These recent announcements by these huge companies are, honestly, providing the best proof yet that not only does not everyone need to go to college, but, more importantly, that the trades are going to play a significant role. Over the last few years, and long before the AI revolution, there was growing clamoring from industry for blue-collar workers, and their salaries, or what independent ones charge, have shown the crunch facing every single industry.
AT&T, for instance, announced earlier this year that it was going to be investing $250 billion over the next five years to expand its fiber network and meet the demands of AI data centers and a surge in network usage, fueled both by AI and a rise in mobile streaming and uploading. Of that $250 billion, 15% or $37.5 billion is going towards hiring and training new employees. The vast majority of whom will be blue-collar workers and skilled technicians.
AT&T plans to hire 3k additional technicians, in addition to the 10k they have hired over the last 3 years. The company is spending between $50k and $80k training these employees to perform the job. Essentially, paying for their education and providing placement. Programs like this are what my Committee has been looking into to help bridge the gap and fill these critical jobs. At the moment, we are already short 400k workers in this area, and it is expected to continue growing. Electricians, for instance, face an impending age cliff, with roughly 20% of the workforce over 55.
These blue-collar jobs that we are seeing emerge are also not quick flash-in-the-pan jobs. For instance, with a data center, the whole thing is not built at once but in stages. The typical hyperscaler data center now faces a roughly 3-5-year build-out, meaning that once construction starts, it will remain at the same site for several years.
To woo more technicians such as Cook and other skilled laborers, AT&T said it’s had to be competitive. For field technicians, it pays sign-on and retention bonuses of between $5,000 and $10,000, and entry-level wages can range between $18.18 and $31.45 per hour, depending on location and experience. The roles can also come with full benefits, including medical insurance, a 401(k) plan, tuition reimbursement, paid parental leave, adoption reimbursement, and up to 50% off AT&T mobile and internet plans, among other perks, according to online job descriptions.
Now the data still shows us that, on average, college degrees do still lead to higher income earnings over the course of someone's life and a lower chance of unemployment. There are, though, signs that the increase in newly graduated unemployment is going to stick around because what newly grads are graduating with degrees in are fields that AI has started to be used to cover the entry-level positions once available.
Data shows that four-year degrees still lead to higher wages and lower unemployment over a lifetime. Even so, the belief that college is the safest way to the American Dream has changed in recent years. First, the return on investment of a four-year degree came into question amid surging higher education costs and student debt. That return is still around 12.5% as of 2024, making it well worth the cost for many graduates, but it hasn’t budged beyond 13% for the past three decades, according to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The American Dream isn't dead. However, the path to achieve it is starting to change and the U.S. Government and industry need to be ready to help people adapt to it.
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