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Gen Z Is Choosing Trade School as AI Threatens White-Collar Jobs

Trade school enrollment is rising as young Americans seek hands-on careers that pay well without massive student debt.

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As AI threatens entire industries and entry-level office jobs that once let young people get their foot in the door are drying up, many younger Americans are pivoting away from white-collar careers and swarming trade schools instead. They’re betting on practical, hands-on skills that no chatbot or humanoid robot is likely to replace anytime soon.

The shift didn’t suddenly happen. Outlets have been chronicling the shift for some time now, as NPR’s Windsor Johnston did back in 2024. But a recent New York Times feature dives into just how dramatic the shift has become.

Where there was once a fear that tough, blue-collar manual labor jobs were on the way out, there is now a sudden surge of interest in them as the white-collar world is being devoured by AI.........

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