Electricians in the United States who specialize in building data centers for artificial intelligence can earn up to $300,000 annually, according to recent reports. These wages are comparable to those of investment bankers on Wall Street. According to the site Mergers & Inquisitions, an associate at a major New York bank earns between $285,000 and $500,000 annually, including bonuses. Certain electricians specialized in data centers can now compete with these financial professionals without having completed long university studies. As the country builds extensively—3,000 projects are underway—the demand for qualified electricians has never been higher. These installations are not ordinary buildings. To continuously power thousands of servers, they require particularly complex electrical equipment: transformers, distribution networks, batteries, and backup generators. The growth of artificial intelligence further increases the demand for electricity and cooling. Qualified profiles have become a valuable resource in an economy that desperately lacks them. Retirements, the lack of new recruits in technical fields, and the proliferation of large construction projects exacerbate the shortage. A significant gap to fill, as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the American electricians' union, estimates that electrical work represents between 45% and 70% of the construction costs of these infrastructures. Facing the giants of artificial intelligence, who are eager to put their infrastructure into service, qualified electricians are now in a position of strength and see their salaries rise accordingly. "It can reach up to $300,000," confirms Chris Crosby, CEO of Compass Datacenters, a multinational specializing in the construction of such infrastructures, to Fox News. "If there is a relocation to fund, it can be even more. It remains a high ceiling, but in any case, you will earn much more than the average salary. The previous generation is aging, the new one went to university, so we are trying to bring in new workers." In July last, during an interview on the Walker Webcast podcast, host Willy Walker mentioned salaries ranging from $240,000 to $280,000 annually for electricians working in American regions where data center projects are multiplying. An estimate to which Chris Crosby had then agreed. The host explained that in Colorado, an electrician working on the construction of an office building or housing complex typically earns between $68,000 and $72,000 annually. On a data center construction site, their salary could rise between $100,000 and $150,000. That is potentially twice as much for the same job, according to the figures cited during this interview. However, $300,000 remains an exceptional ceiling and not the usual salary for American electricians. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for the profession was $63,190 annually as of May 2025. The threshold for the top 10% was $108,510 dollars. The amounts mentioned on data center construction sites can thus represent nearly five times the national median salary. These differences can be explained in part by overtime hours and the rarity of certain skills. The Associated Builders and Contractors, a professional construction organization, estimates that 349,000 new workers are needed this year alone to meet the demand in the entire American construction sector, not just in data centers. "There are not enough electricians in the United States to meet the needs for wiring and construction of data centers," confirms the Brookings Center for Technology innovation in a blog post. And the needs are expected to continue increasing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates a 9% growth in electrician jobs between 2025 and 2035 in the United States, with approximately 72,700 positions to fill each year, especially to replace retirees and those changing careers. The American agency explicitly cites the rise of artificial intelligence and data centers among the drivers of this demand, alongside the modernization of electrical networks.