As Artificial Intelligence (AI) reshapes the global workforce, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang suggests that the most in-demand professionals might not be coders, but skilled tradespeople.
According to Huang, the massive expansion of data centers will create an unprecedented demand for hundreds of thousands of electricians, plumbers, and carpenters.
Huang emphasized that the backbone of the AI revolution is physical infrastructure. With NVIDIA’s $100 billion investment in OpenAI and new data center projects, the need for skilled labor is doubling annually.
A typical large-scale data center construction project requires around 1,500 workers, offering salaries exceeding US$100,000 per year, often without requiring a university degree.
Experts, including roboticist Ken Goldberg from UC Berkeley, dismiss fears that robots will soon replace these workers. While AI is advancing, human judgment and adaptability in complex construction tasks remain irreplaceable, and the development of humanoid robots is slower than popular myths suggest.
The real challenge lies in education. As more young people recognize the value of vocational training, schools are facing a shortage of teachers. The U.S. Department of Education predicts a deficit of vocational and technical instructors in at least 26 states, making the “teachers of trades” even more valuable in the coming years.
