AI Data Center Construction Boom: 30% Pay Jumps for Skilled Trades

The generative AI boom is not only reshaping software and Silicon Valley balance sheets, it is also remaking the job market for the people building the physical backbone of AI. 

As tech companies race to expand the data centers that train and run large AI models, construction workers who can help deliver these massive projects are seeing unusually large jumps in pay, along with benefits that were rare in the trades just a few years ago. In many regions, moving into data center construction now comes with a 25% to 30% increase over previous construction roles, with some workers reporting far bigger leaps depending on specialty and responsibility (“Construction Workers Are Cashing In on the AI Boom” TechCrunch).

Real paychecks make the shift feel tangible. DeMond Chambliss, 51, left his small drywall business in Columbus, Ohio, to take a supervisor position at a data center site where he oversees about 200 workers, earning more than $100,000 a year. “I pinch myself going to work every day,” he said, capturing how dramatic the change can feel for someone coming from small business construction into large-scale AI infrastructure. In Oregon, electrical safety specialist Marc Benner reportedly earns about $225,000 annually, while electrician Andrew Mason makes more than $200,000 managing crews across six Northern Virginia data centers, showing how high compensation can climb for in-demand electrical and management talent (“Construction Workers Are Cashing In on the AI Boom” Yahoo Finance).

The money is not only coming from higher hourly rates or salaries. To attract and keep scarce talent, companies are layering on perks and incentives: heated break tents on cold-weather sites, free lunches, daily incentive bonuses that can add $100 per day, and even remote project management roles in certain cases. These add-ons are designed to compete in a tight labor market and reduce turnover on projects where delays can be extremely costly. In some places, the pace and pressure are rising too, with reports of 60-hour weeks becoming common as firms push to hit aggressive build timelines, raising both safety concerns and the importance of experienced supervision (“Data Center Construction Workers Score 30% Pay Jumps in AI Boom” TechBuzz).

Underneath the pay surge is a collision between soaring demand and a worsening labor gap. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are all expanding data center footprints rapidly, contributing to a wave of construction that is difficult to staff at scale. The Associated Builders and Contractors trade group estimates the industry is short roughly 439,000 skilled workers nationwide, a deficit that becomes especially painful when projects require specialized trades like electrical work, HVAC, concrete, and technicians familiar with the unique requirements of data centers. These facilities often demand precision and resilience beyond typical commercial jobs, including redundant power supplies, advanced cooling systems, and designs meant to keep operations running around the clock (“Construction Workers Are Cashing In on the AI Boom” TechCrunch; “Data Center Construction Workers Score 30% Pay Jumps in AI Boom” TechBuzz).

The ripple effects are spreading beyond individual sites. Smaller construction firms that once focused on residential or general commercial work are pivoting toward data center contracts, and retention tactics can now include signing bonuses, company vehicles, or even equity-style incentives as competition intensifies. Communities that land major facilities can see wages rise across multiple construction categories as contractors chase the same limited pool of workers, which can push up costs and slow other local projects like housing or roads. And the runway may be long: large-scale infrastructure ambitions across the AI sector, including massive proposed buildouts by leading AI and chip companies, suggest that data center construction demand could persist, keeping skilled trades at the center of an economy often portrayed as purely digital (“Data Center Construction Workers Score 30% Pay Jumps in AI Boom” TechBuzz).

This article was written by the Covertly.AI team. Covertly.AI is a secure, anonymous AI chat that protects your privacy. Connect to advanced AI models without tracking, logging, or exposure of your data. Whether you’re an individual who values privacy or a business seeking enterprise-grade data protection, Covertly.AI helps you stay secure and anonymous when using AI. With Covertly.AI, you get seamless access to all popular large language models - without compromising your identity or data privacy.

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Works Cited

“Construction Workers Are Cashing In on the AI Boom.” TechCrunch, 1 Dec. 2025, https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/01/construction-workers-are-cashing-in-on-the-ai-boom/.

“Construction Workers Are Cashing In on the AI Boom.” Yahoo Finance, 1 Dec. 2025, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/construction-workers-cashing-ai-boom-191350821.html.

“Data Center Construction Workers Score 30% Pay Jumps in AI Boom.” TechBuzz.ai, n.d., https://www.techbuzz.ai/articles/data-center-construction-workers-score-30-pay-jumps-in-ai-boom. 

“Blackstone Is Building a $25 Billion AI Data Center Empire.” Bloomberg, 29 Jan. 2024, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-29/blackstone-is-building-a-25-billion-ai-data-center-empire. 

TRG Datacenters. “How Are AI Demands Affecting Data Center’s Growth?” TRG Datacenters, n.d., https://www.trgdatacenters.com/resource/how-are-ai-demands-affecting-data-centers-growth/.