How social media is encouraging Generation Z to start careers in the skilled trades.

The videos feature a typical day for a young HVAC tech as he drives from job to job. A woman in an auto shop preparing to replace a wheel liner. And another woman demonstrating her welding skills.

It’s a fascinating marriage of social media with jobs that were once spurned. But today, as NBC News reports, Generation Z is rediscovering the appeal of the skilled trades.

“Two out of three Gen Z’ers are saying that social media has increased their interest in the trades,” says Marco Zappacosta, founder of the Thumbtack platform that connects homeowners with tradespeople. “Influencing them more than teachers, siblings, extended family.”

The astronomical increase of tuition costs is one powerful factor driving Gen Z toward the skilled trades. U.S. News & World Report states that in-state tuition and fees for a public four-year institution have leaped 141% over the last 20 years. By contrast, most aspiring tradespeople can start to work in 18-24 months without a crushing debt burden, while earning roughly $50,000–$70,000 a year.

“You don’t have to go to college to be successful,” says Andrew Salgado, a young HVAC technician who expressed a common attitude of the Gen Z’ers on TikTok.

“I started out at a university,” recalls Mary Millican, an electrician intern. ”Cost was too much; it wasn’t worth it. I wanted an essential job like most Gen Zs, I’m assuming.” 

And there’s another, even more compelling force: the rise of AI. While AI is blamed for the loss of thousands of white-collar jobs, young people working as plumbers, electricians, HVAC technicians and more view their jobs as AI-proof. 

(Asked how felt about having a job that probably won’t be eliminated by AI, Salgado smiled and said “I sleep well at night.”) 

The new generation of tradespeople cites other reasons, too: the challenge of solving problems; and a general disdain for being cooped up in an office all day. 

Chad Phillip, an instructor at Fred’s Appliance Academy in Ohio, teaches his students how to repair kitchen appliances. “One of the biggest things I would get from the students,” he notes, “is that they desire to be hands-on. They don’t want to sit in an office or a cubicle.”

The other key factor? The desire to help people, says Jordan Morris, an HVAC technician who records a typical day driving from job to job. “People need me,” he says. Their AC goes out, they call me.”

Put it all together, and it adds up to a 20% increase in the number of Gen Z’ers enrolling in public 2-year trade programs since 2020. And as the demand for skilled tradespeople continues to exceed the supply, the opportunities—and the salaries—will likely grow even more appealing.