‘I love telling people that I’m a mechanic’: This Gen Z woman ditched her law aspirations for blue-collar work—and now outearns her friends

The future is blue-collar, if you ask Gen Z.

Nearly half of young people are either learning a skilled trade or seriously considering one, according to Thumbtack’s third annual Future of the Skilled Trades Report , which surveyed 1,000 Americans ages 16 to 30.

Some 30% of respondents said the rise of AI has made them more interested in the trades.

More than 80% said it’s harder for young people to build a stable career than it was just a few years ago, and four in five believe AI will eliminate many traditional entry-level jobs.

Against that backdrop, three in four said the trades may become one of the smartest career choices for their generation.

Fortune has tracked this shift for years, as more Gen Zers choose trade school over college and employers struggle to build pathways into blue-collar work .

Just last month, Ford CEO Jim Farley said Gen Z needs its own “Smokey Bear” moment to cut through AI job anxiety and steer young people toward the skilled trades.

One Gen Zer is already convinced she made the right call.

At the crack of dawn on the slopes of Mount Timpanogos, about 13 miles northeast of Provo, Utah, Victoria Madsen, 25, arrives to start up the ski lifts.

She has worked as a lift mechanic at Sundance Mountain Resort for about five years.

“I’m really proud of the job that I have,” Madsen told Fortune .

“I love telling people that I’m a mechanic.” From aspiring lawyer to lift mechanic Being a mechanic wasn’t always the plan.

Madsen originally wanted to be a lawyer and was studying English at Utah Valley University when, during her junior year, she took a seasonal job at Sundance.

When ski season ended, she was asked whether she’d stay on as a mechanic during the off-season.