
- Maintain supply inventories and records of client services.
- Shape and smooth ends of nails, using scissors, files, or emery boards.
- Prepare nail cuticles with water and oil, using cuticle knives to push back cuticles and scissors or nippers to trim cuticles.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Massage therapistsHuman edge, growing, Index 98, +15.3%
- Recreational vehicle service techniciansHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +9.7%
- Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleanersHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +7.8%
- Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plasticHuman edge, growing, Index 96, +5.8%
Also known as: Manicurist, Nail Technician (Nail Tech), Pedicurist.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.