Friday, January 16, 2026

Blue-Collar versus White-Collar Jobs in the Age of AI

The blue-collar jobs revival: The skills the world needs now
https://youtu.be/KJG45knOzDg


The Real AI Talent War Is for Plumbers and Electricians
https://www.wired.com/story/why-there-arent-enough-electricians-and-plumbers-to-build-ai-data-centers/
The AI boom is driving an unprecedented wave of data center construction, but there aren’t enough skilled tradespeople in the US to keep up.
 
White-Collar Workers Shouldn’t Dismiss a Blue-Collar Career Change
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/white-collar-workers-shouldnt-dismiss-a-blue-collar-career-change-32dfa69e
It’s time for those struggling with a midcareer slump to consider another path. 

Ditch textbooks and learn how to use a wrench to AI-proof your job?
https://www.economist.com/international/2025/12/18/ditch-textbooks-and-learn-how-to-use-a-wrench-to-ai-proof-your-job
Generation Z is becoming less invested in university and more interested in skilled trades.
 
Job apocalypse? Not yet. AI is creating brand new occupations
https://www.economist.com/business/2025/12/14/job-apocalypse-not-yet-ai-is-creating-brand-new-occupations
Most needed: human skills.

Even MBAs From Top Business Schools Are Struggling to Get Hired
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/even-mbas-from-top-business-schools-are-struggling-to-get-hired-11f4a167
Finding a professional job right now is so tough that it is taking many of America’s most credentialed business-school graduates months to land offers.

Economists Are Studying the Slowing Job Market—and Feeling It Themselves
https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/economists-job-market-hiring-2213807b
Newly minted Ph.D.s tend to work for universities, government agencies and big white-collar companies. It’s not a great hiring time for any of them.