These high-paying jobs are growing — and they don’t require a college degree (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — The rapid growth of artificial intelligence is upending the job market, creating concern about a number of entry-level jobs in various industries, but it’s also fueling growth of a different kind of employment.
The need for electricity to support the tools and services driven by AI is creating demand — and increasing pay — for a number of jobs typically considered blue-collar employment.
A recent study by Resume Genius of blue-collar jobs looked at occupations that require only a high school diploma and pay more than the median annual salary in the United States — and that were projected to grow between 2024 and 2034.
“A four-year degree isn’t the only path to a high-paying and stable career,” said Resume Genius career expert Nathan Soto in a statement. “We’re seeing a surge in demand for skilled blue-collar professionals, and our data shows employers are willing to pay a premium for their expertise: For 9 jobs on our list, the top 10% of earners make six figures a year.”
While many of the jobs on Resume Genius’ list don’t require advanced degrees, they do often require specialized training, such as an apprenticeship or certification.
The 10 highest-paying blue-collar jobs, according to Resume Genius, along with median annual salary and projected job growth through 2034, are:
- Elevator and escalator technician: $106,580 (+5%)
- Electrical power-line installer and repairer: $92,560 (+7%)
- Aircraft avionics equipment mechanic and technician: $79,140 (+5%)
- Railroad worker: $75,680 (+1%)
- Stationary engineer and boiler operator: $75,190 (+2%)
- Industrial machinery mechanic: $63,510 (+13%)
- Plumber, pipefitter and steamfitter: $62,970 (+4%)
- Wind turbine technician: $62,580 (+50%)
- Electrician: $62,350 (+9%)
- Solar photovoltaic installer: $51,860 (+42%)
Several of the noted highest-paying jobs are seeing an enormous boost from the burgeoning AI industry, which has created a colossal demand for data centers and electricity. That workforce-development trend, and its potential threat to traditional knowledge-work jobs, has put jobs long characterized as blue-collar work in the spotlight.
For its 2025 Annual Blue Collar Report, home-services software provider Jobber surveyed more than 1,000 college- and high-school-aged Americans and more than 1,300 parents of Gen Z students. It found that only 16% of the respondents believe a college degree ensures long-term job security.
Additionally, 73% of the parents surveyed said they believe a trade entrepreneur has more long-term security than a tech employee at a major company. That belief, however, is not impacting career-planning thoughts — at least, not yet. Only 7% of the parents surveyed said they’d prefer their child pursue a trade or vocational program.
Among the students surveyed, 75% of the Gen Z respondents said they still plan to attend a four-year college. Seventy-six percent said four-year college was actively promoted in high school, whereas only 31% said trade school was.
AI alters the job market
Signs of a “white-collar recession” and the struggles of entry-level technology workers have put AI and its impacts on the job market in the spotlight.
Some AI company CEOs have publicly voiced concerns about various doomsday scenarios for entry-level workers because of the technology. Among them, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei earlier this year said entry-level work in industries such as finance, consulting and tech will first be augmented by AI only to then be completely replaced by it. That could mean up to half of all entry-level jobs would vanish.
Oxford Economics studied what’s behind the higher unemployment rate among recent college graduates. It found that concerns around a slowing economy, weakening job market and structural shifts in hiring were all contributing factors, but technology also likely played a role.
Yet according to a report by Goldman Sachs, widespread fears that generative AI will lead to widespread layoffs or mass unemployment are unfounded.
Long-term impact of AI
AI tools have grown tremendously in the few years since OpenAI’s ChatGPT took the world by storm in 2022. Many workers use chatbots for career and job advice, while managers use ChatGPT and other tools to determine which workers should get raises and promotions.
Experts, however, have warned about potential litigation when it comes to use of AI tools, including “hallucinations” that sometimes lead to a generative AI tool giving incorrect answers.
A mid-year update on the job market by Career Group Cos. found just 10% of candidates for jobs felt very confident in the current market. Additionally, 29% thought AI was hurting their job search, while just 14% thought it was helping.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently projected the job market over the next decade. According to its findings, here are the six-figure jobs with the highest growth potential.