I skipped college and now earn over $40 an hour in a blue-collar job. The AI boom is creating more opportunities for me.

• Cody Cole started working in the electrical field at age 18, earning $15 an hour.

• He now earns more than $40 an hour, making him the sole breadwinner for his family.

• Cole said the AI ​​boom is helping open up more job opportunities in the industry.

This as-told article is based on a conversation with Cody Cole, 25, an Arizona-based electrical field superintendent, and Corbins, an industrial electrical contractor. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I started in the electrical field in 2019 at the age of 18, shortly after graduating high school. At first, I wasn’t too excited about doing electrical work. But my brother, my father, my uncle and my grandfather all worked with his handsand I look a lot like them, so I thought I’d try it.

As I became more involved and saw all the positive career opportunities that emerged, I realized that I was starting to enjoy my role.

Now, seven years later, I am an inspector making more than $40 an hour with 45 people who report to me. It has helped alleviate the financial stress my wife and I experience from daily life as we raise our three children and give them the best education we can.

I didn’t want to pay for a traditional education

I was never great at school; It wasn’t something I was looking forward to. My parents taught me to pay my own way and earn my own money – something I greatly appreciate – so traditional university education It wasn’t something I wanted to do.

I knew I could start making good money right out of high school thanks to a career in industrial electrical work.

artificial intelligence explosion It also changed my perspective on my career in electrical field. I have seen first-hand that there will continue to be a need for qualified tradespeople; At my company, Corbins, we specialize in data centers that will be needed as artificial intelligence expands.

After entering the industry without any formal training, one of the turning points of my career was when I had the opportunity to work in the electrical sector a year and a half later. apprenticeship program Through the Western Electrical Contractors Association (WECA).

Corbins would fund my education and pay my salary while I attended classes in two-week blocks every three to six months for four years. The program consisted of at least 156 hours of classroom instruction and 8,000 hours of on-the-job training per year.

I couldn’t justify not going to school; This was a huge opportunity. I graduated as salutatorian in 2024.

My salary went from $15 an hour to over $40 an hour

I was starting out making $15 an hour—which was great since I didn’t have any experience—but I quickly progressed from being a hands-on laborer to being a foreman to being a chef. Currently my hourly rate is over $40.

If I had jumped in, I might have even started doing more, faster. apprenticeship earlier.

If I had chosen a different path, I don’t think I would be in a financial position to be the sole provider for my family. We were lucky that, with my income, we were able to achieve our goal of having my wife become a full-time employee. stay at home mom.

There are so many opportunities for young people. One of the foremen who works with me is only 21 years old and is outstanding at his job. Another investigator I work with is a great guy and he’s only 23 or 24 years old.

Data center boom means endless job opportunities

There are so many job security in what we do. As the expansion of artificial intelligence continues at breakneck speed, plenty of work All over the country with these jobs. The opportunities are endless; not only on the construction side with physical, hands-on labor, but also in other positions needed to build these data centers, such as accounting, finance, and planning.

I have been working entirely on data center projects for the last two years. I have been lucky enough to travel to New Mexico and Texas a few times; the data centers are increasing It’s everywhere, so that’s where the work is.

I know you’re there Controversy around data centers. I’m no expert, but I believe the ones I work on are quiet and non-intrusive. They are also very necessary in terms of the course of technology, the advancement of artificial intelligence, and they provide new job opportunities like the one I have.

Even though I’ve only been doing this for seven years, I enjoy mentoring others

Even though I’m an investigator now, I still feel like I’m new to this and there’s still a ton of things I want to learn. But I enjoy being able to mentor others and see the big picture of the projects we work on.

As I was learning, people taught me the “why” behind what I was doing; This is something I can now share with the people I work with, especially since the AI ​​industry and data centers are fairly new.

In my role I plan the entire building, but in higher positions they look at the bigger picture of the impact and what will happen next. Understanding the big picture of projects is an aspect of my career that I really enjoy and look forward to continuing.

I don’t want to do something just because I’m told to; I want to know why I did this. This makes the job more meaningful and makes me want to work harder, I put all my effort into the job and educate those around me so that they can learn from me.

For the people I manage and people new to the industry, data center construction gives them an opportunity to enter the industry. as a growing industrylearn and quickly advance their careers.

Do you have a story to share about pursuing a blue-collar career instead of a corporate one? Contact this editor Jane Zhang at: janezhang@businessinsider.com.

If you like this story, don’t forget to follow Business Content on Yahoo.