# ‘Dirty Jobs’ host just revealed the lucrative salary Gen Z electricians make from AI data centers—the number is eye-popping > Source: > Published: 2026-07-16 17:30:00+00:00 “Dirty Jobs” founder and TV host Mike Rowe recently said that at a time when many companies are laying off white-collar workers, there is a skilled labor shortage threatening [AI](https://www.fastcompany.com/section/artificial-intelligence)’s current $10 trillion infrastructure boom—and solving that gap is key to ensuring the future health of the U.S. economy. Rowe, whose popular series runs on the Discovery Channel, [spoke](https://finance.yahoo.com/video/mike-rowe-solving-americas-skilled-100000609.html) on Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi’s [Power Players](https://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/power-players/) podcast on Tuesday. He said the time has come to refocus on blue-collar jobs—like electricians, claiming some Gen Z electricians (at the center of the AI data center boom) are making as much as $280,000. “The electricians I interviewed and met two months ago in a data center in Plano, Texas, all under 30 years old, all making $240,000 to $280,000 a year, all with as much overtime as they want, none with any debt, all three . . . were poached three times in the prior 18 months,” Rowe [said](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/article/dirty-jobs-host-mike-rowe-gen-z-electricians-are-making-up-to-280000-at-ai-data-centers-130758268.html). Those AI data center builds have created a high demand for [electricians, HVAC technicians, welders, and construction managers on site](https://www.theagencyrecruiting.com/insights/2026-construction-pay-growth), with construction workers on data center projects earning a premium of about 32% (or $81,800 per year), [according to Fortune](https://fortune.com/2025/12/05/construction-workers-earning-six-figure-salaries-data-center-boom-ai-tech/). And those working on data center projects in Northern Virginia and Texas report even higher annual salaries of $140,000 to $280,000. Outside of AI data centers, blue-collar jobs such as plumbers, mechanics and technicians also remain in high demand. And in addition to those jobs, a recent [report from Resume Now](https://www.resume-now.com/job-resources/careers/superhuman-skills-ranking) found firefighters topped the list of skilled labor jobs that are unlikely to be replaced by AI. Here’s a brief summary of that report’s findings on skilled labor job salaries: