Should I Become a Plumber? Jensen Huang Thinks So

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, says the next generation of millionaires won’t come from Silicon Valley. They’ll come from construction sites, electrical panels, and plumbing trucks.

Huang told Channel 4 News that if he were starting over, he’d focus on physical sciences over software. “If you’re an electrician, you’re a plumber, a carpenter, we’re going to need hundreds of thousands of them to build all of these factories,” Huang explained. “The skilled craft segment of every economy is going to see a boom. You’re going to have to be doubling and doubling and doubling every single year.”

The irony cuts deep. The technology everyone assumes will create coding jobs is actually creating massive demand for people who work with their hands.

The Infrastructure Build-Out

The AI revolution requires physical infrastructure at a scale most people don’t grasp. A single 250,000-square-foot data center employs up to 1,500 construction workers during build-out, many earning more than 100,000 dollars plus overtime, without requiring a college degree. Once complete, about 50 full-time workers maintain the facility, and each of those jobs creates another 3.5 positions in the surrounding economy.

Global capital spending on data centers is projected to reach 7 trillion dollars by 2030, according to McKinsey. OpenAI, Meta, and Alphabet are collectively spending hundreds of billions building these facilities across America. Nvidia itself invested 100 billion dollars into OpenAI to fund data center development. Every single one of these projects needs electricians, HVAC technicians, plumbers, and construction workers.

The US will need 140,000 new skilled workers by 2030 just to support AI infrastructure demands, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The shortage is so acute that Google launched a program providing millions of dollars to the electrical training ALLIANCE to train 100,000 electrical workers and 30,000 new apprentices specifically for AI infrastructure.

The CEO Alarm Bells

Huang isn’t alone in warning about skilled labor shortages. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink raised concerns directly with the White House, arguing that deportations of immigrant labor combined with lack of interest among young Americans are creating a perfect storm for data center construction.

“I’ve even told members of the Trump team that we’re going to run out of electricians that we need to build out AI data centers,” Fink said at an energy conference in March. “We just don’t have enough.”

Ford CEO Jim Farley echoed the concern, pointing to the gap between Washington’s reshoring ambitions and the workforce to make it real. “I think the intent is there, but there’s nothing to backfill the ambition,” Farley told Axios. “How can we reshore all this stuff if we don’t have people to work there?”

The US already faces shortages of 600,000 factory workers and 500,000 construction workers according to Farley’s estimates. Associated Builders and Contractors projects nearly half a million construction workers will be needed in 2025 alone.

The Money

When Huang says skilled trades will create the next generation of millionaires, the numbers back him up. Data center construction workers earn over 100,000 dollars annually during build-outs, not including substantial overtime. Electricians specializing in commercial and industrial settings, particularly data center electrical systems, command premium rates because demand far exceeds supply.

Jacob Palmer provides a concrete example. The 23-year-old from North Carolina decided college wasn’t the right fit after high school. He joined an apprenticeship program at a contracting firm and trained as an electrician. By 21, he launched his own business. Last year he grossed nearly 90,000 dollars. This year he’s already hit six figures. Unlike peers facing student debt and uncertain job prospects, Palmer said simply: “I don’t owe anybody anything.”

Electricians in data center hubs routinely earn six-figure salaries. Master plumbers running their own businesses clear 150,000 to 250,000 dollars annually. HVAC technicians specializing in industrial cooling systems book months in advance at premium rates.

Demand is growing faster than supply, creating pricing power for skilled workers. As Huang predicts capacity doubling year over year, that gap widens. Workers entering trades now will build experience exactly when that experience becomes most valuable.

Physical Beats Digital

Huang’s focus on physical sciences over software reflects where actual opportunity lies. As AI algorithms get smarter, the bottleneck isn’t more code. It’s the concrete, copper, and pipes keeping servers running 24/7.

Software jobs are contracting. Tech layoffs eliminated hundreds of thousands of positions over the past two years. Meanwhile, demand for electricians, plumbers, and HVAC technicians explodes. The jobs everyone was told to pursue are disappearing while jobs everyone was told to avoid pay six figures.

The technology built to replace workers is creating massive demand for the most physical jobs possible. Data centers need electricians, cooling systems need HVAC technicians, and buildings need plumbers. These jobs can’t be automated or outsourced. When the CEO building the AI future says he’d study physical sciences over software if starting over, he’s identifying where scarcity creates value. The AI boom needs infrastructure. Infrastructure needs skilled workers. Those workers are about to make a lot of money.

Sources

1. Fortune – Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang says electricians and plumbers will be needed by the hundreds of thousands
2. SlashGear – Nvidia CEO Says These Two Trade Jobs Will Be Crucial To The AI Boom
3. CNBC – AI data center boom has to contend with realities of tough labor market
4. Fortune – Ford CEO warns there’s a dearth of blue-collar workers
5. Site Selection Magazine – The World Needs More Data Center Workers

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