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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.
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