The rapid build-out of AI infrastructure is driving demand for skilled trade workers in the United States, according to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who spoke earlier this year at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Huang said "their wages have nearly doubled" and that "people should be able to earn a good living without a Ph.D. in computer science." As AI is expected to replace some white-collar roles, blue-collar careers are drawing renewed attention, and the pay gap between white-collar and blue-collar jobs is beginning to narrow. The Economist's 2023 report, titled "blue-collar bonanza," described wages for lower-paid workers rising faster than those for higher earners. In the U.S., real weekly wages for the lowest-income workers have grown faster than those of higher-income groups since 2016. The Wall Street Journal has called Generation Z workers who choose careers such as welding and plumbing the "tool belt generation." According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projections for 2024 through 2034, demand is expected to decline for repetitive manufacturing jobs, while growing for hands-on technical roles such as electricians, construction workers, and HVAC technicians. Australia is also seeing wages rise in skilled trades; data from Jobs and Skills Australia showed that 18 construction and trade occupations experienced nationwide labor shortages at least once between 2021 and 2025. In Japan, an analysis by the Recruit Works Institute found that four of the 10 occupations with the fastest wage growth between