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As a Detroit-based apprentice electrician, Tyler Shelton<\/a> usually spends his days climbing into manholes to repair cables and other electrical equipment. Recently, though, his employer has begun diverting crews to a massive new data center rising about an hour outside the city.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody wants that money,\u201d Shelton said in a recent interview<\/a> with The New York Times<\/em>. The jobs pay well, but they are also draining the workforce from regular assignments, he said. As more workers head to data centers, Shelton\u2019s crew is left trying to cover the same volume of maintenance and repair work with fewer hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shelton may soon join his colleagues at data centers. According to state officials<\/a>, OpenAI\u2019s facility is the largest single private investment in Michigan\u2019s history. It demands around-the-clock construction and a workforce of skilled tradespeople.\u00a0<\/p>\n The project will likely need hundreds of electricians working 10-hour shifts, seven days a week, to keep building its intricate web of technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n The paychecks on hand are difficult to ignore. Overtime pay and bonuses can push earnings far above the standard. For context, the average annual salary of an electrician in Michigan is $61,930 to $70,942, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last month, TV host and narrator Mike Rowe spoke<\/a> with a number of electricians who work at a data center in Texas. All of them were under 30 years old and were making $240,000 to $280,000 a year, far above the industry norm.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n For younger workers hoping to save quickly or pay off debt, long shifts at a data center can substantially add to their paychecks.\u00a0<\/p>\n For a lot of electricians, it\u2019s some of the best money they\u2019ve ever seen, which makes it hard to turn down, even if it means long commutes and time away from home.<\/p>\n Shelton, who is thinking about his next stage in life, understands the pull of that kind of money.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the same time, the intensity of the work gives him pause. Endless 10-hour days, stacked seven in a row, leave little room for rest, family or anything resembling a normal schedule. Shelton is weighing whether the financial gains are worth the personal trade-offs.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like to have a house in the next year or so,\u201d he said, explaining where the extra income could benefit him. \u201cSo it\u2019s like, I understand the draw, but I also like to have a life outside work.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the Times<\/em>, data centers are dominating the conversation at the Detroit Electrical Industry Training Center<\/a>, where 850 electrician apprentices train.<\/p>\n The tech companies behind these projects aren\u2019t just focused on today\u2019s crews, either. They\u2019re pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into making sure there\u2019s a steady pipeline of electricians who can actually build and maintain all this infrastructure over the next decade.<\/p>\n For example, Google is taking part in a $50 million initiative<\/a> to ramp up annual apprentice enrollment from 19,500 to 30,000 over the next three years in select locations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n As a Detroit-based apprentice electrician, Tyler Shelton<\/a> usually spends his days climbing into manholes to repair cables and other electrical equipment. Recently, though, his employer has begun diverting crews to a massive new data center rising about an hour outside the city.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody wants that money,\u201d Shelton said in a recent interview<\/a> with The New York Times<\/em>. The jobs pay well, but they are also draining the workforce from regular assignments, he said. As more workers head to data centers, Shelton\u2019s crew is left trying to cover the same volume of maintenance and repair work with fewer hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shelton may soon join his colleagues at data centers. According to state officials<\/a>, OpenAI\u2019s facility is the largest single private investment in Michigan\u2019s history. It demands around-the-clock construction and a workforce of skilled tradespeople.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nThe tradeoffs<\/h2>\n
Big Tech pours millions of dollars into training future electricians<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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