Meet the Gen Zers skipping college to take blue-collar jobs and launch trade businesses: ‘One of the smartest decisions I ever made’

The cost of a college education — long touted as a requirement for a fulfilling, high-paying job — has soared over the last couple of decades, stoking skepticism among Gen Z about the true value of a four-year degree. 

As the youngest generation in the workforce debates the merits of a college education, more 20-somethings are gravitating to blue-collar careers. 

Salary increases and new technologies in fields from welding to manufacturing are helping blue-collar jobs shed the image of being dirty, menial work as a shortage of skilled tradespeople, brought on as older workers retire, creates opportunities for young adults.

Skilled trade professions including electricians, plumbers and mechanics are seeing a gradual uptick in the number of workers between the ages of 18 and 25 joining these fields, according to Gusto data exclusively shared with CNBC Make It. 

The security and prospect of steadily growing earnings offered by these jobs make them even more attractive to Gen Zers, who are starting their careers facing a much tougher job market than in recent years.

Many Gen Zers are finding fulfillment, stability, and, in many cases, financial security by getting into skilled trades.

When Crist Morillon was 16, she signed up for an auto shop class at her high school in Phoenix, Arizona thinking it’d be a fun elective — not the start to a career that, 10 years later, would help her buy her first home and achieve financial freedom.

Morillon, 27, says she “instantly fell in love” with working under the hood of different cars and the challenge of troubleshooting a new problem every day. 

Once Morillon graduated high school, she decided to skip college and pursue a full-time career as an automotive technician. 

“I didn’t want to spend another four years sitting behind a desk learning,” she says. “I knew I wanted to work with cars, and I didn’t need a bachelor’s degree to do that.” 

She enrolled in a one-year vocational school program at the Universal Technical Institute in Avondale, Arizona, where she received an associate occupational studies degree in automotive technologies. 

The associate’s degree program, which cost about $33,000, taught Morillon how to diagnose car issues, assemble and disassemble engines and repair brake systems, among other skills. 

Morillon was awarded a $15,000 scholarship to attend the program, so she spent about $18,000 to become a certified technician — less than a third of the average cost of getting a bachelor’s degree in the U.S. 

She graduated in 2017 and immediately landed a job as a service assistant at Tesla, which recruited students on campus. Within a year, she was promoted to service technician. 

Morillon worked at Tesla for about four years and in 2021 joined auto manufacturer Lucid Motors as a service technician, where she continues to work today. She earns about $78,000 a year.

While the average automotive technician earns about $57,000 a year, more experienced professionals can earn upwards of $100,000, according to ZipRecruiter data — an income bracket Morillon expects to hit by the time she turns 30.

Working in a skilled trade has helped her hit financial milestones sooner than her peers, including buying her first car and home at 24.

High housing costs and mortgage rates continue to push homeownership, which has long been a cornerstone of the American dream, out of reach for young adults.

It’s a dream Morillon says she “wouldn’t have been able to achieve” had she attended college and pursued a white-collar profession instead. 

“I would probably still be living at my parents’ house and paying off student loans,” she adds. “Instead, I’m able to financially support myself, my parents and my younger sister when they need it.”

She continues: “This is a career that can provide you with the kind of job security and stability that lasts a lifetime. The peace of mind that comes with that is priceless.” 

Some Gen Z entrepreneurs are finding success in launching trade businesses.

Chase Gallagher, 23, is the founder and CEO of CMG Landscaping in Uwchlan Township, Pennsylvania. His business broke $1 million in annual revenue last year.

He started mowing his neighbors’ lawns when he was 12 years old for $35 a pop — within four years, that after-school side hustle was netting him more than $50,000 a year.

The return on investment of a college degree seemed “smaller and smaller” as Gallagher approached high school graduation. 

“I would’ve had to pay for my education and lose four revenue-producing years … I didn’t see the benefit of spending money if I could be building up my business and wealth instead,” says Gallagher, who lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia. 

He adds: “One of the smartest decisions I ever made was not going to college and using that time to invest in my business instead.”

In 2018, Gallagher hired his first employees and rented a commercial space near his parents’ house for $300 a month to store his tools and pickup trucks. 

He moved out of his parents’ house when he was 19 and, after renting an apartment for a year, bought his first house with his earnings from CMG Landscaping.

Now, Gallagher’s landscaping business has nine employees, and does “everything from stormwater management and drainage work to pavers and lighting.” After deducting business expenses and taxes, Gallagher’s take-home pay is about $250,000 a year. 

Construction is facing a hiring crunch for skilled workers in the U.S. including carpenters and landscapers, giving young, ambitious people entering these fields, like Gallagher, a chance to fast-track their career growth and earning potential.

And trade businesses often have low start up costs, Gallagher points out, as you don’t need a physical storefront and can rent equipment. His first purchases for the landscaping business included a $2,400 lawn mower and a utility trailer that cost $700.

“I don’t believe I would have achieved the same level of financial security I have now if I decided to attend college when I was 18 instead,” says Gallagher, who notes that he has some friends who spent $200,000 on their college education and are now earning less than $50,000. 

“My head would’ve been spinning if that happened to me,” he says. 

Running a trade business isn’t without its challenges. Gallagher regularly works 80 hours a week, sometimes “closer to 100” during CMG Landscaping’s peak busy season between March and July. 

“There’s no such thing as work-life balance when you’re scaling a trade business,” says Gallagher. “But I’ve avoided burnout by hiring the right team and learning how to delegate responsibilities.” 

What started as a “fun summer job” has since turned into RHI Pressure Washing, a full-fledged business of which Daniels is the founder and owner. 

In 2023, RHI Pressure Washing brought in about $250,000 in revenue, according to financial documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. Daniels’ take-home pay was $79,000.

With the help of his parents, Daniels opened a Roth IRA and two brokerage accounts in high school, and split most of his earnings among the three. 

“I’ve had an eye on retirement since I was 17,” he jokes. At this point in his career, Daniels has about $400,000 saved toward retirement. 

Daniels didn’t intend to build a career in the skilled trades. 

He started classes at the University of Florida but left after his freshman year. 

“I never felt passionate about attending college, I just felt like I was going through the motions of what the adults in my life expected of me,” he recalls. “But once I got there, I figured out that I didn’t want to spend four years doing something that I wasn’t 100% committed to or believed in.” 

He left college and committed to scaling RHI Pressure Washing from a side hustle to a full-time business, hiring three employees and adding new services including roof and gutter cleaning. 

Right now, Daniels works 35 hours a week, but he’s planning to reduce his hours in the next few years and work part-time until he feels ready for full retirement.

Learning a trade can offer a quick path to careers with high earning potential and consistent demand — the financial stability and job security that merits can help you retire early, says Daniels.

Sure, Daniels says, there are some corporate jobs where early retirement is possible. But he’s quick to point out that blue-collar careers can also offer more predictable hours, a less competitive atmosphere and the satisfaction of working with your hands.

“I much prefer the physical exhaustion of manual labor over the mental toll of working long hours on a computer,” says Daniels. “I think more people are realizing you can be happy and successful in either path. Attending college and getting a job from there isn’t the right choice for everyone.”