For years, kids have been encouraged to get a college education. Learning a trade, on the other hand, was often viewed as a “vocational consolation prize,” Mike Rowe, best known for hosting TV show Dirty Jobs, said during BlackRock’s 2026 Infrastructure Summit in March (1).

But that’s changing, with the trades experiencing something of a renaissance.

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The cost of a college education has skyrocketed — as has student loan debt — and graduates are often left with degrees that don’t translate into jobs. At the same time, white-collar professions are experiencing significant disruption in the era of AI (2).

On the other hand, data center electricians are earning around $260,000 a year, Rowe told Fox Business, citing a recent visit to a Texas-based data center (3).

There, he met three electricians, each under the age of 30 (1). While they had no student loan debt, “the most consequential component of that meeting was the fact that all three of them had been poached three times in the prior 18 months,” Rowe said. “It’s like the draft in the major leagues” (3).

The skilled trades are in high demand while simultaneously facing labor shortages. That, along with a changing attitude toward the trades among younger generations, are making these jobs look pretty attractive — and, even better, they’re relatively insulated from AI-related job cuts.

Youth unemployment rates in the U.S. increased to 9.5% in February, from 8.9% in January, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (4).

At the same time, student loan debt now exceeds $1.8 trillion and the average student loan debt (including private loans) may be as high as $43,333, according to the Education Data Initiative (5).

But, while a lot of young graduates with degrees can’t find jobs, a lot of in-demand trades can’t find enough workers. McKinsey & Company says that annual hiring for skilled roles such as electricians, welders and diesel technicians “could be more than 20 times the projected annual increase in net new jobs from 2022 to 2032” (6).

Electricians, for example, are needed to build AI infrastructure, including data centers — and there just aren’t enough of them to meet growing demand.

It’s estimated that the U.S. will need about 300,000 new electricians in the next decade — and that’s above and beyond replacing about 200,000 electricians set to retire, according to Fortune (1). They aren’t just needed in data centers; they’re needed across the board, from hospitals to military bases and everything in between.

Electricians aren’t the only in-demand trade. Indeed, research from Randstad USA finds that the AI revolution is “triggering a demand in skilled trades that is now outpacing professional roles.” That includes robotics technicians (with job vacancies jumping 113.19%), HVAC engineers and general trades, including welders and construction specialists (7).

At the same time, many skilled trade workers are retiring, driving an even bigger need for talent. Indeed, Randstad reports that, for every 100 workers entering the trades, another 102 are exiting (7).

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More Gen Zers are considering the skilled trades. Not as a fallback, but as a career that offers stability, high pay and even the opportunity to run their own business.

One survey by Resume Templates found that six in 10 Gen Zers plan to pursue jobs in the skilled trades, such as electrical work, plumbing and construction, among others (8). “Even among Gen Zers with higher education, interest in blue-collar work is strong,” according to the survey. About half of Gen Zers with a bachelor’s degree (or higher) say “they’re likely to pursue a trade in 2026.”

A trade education is typically less expensive than a four-year college degree. Trade schools, as well as workforce training programs and industry-specific micro-credentials, are designed to develop job-ready skills. Federal financial aid is available, as are grants, scholarships and private loans.

Workforce Pell Grants are now available for short-term training programs (eight to 15 weeks) for the skilled trades, and grants don’t need to be repaid. The Pell grant provides up to $7,395 per year, but you’re more likely to receive a smaller pro-rated amount based on the program’s length and your financial need (9).

For many trades, in-classroom education is combined with an apprenticeship. An electrician apprenticeship, for example, typically provides four to five years of in-classroom and on-the-job training. But apprentices earn money, so by the time they’ve finished their training, they may have little to no student loan debt.

No longer are blue-collar jobs considered a “vocational consolation prize.” Instead, they offer a path to job stability and high income potential for a generation of young workers currently facing tremendous uncertainty.

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Fortune (1); Education Data Initiative (2), (5); Fox Business (3); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (4); McKinsey & Company (6); Randstad US (7); Resume Templates (8); New America (9)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.