Wisconsin needs
welders for its data centers
Wisconsin is building 2.9 GW of new data centers. Here is how much welders work that makes — and why there are not enough welders for it.
Welders for Wisconsin's data centers: about 3,773 to spare.
Will Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin
Wisconsin is building 2.9 GW of new AI data centers across 7 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 432 welders, and Wisconsin already has about 4,205 free for this kind of work. Plenty. Still steady work, but no special data-center shortage.
Wisconsin has 7 data-center sites in the works, with 2.9 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.
Wisconsin welders earn about $55,630 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin
New Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin-specific paid guide.
WISCONSIN PROGRAMS
The Wisconsin welders apprenticeship programs, schools, and licensing path.
The data centers behind these numbers
- Stargate Lighthouse Campus (Port Washington, WI) — Stargate / Vantage / Oracle / OpenAI, Port Washington (902 MW)
- Viridian Janesville GM Plant Data Center — Viridian Acquisitions LLC, Janesville (800 MW)
- Microsoft Fairwater Campus (Mount Pleasant) — Microsoft, Mount Pleasant (555 MW)
- Microsoft Fairwater 1 - Mount Pleasant (Phase 1) — Microsoft, Mount Pleasant (400 MW)
- Fairwater 1 Phase 2 / Second Wisconsin Campus — Microsoft, Mount Pleasant / Caledonia (400 MW)
- Meta Beaver Dam Campus — Meta, Beaver Dam (220 MW)