Illinois needs
sheet metal workers for its data centers

Illinois is building 3.8 GW of new AI data centers across 14 sites. On a data center, sheet metal workers build and hang the ductwork that moves cool air through the rooms.

Sheet metal workers — probably not, just for this. The data centers need about 229 sheet metal workers, and Illinois already has about 1,060 free for this kind of work. Plenty. Still steady work, but no special data-center shortage.

Illinois has 14 data-center sites in the works, with 3.8 GW still to build. That keeps sheet metal workers busy for years: as one job winds down, the next one is starting, so the work does not dry up after a single build.

Illinois sheet metal workers earn about $93,570 a year on average. Data-center work pays more than that, and when a trade is short, overtime can push experienced sheet metal workers well over $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.

The building work runs a few years, not forever — but Illinois has enough lined up to keep you busy, and the skills carry over to every other big job in the state. To start, look at the Illinois sheet metal workers apprenticeship programs. That is the way in. Sources: a national survey of data-center building plans, plus U.S. jobs and pay data.