North Carolina needs
welders for its data centers
North Carolina is building 2.7 GW of new data centers. Here is how much welders work that makes — and why there are not enough welders for it.
Welders for North Carolina's data centers: about 2,599 to spare.
Will North Carolina have enough workers?
At the busiest point of the build. Bars to the left mean a shortage (good if you are in that trade). Bars to the right mean workers to spare.
What this means for welders in North Carolina
North Carolina is building 2.7 GW of new AI data centers across 13 sites. On a data center, welders weld the steel and the pipe that hold the building and its cooling together.
Welders — probably not, just for this. The data centers need about 406 welders, and North Carolina already has about 3,005 free for this kind of work. Plenty. Still steady work, but no special data-center shortage.
North Carolina has 13 data-center sites in the works, with 2.7 GW still to build. That keeps welders busy for years: as one job winds down, the next one is starting, so the work does not dry up after a single build.
North Carolina welders earn about $49,860 a year on average. Data-center work pays more than that, and when a trade is short, overtime can push experienced welders 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina welders apprenticeship programs. That is the way in. Sources: a national survey of data-center building plans, plus U.S. jobs and pay data.
Get welders job updates for North Carolina
New North Carolina data-center sites, tips on getting hired, and pay updates for welders.
READ THE NATIONAL WELDERS SWITCH GUIDE -- $9
National welders training, pay, and licensing context. This is not a North Carolina-specific paid guide.
NORTH CAROLINA PROGRAMS
The North Carolina welders apprenticeship programs, schools, and licensing path.
The data centers behind these numbers
- Microsoft Person County Campus — Microsoft, Roxboro (1 GW)
- Microsoft Catawba County Campus — Microsoft, Conover (810 MW)
- Digital Realty Charlotte Campus (CLT20) — Digital Realty, Charlotte (400 MW)
- PowerHouse Charlotte Campus — PowerHouse Data Centers, Charlotte (300 MW)
- Apple Maiden Data Center Campus — Apple, Maiden (224 MW)
- WhiteFiber NC-1 Madison Campus — WhiteFiber, Madison (99 MW)