On Fox Business’s The Bottom Line this week, Mike Rowe told viewers: “You cannot reinvigorate the trades without reimagining the way we train the next generation of workers. These jobs by and large exist out of sight and out of mind, so people are surprised to learn they exist and shocked to learn they represent AI-proof six-figure opportunity.” Blue-collar advocate Ken Rusk piled on, citing NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) CEO Jensen Huang’s observation that AI data centers “are made of concrete and steel and wire and piping” and will “need welders and plumbers and carpenters.”
For young adults deciding between college and the skilled trades, one path often begins with more than $30,000 in student debt, while the other offers a paycheck from day one and the potential to earn six figures without a bachelor’s degree. As Rowe and Rusk argue, making the right decision today could shape earnings and wealth for decades.
The Labor Shortage Is Giving Skilled Workers The Upper Hand
Job openings sit at 7.59 million as of May 2026, the 12-month high and the 90.9th percentile historically. Unemployment is 4.2%, and initial jobless claims are running near 215,000, well inside the healthy band. A projected 2.1 million skilled-trade worker shortage means the shortage is structural, not cyclical.
The BLS pegs median usual weekly earnings for full-time workers at $1,235 in Q1 2026. Multiply that by 52 weeks, and the median full-time American earns roughly $64,000 a year. Average hourly earnings across the private sector are $37.64 as of June 2026, up from $36.36 a year ago.
A journeyman electrician or welder billing $50-$60 an hour on a data-center build, plus overtime, clears six figures without a bachelor’s degree. Ohio’s data-center projects alone require 240,000 skilled workers across construction, implementation, and maintenance. That is the demand side of a wage negotiation the worker is winning.
How The Skilled Trades Stack Up Against A Four-Year Degree
Take two 18-year-olds. Student A borrows $30,000 for a bachelor’s degree and starts a $55,000 salaried job at 22. Student B enters a trade apprenticeship at 18, earning $45,000 while training, hits $85,000 by year four, and clears $110,000 by year seven.
By age 25, Student B has zero debt, seven years of earnings in the bank, and sits inside a labor market with 2.1 million unfilled skilled positions. Student A is servicing loans while real hourly earnings slipped from $11.32 in May 2025 to $11.23 in May 2026.
Rusk’s framing on the segment lands: “If they are a young person, I would be running to my technical college… make six figures or better. You are not going to have college debt. These jobs will be around for a very long time.”
The Highest-Paying Trade Jobs Are Following AI Investment
Not every trade pays six figures. A general handyman in a low-cost rural market may top out at $45,000. A certified industrial electrician, welder, HVAC technician, or plant maintenance mechanic servicing AI data centers, semiconductor fabs, or the $800 billion infrastructure investment boom can push well past $120,000 with overtime.
95% of manufacturers have invested or plan to invest in AI by 2030, Meta (NASDAQ:META) is investing $115 million in skilled trades programs, and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is spending $50 billion to train 300,000 workers. Anderson Brands cofounders Allie and Cory Anderson noted that AI is amplifying front-line workers rather than replacing them, and small manufacturers using AI have cut quoting time from multiple days to minutes.
Midwest Technical Institute CEO Brian Huff called Gen Z “the toolbelt generation” and said, “This is the first generation that really believes their career path could be eliminated.” Trade school enrollment is up 20% nationally, with one institute reporting 35% enrollment growth since 2020. Host Dagen McDowell noted that only one-third of voters now recommend college, down from two-thirds 20 years ago.
The Bottom Line
Rowe and Rusk argue that AI will increase the value of skilled trades workers. Every new data center, factory, and infrastructure project still needs electricians, welders, plumbers, HVAC technicians, and mechanics to build and maintain it. As demand continues to outpace supply, the skilled trades may offer one of the clearest paths to a six-figure career without taking on years of student debt.
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