Data Center Careers

Job creation won’t match the supercharged investment in data centers. But the industry’s demand for technicians is surging, creating opportunities for jobseekers without four-year degrees and space for inventive new training options, like free short-term courses from Baltu Technologies. (If this newsletter was forwarded to you, subscribe here.)

Hard Hats to Server Racks

Money is pouring into the rapid expansion of U.S. data centers, with financing expected to hit $60B this year, double last year’s $30B. 

Roughly 5K data centers now blanket the nation, including ones in economically depressed rural areas. Yet the industry generally is viewed as a jobs bust, as well as a drain on energy and water amid AI’s circular investment spree.

“While it takes a lot of people to build a new data center, it takes relatively few to operate one,” Neel Kashkari, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said recently, in comments that track with the expert consensus.

Job creation from the data center boom is hardly insignificant, however. A half million Americans worked in data centers in 2023, a number that no doubt has grown. Most of the hiring is for technician roles that don’t require a four-year degree, industry insiders say, including well-paying entry-level positions that involve skills with IT, hardware, electrical, maintenance, and safety procedures.

A typical center might employ 50 workers directly, while supporting another 150 indirect jobs. Large and hyperscale data centers will create many more job opportunities.

Demand has surged for all kinds of roles in the data center industry, says Peter Costa, the CEO and co-founder of Baltu Technologies, a Phoenix-based tech training provider. 

“On the facilities side, you’ve got people keeping the heavy-duty equipment running,” he says. “Then you’ve got rack and stack technicians who are installing and maintaining servers and structured cable techs doing the low-voltage work to connect everything end to end, even setting up security systems.”

The U.S. hasn’t matched its ambition for the industry with the necessary investment in job training, Ford CEO Jim Farley said last week. He says data centers won’t get built or operate without electricians, construction workers, and other skilled tradespeople.

New Ecosystem: Creative training systems are emerging to meet the hiring demand, many of them employer-driven and focused on skills rather than traditional credentials. Some offer free preparation for jobs, with paths to certifications or apprenticeships and other forms of work-based learning. 

For example, Chris Dove Jr., director of talent acquisition for Stream Data Centers, developed his own 80-page study guide for jobseekers who want to break into the industry, which he offers for free.

“I don’t care where they go to work,” says Dove. “The industry needs people.”

Stand Together, a large philanthropy founded by Charles Koch, hopes the data center industry can help transform hiring and training across the American workforce.

The dream is for workers to get hired through alternative, skills-focused pathways, then be able to advance by learning on the job, says Leah Ben-Ami, a senior ecosystem designer at the Education Design Lab.

“How cool would it be if the people who built your data centers were retained and then maintained the site they helped build?” Ben-Ami told Stand Together.

The Education Design Lab created the Texas Flywheel Initiative to create a sustainable talent pipeline for data centers and bitcoin mines in that state. Colleen Connolly reports on the effort and other data center training programs in an article for Work Shift.

Two-year colleges are part of the mix. For example, Connolly writes about a new short-term course for data center technicians from the Texas State Technical College system.

Dove says Northern Virginia Community College has been higher ed’s tone-setter for data center training and upskilling programs. In addition to NOVA and TSTC, he says other leaders in the two-year sector include City Colleges of Chicago and the nearby College of DuPage, as well as Ohio’s Columbus State Community College.

Military veterans are a focus for the industry’s training and recruiting. They typically have skills that apply to data center jobs, like familiarity with electrical systems and safety procedures, says Dove, himself a U.S. Navy veteran.

The biggest challenge for job recruiters, according to Dove and others, is a lack of awareness about data centers, the career potential they offer, and what those jobs entail. Many jobseekers think they need engineering or tech skills to break into the industry, and they often underestimate relevant skills they already have.

“Our concern is making sure that the pipeline of talent is there and helping communities understand that these jobs are for them,” Ben-Ami tells Connolly.

Click over to Work Shift to read Connolly’s article.

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Looking for Potential

Tech training programs from Baltu Technologies are designed by employers and free for students. The focus is getting people into entry-level technician roles across advanced manufacturing and the semiconductor industry as well as data centers.

“We work with all kinds of candidates,” says Costa, including “recent grads, people looking to take the next step in their career, folks switching industries, and veterans moving into civilian life.”

Employers usually are looking for the same core abilities in entry-level job candidates, Costa says. An aptitude for mechanical and electrical work is a big plus.

“That might come from things like installing a sound system in your car, building a computer, or working with tools,” he says. “Some people come in with certifications, but honestly a lot of employers are just looking for potential.”

The Arizona Data Center Alliance is a key partner for Baltu. The workforce development group pulls together industry experts who know what employers need. Baltu taps this sort of industry input to co-design courses and training that are aligned with actual jobs, rather than just providing generic skills.

Most companies in the space offer on-the-job training, says Costa, so entry-level workers can learn while they work and earn certifications. Both he and Dove say they’ve seen many employees work their way into more advanced and better-paying technical and operations positions. Dove cites the example of an entry-level technician who became a maintenance program manager two years after being hired and now makes $48 per hour.

Baltu partners with TEKsystems and other staffing firms to help develop pipelines of trained workers. So does Per Scholas, a sectoral training provider, which offers a free data center operations training program with TEKsystems that includes industry certifications, reports Connolly.

Costa describes Baltu as a marriage of Coursera and Indeed—an upskilling platform with a direct link to jobs. The courses act like a pre-apprenticeship.

The hybrid training programs Baltu runs in partnership with schools, nonprofits, and government agencies seek to involve a lead employer or pool of employers. Those companies typically provide guaranteed interviews to learners who complete the training and often help teach the courses.

The Kicker: “When employers are in the room, they get to see the quality of talent firsthand, which often leads to direct hires,” says Costa.

Open Tabs

AI in K-12
The share of U.S. high school students who report using generative AI tools for schoolwork grew to 84% in May, up from 79% in January, according to survey data from the College Board. Most high schools and districts have not established official, uniform policies on AI use, but roughly two in five prohibit students from using the technology. While high school students said they see benefits of using AI, two-thirds of respondents worry about becoming dependent on it.

Two-Year Colleges
Community colleges face seismic demographic shifts, economic realignments, political divides, and the accelerating influence of technology, the American Association of Community Colleges notes in the preamble of a broad report conducted by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems. Two-year colleges will need to become very different institutions, the report says, including through greater emphasis on noncredit and competency-based programs.

Federal Grants
The U.S. Department of Education has proposed making workforce development programs that are aligned with state goals a priority in federal discretionary grantmaking. Prioritized activities would include industry-led sector partnerships, apprenticeship, and high-value industry-recognized credentials. While education and workforce advocates generally praised the new grant priority, Sara Weissman reports for Inside Higher Ed, some raised questions and concerns.

Manufacturing Workforce
The Early College Early Career program in Northeast Ohio is an example of a holistic, employer-driven reimagining of talent development in advanced manufacturing, Michelle Burris and Andrew Crowe write for the Century Foundation. After completing a paid summer internship before their summer year, participating students have a split schedule of high school, continued paid work, and training from the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network.

Credit Evaluation
AI can help college students make efficient and informed decisions on their progress toward a degree, reduce administrative burdens for colleges, and generally streamline the learning evaluation process, says the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions. For example, the council said AI can help reduce credit loss for students by analyzing course equivalencies and identifying new or expanded matches so more classes count toward a degree.

Job Moves
Erica Greeley has been named acting CEO of the National Association of Workforce Boards. She had been the association’s executive vice president. Greeley follows Brad Turner-Little, who resigned as president and CEO after a two-year stint.

Holly Smith has been promoted to executive director of Reach University’s National Center for the Apprenticeship Degree. Smith previously was vice chancellor of academic affairs at the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville.

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