Calif. Teens Are Ditching Office Jobs and Making $100k Before They Turn 21

What if the fastest way to a six-figure paycheck wasn’t through a Silicon Valley office or years of tuition bills, but through a hard hat and a welding torch? In California, teenagers barely out of high school are proving exactly that earning $80 to $90 an hour while many of their peers are still buried in textbooks and student loans.

It’s part of a bigger shift that’s rewriting the rules of work. Nearly half of Gen Z workers are already pursuing skilled trades, with many holding college degrees they’ve chosen not to use. The reasons are clear: tuition costs keep climbing, office jobs are disappearing under the weight of artificial intelligence, and trades offer what white-collar work increasingly struggles to guarantee security, purpose, and paychecks that start early.

For a generation skeptical of debt and determined to build stability on their own terms, the trades aren’t just a fallback. They’re becoming the future.

Why Teens Are Choosing Trades Over College and Cubicles

For many young Californians, the choice to trade in a cubicle for a construction site or workshop is as much about economics as it is about values. College has long been sold as the ticket to stability, but its cost has skyrocketed. The average annual price of attending a four-year institution, including tuition and living expenses, is now more than $38,000, according to the Education Data Initiative. Student borrowers in the U.S. leave school with an average debt load of about $30,000 a burden that can take decades to repay. For Gen Z, watching older siblings and parents struggle with these loans has created a deep skepticism about whether the investment is worth it.

Trade careers, by contrast, let young people earn while they learn. Instead of waiting four years for a paycheck, apprenticeships and vocational programs offer immediate income, often without tuition bills attached. A Resume Builder survey found that 60 percent of Gen Zers who entered trades did so to start earning money sooner, while 40 percent cited avoiding student debt as their primary motivation. “While their classmates are drowning in $100,000 in student debt, these Gen Z’ers are earning while they learn,” said Michael Ryan, finance expert and founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, in an interview with Newsweek.

But money isn’t the only driver. The job market for white-collar graduates has become increasingly unstable, with automation wiping out many entry-level roles. Kevin Thompson, CEO of 9i Capital Group, noted: “It’s getting harder to find good-paying white-collar jobs, and many of the ones out there don’t pay enough to justify the debt students took on to get their degrees.” For young people weighing their futures, the message is clear: the old playbook of “degree first, stability later” no longer adds up.

There’s also a cultural undercurrent to the shift. Many Gen Z workers say they prefer hands-on, tangible work over the abstract tasks of office life. Nearly a third of survey respondents said they valued the independence and practical skills that trade careers deliver. As Stacie Haller, chief career advisor at Resume Builder, put it, “Trade jobs offer a smart and rewarding path for many, especially those who prefer hands-on work and practical learning over traditional classroom settings.” For a generation that values flexibility, authenticity, and visible impact, trades are offering something traditional offices often can’t: work that feels real.

California as Ground Zero for the Shift

Nowhere is this generational pivot more striking than in California. In a state synonymous with tech startups and corner-office ambition, teenagers are swapping keyboards for toolbelts and in some cases, out-earning their college-bound peers before they can legally rent a car. Union apprenticeships for electricians, welders, and pipe trades are paying $80 to $90 an hour, putting some young workers on track to make $100,000 a year before turning 21.

These opportunities aren’t side hustles or lucky breaks. They’re part of structured apprenticeship programs that come with health benefits, pensions, and clear career ladders. The Electrical Training Alliance in Santa Clara, for example, accepts only about 5 percent of applicants a rate on par with elite universities. Those who make it in find themselves with not only high starting wages but also long-term security that rivals or surpasses what many white-collar careers promise.

This shift is visible in the numbers. Federal Reserve data shows that recent computer science graduates face unemployment rates above 6 percent, while graduates in construction services sit at just 0.7 percent. In other words, the odds of landing stable, well-paid work are significantly higher for those entering the trades. As Nikki Sun, a researcher at Oxford’s AI Governance Initiative, explained, “The tolerance for younger people to make mistakes and learn from experience is getting really low from the employer’s perspective. If they’re used to AI making very accurate decisions and very accurate summaries, then why do you need to spend your time and energy to teach a young graduate to do this kind of job?”

For many California teens, that reality has made the trades not just a backup plan but the smartest option. One HVAC instructor in San Jose noted a spike in interest since the rapid rise of AI tools: “They were like, all right, this is here sooner than I thought it was going to be. I better pick a good career path.” That path increasingly leads to job sites, not office parks.

What sets California apart is not just the wages but the demand. With older tradespeople retiring and infrastructure projects multiplying, the state’s need for skilled labor is surging. The result is a landscape where high school graduates can leap straight into careers that provide immediate paychecks, long-term stability, and benefits packages many white-collar professionals spend years chasing.

The Broader Economic Impact

The surge of young people into skilled trades is more than a career preference it’s a rebalancing of the workforce. As baby boomers retire, industries that keep the country running are bracing for massive shortages. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that by 2030, over 40 percent of the skilled labor force will have aged out, leaving critical gaps in fields like construction, electrical work, and plumbing. Gen Z’s pivot into these jobs is arriving just in time to fill the void.

This generational move also has the potential to shift how wages and prestige are distributed across industries. Historically, blue-collar careers have been undervalued compared to white-collar roles, but that divide is narrowing. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that electricians and plumbers already earn average annual salaries above $62,000 competitive with many office jobs requiring degrees. Add overtime, union protections, and specialized certifications, and those earnings can climb much higher. If more Gen Z workers continue to choose trades, employers in traditional white-collar fields may be forced to rethink pay scales and benefits to retain talent.

Experts warn that this change won’t be without ripple effects. Kevin Thompson, CEO of 9i Capital Group, told Newsweek that as more workers enter trade careers, the increased labor supply could eventually put pressure on wages. But in the short term, the imbalance between demand and supply is driving up opportunities and boosting bargaining power in industries once considered secondary. Bryan Driscoll, an HR consultant, described it as “Gen Z rejecting a broken promise and building careers on their terms.”

There’s also an educational ripple at play. With college enrollment already falling associate degree programs down nearly 16 percent since 2019 the continued migration toward trades may accelerate the decline. Trade schools, apprenticeships, and vocational programs are seeing renewed demand, which could redefine the role of higher education in the coming decades. As the “toolbelt generation” grows, policymakers and educators may need to reconsider whether steering every student toward a four-year degree is either realistic or responsible.

Life Beyond the Paycheck

The draw of the trades isn’t only financial. For many young workers, the appeal lies in building something visible and essential work that has a direct impact on the world around them. Wiring a hospital, repairing an HVAC system in the middle of a heatwave, or welding a pipeline that powers entire communities provides a kind of purpose that can feel elusive in office jobs centered on emails and spreadsheets.

This emphasis on tangible outcomes resonates with Gen Z’s values. Surveys show nearly a third of young workers choosing trades specifically because they prefer hands-on work to desk jobs, while others point to the independence and flexibility these careers offer. Unlike the rigid hierarchy of many corporate paths, the trades often allow workers to progress quickly into specialized roles, supervisory positions, or even entrepreneurship. That autonomy appeals to a generation skeptical of traditional institutions and eager to define success on their own terms.

There’s also a psychological dimension. White-collar jobs, especially entry-level ones, can feel disconnected from the bigger picture. In contrast, skilled trades often provide immediate evidence of progress an HVAC system restored, a building powered, a bridge repaired. That sense of visible accomplishment carries weight for young people who want to see the value of their labor in real time.

Michael Ryan, a finance expert who tracks generational wealth trends, noted that Gen Z’s choices often come down to freedom. “While their classmates are drowning in debt, these Gen Z’ers are earning while they learn,” he told Newsweek. “That combination gives them not only financial independence but also the confidence that they’re building a life on their terms.”

The New Rules of Work

What’s unfolding in California is more than a local trend it’s a rewriting of the career playbook for an entire generation. For decades, the path to stability was painted as a degree, a desk, and decades of white-collar work. But that promise is unraveling under the weight of student debt, AI-driven job cuts, and shrinking returns from office careers. In its place, a new definition of success is emerging: one built on tangible skills, financial independence, and careers that can’t be outsourced to algorithms.

For parents and educators, this shift is a reminder that guidance needs to match reality. Steering every teenager toward a four-year degree is no longer a guarantee of security; in some cases, it may push them toward debt and disappointment. At the same time, skilled trades once dismissed as backup plans are proving to be lucrative, stable, and deeply fulfilling paths.

For young people themselves, the takeaway is equally clear: stability and opportunity don’t have to mean settling behind a desk. They can also mean stepping onto a job site, learning a skill that the world depends on, and building a career that pays well while leaving room for independence and pride.

If Gen Z continues on this trajectory, the prestige gap between blue-collar and white-collar work may finally narrow, reshaping not just the labor market but also the cultural narrative of what it means to “make it.” Success, it turns out, might look less like a corner office and more like a pair of steel-toed boots.