NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang says AI data centers will unlock high-paying jobs beyond tech

With growing AI adoption, many corporate employees are scared of being replaced, and graduates are struggling to find jobs as companies are hiring more cautiously. However, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang believes that another wave of high-paying jobs may soon emerge, but it may not be in traditional white-collar sectors.

Huang predicts that jobs in skilled trades, such as plumbing, construction, and other hands-on work, will drastically increase to build and maintain the massive AI data centers. He predicts technology companies could spend around $7 trillion globally on building AI data centers by the end of the decade.

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Huang, at this year’s World Economic Forum, said that the world could witness the “largest infrastructure build-out in human history,” which he believes will create “a lot of jobs.”

“It's wonderful that the jobs are related to tradecraft, and we're going to have plumbers and electricians and construction and steelworkers,” he added. It is also suggested that there is already a shortage of skilled workers needed to build AI-related infrastructure. Therefore, many of these hands-on jobs, like electricians, construction workers, and supervisors, and they could earn more than $100,000 a year.

According to a McKinsey report, the US needed 130,000 additional trained electricians, 240,000 more construction laborers, and 150,000 more construction supervisors between 2023 and 2030.

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“Everybody should be able to make a great living,” Huang said. “You don't need to have a PhD in computer science to do so.” Therefore, for the next generation entering the workforce, mastering a skill-based approach may prove to be one of the most reliable and future-proof paths in an increasingly automated world.