News · Nov 2, 2026

$129K a year, zero student loans: what data center electricians really make

Fox News went inside Northern Virginia's data centers. Here's what the pay looks like, and why one local's hiring hall doubled.

You don't need a four-year degree to make six figures building data centers.

That's the takeaway from a Fox News story out of Ashburn, Virginia.

Here's what they found.

The pay

Apprentices with IBEW Local 26 can start at about $27 to $28 an hour, with no experience, according to Bill McGraw of contractor J.E. Richards.

Journeymen make about $62 an hour.

That's nearly $129,000 a year on a 40-hour week, before overtime, per Fox.

Don Slaiman told Fox that Local 26's hiring hall grew from fewer than 9,000 workers to more than 17,500 during the Northern Virginia boom.

Loudoun County had more than 230 data centers built or under construction as of March 2026, with another 116 projects in the pipeline, Fox reported.

One construction project can employ as many as 2,000 craft workers, according to veteran electrician Andrew Miller.

McGraw said electricians are needed for maintenance, upgrades and infrastructure work after construction wraps.

"There's always continuous work there," he told Fox.

Miller has 26 years in the trade.

"I have never been without work in all my career even through recessions," he said.

If you're already a journeyman, the work is out there. Northern Virginia is just one market.

If you're thinking about an apprenticeship, you get paid while you train. And you skip the student loans.

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