Gen Z electricians earning close to $280K at AI data centers: Mike Rowe

July 14, 2026

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 11: Mike Rowe, the founder of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation speaks during a panel at the BlackRock Infrastructure Summit on March 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. The global investment management company held the summit consisting of leaders from government, business, and labor to address expanding U.S. infrastructure. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — Data centers continue to be a pressing issue across the country, but electricians working at the facilities say they are raking in the cash.

According to “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe, he spoke with electricians, all under 30, who work at a data center in Texas and are making $240,000 to $280,000 a year.

Rowe noted the electricians all have “as much overtime as they want” and have no debt. He added that three of them had been poached three times in the prior 18 months.

“So I’m just making that point that the stigmas and the stereotypes that need to be overcome for parents and kids to feel good about exploring these careers, they’re real,” Rowe said.

The Birmingham Group, a construction search firm, stated a majority of data center electricians earn closer to $150,000.

“An experienced electrician can stack solid base pay, sustained overtime, travel money, and job intensity into a total package that starts to compete with management pay,” the firm said. “Not everywhere. Not on every project. But often enough now that hiring leaders should stop treating it like an outlier.”