Tennessee needs
ironworkers for its data centers

Tennessee is building 77 MW of new AI data centers across 10 sites. On a data center, ironworkers put up the steel frame the building and its heavy gear sit on.

Ironworkers — probably not, just for this. The data centers need about 21 ironworkers, and Tennessee already has about 330 free for this kind of work. Plenty. Still steady work, but no special data-center shortage.

Tennessee has 10 data-center sites in the works, with 77 MW still to build. That keeps ironworkers busy for years: as one job winds down, the next one is starting, so the work does not dry up after a single build.

Tennessee ironworkers earn about $55,750 a year on average. Data-center work pays more than that, and when a trade is short, overtime can push experienced ironworkers 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee ironworkers apprenticeship programs. That is the way in. Sources: a national survey of data-center building plans, plus U.S. jobs and pay data.