The incredible salaries earned by blue collar influencers whose clips of their construction work fascinate viewers, including female electrician with model good looks
Blue-collar work is not normally seen as a glamorous career.
But that’s changing as a new group of beautiful construction workers popularize the trade TikTok And Instagram – and also raking in huge six-figure salaries.
Blue-collar influencers have amassed millions of fans online, sharing short clips of their workdays and projects and inspiring others to turn their hand to tools.
On TikTok, the hashtag “bluecollar” generated 500,000 posts in the first four months of 2024, up 64 percent from the same period in 2023 – while posts under “mechanic” and “construction worker” saw similar spikes in popularity.
Third-generation electrician Lexis Czumak-Abreu, 27, told The Journal: “You feel like a normal person until you’re actually confronted by people and you’re like, oh my goodness, this is real, people know who I am . am.’
Blue-collar influencers have amassed millions of fans online, sharing short clips from their workdays and projects and inspiring others to turn their hand to tools
Czumak-Abreu has nearly 2.2 million followers on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, where she shares clips of herself on rooftops installing electrical outlets or fixing wiring in basements.
She started posting videos in 2022 and now makes $200,000 a year from clicks and brand deals, on top of her salary as an electrician.
The hard-working tradeswoman still works like a spark seven days a week, despite her impressive earnings as an influencer, with her obvious enjoyment of her work sparking the curiosity of others looking for a new career.
She said she has since received thousands of messages from people saying they were inspired to work in a trade.
Carpenter Matt Panella – who makes $200,000 a year from annual sponsorships for his posts – told The Wall Street Journal: ‘We have made it more attractive. We have beautiful vehicles. We own houses, we are successful.’
The majority of blue-collar influencers began filming themselves performing standard tasks at work.
When they shared them online, they were shocked by the interest they received.
It’s part of a national shift toward skilled work as young people seek alternatives to extortionate four-year wages.
The number of young Americans enrolled in vocational community colleges rose 16% last year to the highest level since 2018, according to The Journal.
In addition to videos of their work, some influencers also share videos about the benefits their lifestyle can bring.
A plumber, Emilio Neves, shared a TikTok of himself enjoying a day on a boat with him at work.
A plumber, Emilio Neves, shared a TikTok of himself enjoying a day on a boat with him at work
Others challenge stereotypes about their field.
Chloe Hudson, 31, who welded for Joe Gibbs Manufacturing Solutions, told the Journal: “There’s this idea that most welders are kind of dirty, like in a muffler shop.”
Instead, Hudson applies full makeup and mascara.
Their videos also attract new recruits to their employers, with many offering to sign up after seeing a day in the life online.
Construction company owner John Coffman told the Journal, “Kids don’t go to job sites and say, hey man, can you hire me? They learn about it on social media, which gives them the idea that this is a legitimate opportunity.”
