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Mike Rowe reveals huge salaries of data center electricians

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by Robby Soave, opinion contributor - 05/07/26 1:14 PM ET

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by Robby Soave, opinion contributor - 05/07/26 1:14 PM ET

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In these tough economic times, there are still good paying jobs out there, and you don’t even have to go massively into debt to get an otherwise nearly worthless college degree to obtain them. All you need is trade school and apprentice work.

According to “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe, you should consider becoming an electrician working on a data center — yes, those much-feared data centers that we’re going to have to build if we want to remain internationally competitive. In a recent interview on Fox News, Rowe revealed that some electricians are making — are you ready for it? Up to about $260,000 a year.

Wow. Those are eye-popping salaries. And perhaps they’re not entirely representative, I did a little bit of research, and it looks to me like data center electricians who are starting out make closer to $50,000. After being on the job for a bit, that figure can rise rapidly to $100,000, and if you work overtime or work in the areas of the country where your skillset is in highest demand, like Texas, that’s how you get to that $200K figure.

For many Americans, that’s a really good deal. And it speaks to a mistake we’ve made as a nation — or rather, a mistake our government officials made: to punish and disincentive and demonize blue-collar work, and promote higher education at any cost.

“Go to college, take as much time as you need, spend your parents’ money and then take out loans, get a fancy degree in sociology or poli sci, you’ll make that money back when you get a job.” An entire generation listened to this lie, only to find out there are Starbucks baristas with master’s degrees. That’s what happens when the government tries to out-plan the market: We created an unstable glut of liberal arts majors.

Thankfully, it’s coming back around, and there’s a dawning realization, as AI threatens to erase entire categories of employment, that skilled tradesmen will be in demand. In fact, there will be more need than ever for skill labors, for people who work with their hands, to build the infrastructure backs up AI. Because AI isn’t going away. It’s not coming at us slowly. It’s here now, and we need to ramp up.

I know a lot of people have this intrinsic fear of data centers. Maybe Americans will fear them less when they realize what an economic boon they’re going to be. They are going to create stable, high-paying jobs for blue-collar workers. And that’s a beautiful thing. All we have to do is ignore far-left enemies of progress like Sen. Bernie Sanders, who wants a moratorium on new data center construction.

I guess now Bernie is the one waging war on the working class. Those are good jobs, and he doesn’t want anybody to have them.

Robby Soave is co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising” and a senior editor for Reason Magazine. This column is an edited transcription of his daily commentary.

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