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52% of Current College Students Say Skilled Trades Feel Safer Than Office Jobs in an AI Future, New SimplyWise Index Finds

Simplywise

A survey of 1,140 Americans ages 18 to 29 finds a generation rethinking the four-year degree as the default path: trade school now edges out college as the route to financial stability by 30, respect for the trades is rising, and the young people closest to technology are the most convinced that AI will reshape white-collar work faster than the job site.

NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / June 4, 2026 / Even the young Americans already enrolled in college are hedging their bets. According to The June 2026 SimplyWise Trades & Technology Index, a survey of 1,140 U.S. adults ages 18 to 29, 52% of current college students say skilled trades feel safer than office jobs in an AI future. Across all respondents, two-thirds (66%) would encourage a friend their age to consider a skilled trade, and more chose trade school or an apprenticeship (34%) than a four-year degree (23%) as the path most likely to deliver financial stability by age 30. The findings point to a generation reweighing the college-versus-trades calculus against rising anxiety about how AI is reshaping office work.

Key findings

  • 52% of current college students say skilled trades feel safer than office jobs in an AI future (46% across all Gen Z). The shift is sharpest among those with the most at stake.

  • 66% would encourage a friend their age to consider a skilled trade; only 10% would discourage it.

  • Trade school edges out the four-year degree as the path to financial stability by 30, at 34% to 23%. Starting a business (22%) ran a close third.

  • Gen Z sees the trades as shelter from AI. 46% of all Gen Z say skilled trades feel safer than office jobs in an AI future. Respondents rated software developers more than twice as vulnerable to AI as plumbers (an average risk score of 4.76 vs. 2.14 on a six-point scale), with accountants and graphic designers also in the high-risk tier.

  • The people closest to tech are the most worried about it. Among Gen Z pursuing careers in tech or software, 73% rank software developer among the jobs most exposed to AI, compared with 68% of all respondents.

  • Respect for the trades is climbing. 70% say their generation holds the trades in higher regard than it did a few years ago, and skilled trades ranked as Gen Z’s single most-respected career path (30%), ahead of owning a small business (22%), academic or professional careers (12%), corporate careers (12%), and technology or AI careers (10%).

  • Personal experience is shaping the shift. 54% personally know a college graduate who is struggling financially. Among them, 57% would choose trade school over college today, versus 44% of those who do not know such a graduate.

  • Half of Gen Z (50%) say AI has already changed how they think about their career.

“The story of AI and the future of work is being told one way in boardrooms and a very different way in Gen Z’s group chats and apprenticeship inquiries. This Index is what that second story looks like in numbers: the young people closest to technology are the most convinced it will reshape their own field, and they’re increasingly looking at the trades as the work that stays. When even aspiring software developers say a plumber’s job looks safer than their own, the old hierarchy is being rewritten in real time,” said a SimplyWise spokesperson.

The full report, charts, and dataset are available at https://www.simplywise.com/blog/skilled-trades-survey-2026/.

Methodology

The June 2026 SimplyWise Trades & Technology Index is based on an online survey of 1,140 U.S. adults ages 18 to 29, fielded via SurveyMonkey Audience in May 2026. The sample is a non-probability, opt-in panel and is not weighted to U.S. population benchmarks. As with all opt-in samples, a classical margin of error does not strictly apply, and results should be treated as directional. The respondent pool skews toward lower household incomes, consistent with a young, early-career population. A separate screened sample of working tradespeople (n=38) was too small to support quantitative estimates and is used only for qualitative context. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

About SimplyWise

SimplyWise builds tools for skilled-trades professionals: contractors, plumbers, electricians, HVAC technicians, painters, roofers, and tradespeople across the United States. Its Cost Estimator turns a job-site photo into a contractor-ready estimate in seconds, alongside a Receipt Scanner for expenses and tax prep, a Mileage Tracker, and a Receptionist tool for missed calls. SimplyWise is available on iPhone and Android, free to try. Learn more at simplywise.com.

Media Contact
Daniel
SimplyWise Editorial Team
daniel@simplywise.com

SOURCE: SimplyWise

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