Layoffs are everywhere. AI is taking over emails, code, and customer help desks. Meanwhile, the CEO of Otis is doing the opposite of laying off. She's asking for more workers to fix elevators.
The job pays well over six figures at the top end. It comes with paid college tuition. And it's one of the few skilled trades AI can't touch yet.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics put out new May 2025 wage data last week. Elevator and escalator workers came in at the top of every U.S. building trade. The average wage was $109,820. The top 10% made $158,890.
For context, the rest of the group averaged $65,360. The typical U.S. worker brought home $69,770. Elevator mechanics earn more than 50% above that.
The next-highest trades in the group aren't even close. First-line job-site bosses averaged $86,450. Terrazzo workers came in at $84,920.
Otis runs a four-year training track that starts at age 18. New hires work as helpers by day. They go to elevator school at night. After a trade exam at the end, they become full mechanics. Otis even pays for college if they want to keep studying.
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Otis CEO Judy Marks runs a workforce of about 72,000 people. Around 45,000 are mechanics in the field.
When Otis spun off from United Technologies in April 2020, that number was closer to 40,000. So the field has grown about 12.5% in six years.
It's still not enough. "The demand is high," Marks told Business Insider.
In Japan, a declining population plus a boom in fixing up old buildings has made hiring an even bigger headache for the firm.
The job is hard to swap out for software. Elevators are a rules-heavy trade in most countries. The work is hands-on.
"This is truly a craft skill," Marks said.
The BLS expects the trade to grow 5% from 2024 to 2034. That's two points above the average for all U.S. jobs.
Marks said Otis has roughly as many mechanics in their first five years as it does workers with more than 30 years on the job. So there's no looming retirement cliff.
Skilled trades have been quietly trending. LinkedIn's data from last year ranked construction the fastest-growing field for new college grads. It stayed on LinkedIn's fastest-growing list for new grads in 2026.
For investors, the read-through is simple. Building services tied to real assets - think elevators, HVAC, and wiring - look safe from the wave that's wiping out office work.
The hottest job in America right now is one your grandfather might have had. It pays better than most desk jobs. And no chatbot is coming for it.
That's a setup few white-collar fields can claim today.
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