In November 2025, Ford CEO Jim Farley made a statement that caught a lot of people's attention: Ford has 5,000 open mechanic positions paying up to $120,000 a year, and they can't fill them. Six thousand service bays are sitting idle because there aren't enough qualified technicians.
Ford is not an outlier. Across every major trade, the story is the same: more open positions than qualified workers, wages rising fast, and a generation of students who were steered toward four-year degrees instead.
Here's what the numbers actually look like.
Average Trade Salaries in the United States
These figures represent median and upper-range wages for experienced workers. New apprentices start lower — but the runway is steep and there's no student loan counter-argument.
Electricians — Median annual wage around $61,000; journeyman electricians in high-demand areas earn $80,000–$110,000. Master electricians with their own business regularly exceed $150,000.
Plumbers — Median around $60,000; experienced residential and commercial plumbers earn $80,000–$100,000+. Service and emergency call plumbers in urban markets command significant premiums.
HVAC Technicians — Median around $57,000; senior commercial techs and refrigeration specialists can earn $80,000–$100,000. HVAC overtime during peak seasons (July and January in Virginia) adds substantially.
Welders — Entry median around $47,000; certified pipe welders, aerospace welders, and underwater welders earn $80,000–$150,000+. The range depends enormously on certification and specialization.
Auto Mechanics — Median around $50,000; flat-rate technicians at dealerships who are efficient and specialized can earn $80,000–$120,000. The Ford CEO's cited number ($120K) is real for top performers.
Carpenters — Median around $57,000; foremen and project leads in commercial and industrial construction earn $80,000–$100,000+.
The Student Loan Comparison
The median student loan debt for a four-year degree is approximately $37,000. Many graduates carry $60,000–$100,000 or more. And while the degree-holder starts earning immediately after graduation, the student loan balance doesn't go away.
A trade apprentice starts earning a paycheck during the apprenticeship — typically 50–60% of a journeyman wage in year one, scaling up. No debt, paying wages from day one, full journeyman wages within 3–5 years.
Do the actual math for your situation. The results often surprise people.
Why the Shortage Is Real — and Why It's an Opportunity
The United States has more than one million unfilled skilled trade jobs right now. For every 10 open skilled trade positions, there are only four trained workers available (Lightcast, 2025). Nearly 30% of union electricians are at or near retirement age.
This isn't a future problem. It's happening now — and it creates a significant opportunity for young people entering the trades today. They're entering into the most favorable labor market for skilled workers in a generation.
The only barrier between certification and that opportunity is often a set of tools.
That's the gap VBCTF closes. Read more about how Apprentice Tool Grants work →
