Storey County is building
data centers

Storey County, NV has about 2.7 GW of AI data centers across 6 sites, with 2.7 GW still to build. The builders here include Tract, Google, Vantage, EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure.

At the busiest point, about 5,118 skilled workers will be on these sites at once, across all the trades. Many drive in from nearby towns, but the work starts here — and it is not split evenly, so some trades are short and some are not.

Worth training up for? Around Storey County, the data centers look most short on ironworkers, network/low-voltage technicians, electricians, sheet metal workers, and welders. Here is the read by trade.

Ironworkers — worth training up: YES, big shortage. At the busiest point the data centers need about 720 ironworkers, but only about 40 of the Storey County area's ironworkers are free to take it on — the rest are busy with their regular jobs, which do not stop. That leaves the Storey County area short about 680. When builders cannot find enough ironworkers, the ones already working put in overtime (bigger paychecks), and builders pay to train new people and bring in workers from other states.

Network/low-voltage technicians — worth training up: YES, big shortage. At the busiest point the data centers need about 320 network/low-voltage technicians, but only about 40 of the Storey County area's network/low-voltage technicians are free to take it on — the rest are busy with their regular jobs, which do not stop. That leaves the Storey County area short about 280. When builders cannot find enough network/low-voltage technicians, the ones already working put in overtime (bigger paychecks), and builders pay to train new people and bring in workers from other states.

Electricians — worth training up: YES, big shortage. At the busiest point the data centers need about 1,439 electricians, but only about 380 of the Storey County area's electricians are free to take it on — the rest are busy with their regular jobs, which do not stop. That leaves the Storey County area short about 1,059. When builders cannot find enough electricians, the ones already working put in overtime (bigger paychecks), and builders pay to train new people and bring in workers from other states.

Sheet metal workers — worth training up: YES, big shortage. At the busiest point the data centers need about 160 sheet metal workers, but only about 52 of the Storey County area's sheet metal workers are free to take it on — the rest are busy with their regular jobs, which do not stop. That leaves the Storey County area short about 108. When builders cannot find enough sheet metal workers, the ones already working put in overtime (bigger paychecks), and builders pay to train new people and bring in workers from other states.

Welders — worth training up: YES, big shortage. At the busiest point the data centers need about 400 welders, but only about 135 of the Storey County area's welders are free to take it on — the rest are busy with their regular jobs, which do not stop. That leaves the Storey County area short about 265. When builders cannot find enough welders, the ones already working put in overtime (bigger paychecks), and builders pay to train new people and bring in workers from other states.

Pipefitters — worth training up: YES, big shortage. At the busiest point the data centers need about 560 pipefitters, but only about 302 of the Storey County area's pipefitters are free to take it on — the rest are busy with their regular jobs, which do not stop. That leaves the Storey County area short about 258. When builders cannot find enough pipefitters, the ones already working put in overtime (bigger paychecks), and builders pay to train new people and bring in workers from other states.

These are some of the best-paying jobs you can get without a four-year degree. When a trade is short, builders run overtime and pay to train, and experienced workers can clear $100,000 a year, with health care and a pension through the union. It is the same across the country: builders cannot find enough skilled workers. The U.S. needs about 140,000 more trade workers by 2030 to build all the data centers, and most builders say hiring is their hardest problem. Microsoft's president has called the shortage of electricians the biggest thing slowing data centers down.

You sign up and get your license through Nevada. The Nevada trade pages show you how to start. Sources: a national survey of data-center building plans, plus U.S. jobs and pay data.