White-collar blues: 42% of Gen Z workers choose trades over college to avoid AI job displacement

Blue-collar jobs are gaining popularity among Generation Z workers as concerns grow about artificial intelligence displacing traditional white-collar careers. A recent Resume Builder survey found that 42% of Gen Z adults are already working in or pursuing skilled trades, motivated primarily by avoiding student debt and reducing their risk of AI replacement.

What you should know: Leading AI experts are recommending manual labor careers as the safest bet against automation.

• Geoffrey Hinton, a Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist known as “the Godfather of AI,” recently advised: “Train to be a plumber.”
• “I think plumbers are less at risk,” Hinton said. “Someone like a legal assistant, a paralegal, they’re not going to be needed for very long.”
• Microsoft’s recent analysis identified interpreters, historians, customer service representatives, and writers as most vulnerable to AI displacement.

Jobs considered AI-resistant: Manual labor roles consistently rank as safest from automation across multiple industry analyses.

• Microsoft’s list of protected jobs includes roofers, rail operators, hazardous material removal workers, painters, phlebotomists, and nursing assistants.
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects growth in trade job openings while entry-level positions for college graduates stagnate.
• “Automation is a low threat to these jobs because it involves someone manually installing equipment,” said Tony Spagnoli, director of testing for North American Technician Excellence, the country’s largest nonprofit organization for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration technicians. “AI can’t replace parts or make improvisational decisions.”

The Gen Z shift: Economic pressures and AI anxiety are driving college graduates toward blue-collar careers.

• For graduates without degrees, trades offer financial stability without student loan debt.
• Gen Z men, regardless of education level, show higher likelihood of choosing blue-collar careers than women.
• “Many are concerned about AI replacing traditional white-collar roles, while trade jobs offer hands-on work that’s difficult to automate,” explained Stacie Haller, Resume Builder’s chief career adviser.

The robotics reality check: Despite advances in mechanical automation, experts say widespread job replacement remains distant.

• “It’s a very wide misconception that we are on the verge of having humanoid robots basically replace workers. In my mind, that’s a myth,” said Ken Goldberg, president of the Robot Learning Foundation at UC Berkeley.
• Most AI systems are trained primarily on text data, giving them limited understanding of real-world applications.
• Andrew Reece, chief AI scientist at BetterUP, an online platform that uses AI-powered tools to support professional development, notes that robotics “may take time to start figuring out the complex work” beyond entry-level tasks.

Industry perspective: Traditional sectors see AI as complementary rather than replacement technology.

• The automotive industry uses new technology for diagnostics but doesn’t expect robots to replace mechanics.
• “It might eventually help diagnose a problem, but there will always be a need for testing and replacing auto parts,” said Matt Shepanek, vice-president at the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence.

By the numbers: Goldman Sachs projects that widespread AI adoption could displace 6-7% of the US workforce, though the firm suggests this impact could be “transitory” as displaced workers find new employment opportunities.