Struggling to Find Work, Doctor's Child Rejects Parents' Path and Chooses to Become a Plumber

The recent explosion of AI is putting human jobs at risk. Many people are seeking lower-risk employment options due to this technology.

One such job is that of a plumber. Several AI experts have mentioned this profession when other jobs are not safe.

An article from the Financial Times notes that the child of a doctor chose to become a plumber. This choice made the doctor feel guilty for disappointing parents who strived to elevate their child’s social and academic position.

“I am not making a meaningful contribution. Am I just an anomaly in a more traditional working-class family journey?” the doctor said, quoted from Futurism on Wednesday (25/3/2026).

Skilled jobs like plumbers and electricians appear to be the safest choice as AI automates white-collar work. From writers and secretaries to doctors and programmers building AI systems, these roles are threatened by the technology.

On the other hand, these skilled jobs cannot be underestimated amid AI development. This is because the construction of data centres also relies on the availability of skilled workers.

For example, a McKinsey study estimates an additional need for 130,000 trained electricians in the US between 2023 and 2030. This is to build advanced data centre facilities.

The need for such jobs has also been felt by tech giants. Google, for instance, is known to have provided an undisclosed amount of funding to the Electrical Training Alliance last year.

Additionally, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated that AI will require hundreds of thousands of technicians in the future.

“If you are an electrician, plumber, or carpenter, we will need hundreds of thousands to build all the factories,” he explained.