Key Takeaways
- AI data centers are creating a construction boom that requires electricians and other skilled tradespeople.
- The work is intense, often requiring 10-hour days, seven days a week.
- However, it can push annual pay for these skilled workers into the six figures.
As a Detroit-based apprentice electrician, Tyler Shelton usually spends his days climbing into manholes to repair cables and other electrical equipment. Recently, though, his employer has begun diverting crews to a massive new data center rising about an hour outside the city.
“Everybody wants that money,” Shelton said in a recent interview with The New York Times. The jobs pay well, but they are also draining the workforce from regular assignments, he said. As more workers head to data centers, Shelton’s crew is left trying to cover the same volume of maintenance and repair work with fewer hands.
Shelton may soon join his colleagues at data centers. According to state officials, OpenAI’s facility is the largest single private investment in Michigan’s history. It demands around-the-clock construction and a workforce of skilled tradespeople.
The project will likely need hundreds of electricians working 10-hour shifts, seven days a week, to keep building its intricate web of technology.
The tradeoffs
The paychecks on hand are difficult to ignore. Overtime pay and bonuses can push earnings far above the standard. For context, the average annual salary of an electrician in Michigan is $61,930 to $70,942, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Last month, TV host and narrator Mike Rowe spoke with a number of electricians who work at a data center in Texas. All of them were under 30 years old and were making $240,000 to $280,000 a year, far above the industry norm.
For younger workers hoping to save quickly or pay off debt, long shifts at a data center can substantially add to their paychecks.
For a lot of electricians, it’s some of the best money they’ve ever seen, which makes it hard to turn down, even if it means long commutes and time away from home.
Shelton, who is thinking about his next stage in life, understands the pull of that kind of money.
At the same time, the intensity of the work gives him pause. Endless 10-hour days, stacked seven in a row, leave little room for rest, family or anything resembling a normal schedule. Shelton is weighing whether the financial gains are worth the personal trade-offs.
“I’d like to have a house in the next year or so,” he said, explaining where the extra income could benefit him. “So it’s like, I understand the draw, but I also like to have a life outside work.”
Big Tech pours millions of dollars into training future electricians
According to the Times, data centers are dominating the conversation at the Detroit Electrical Industry Training Center, where 850 electrician apprentices train.
The tech companies behind these projects aren’t just focused on today’s crews, either. They’re pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into making sure there’s a steady pipeline of electricians who can actually build and maintain all this infrastructure over the next decade.
For example, Google is taking part in a $50 million initiative to ramp up annual apprentice enrollment from 19,500 to 30,000 over the next three years in select locations.
Key Takeaways
- AI data centers are creating a construction boom that requires electricians and other skilled tradespeople.
- The work is intense, often requiring 10-hour days, seven days a week.
- However, it can push annual pay for these skilled workers into the six figures.
As a Detroit-based apprentice electrician, Tyler Shelton usually spends his days climbing into manholes to repair cables and other electrical equipment. Recently, though, his employer has begun diverting crews to a massive new data center rising about an hour outside the city.
“Everybody wants that money,” Shelton said in a recent interview with The New York Times. The jobs pay well, but they are also draining the workforce from regular assignments, he said. As more workers head to data centers, Shelton’s crew is left trying to cover the same volume of maintenance and repair work with fewer hands.
Shelton may soon join his colleagues at data centers. According to state officials, OpenAI’s facility is the largest single private investment in Michigan’s history. It demands around-the-clock construction and a workforce of skilled tradespeople.
