In Search of Career Prospects, Young New Yorkers Turn to Construction

In New York, there is a scene few would expect: twenty-somethings standing in line, in the rain, to get a form to fill out. It’s not a line to get into a concert or to buy a new smartphone—it’s a line for an apprenticeship in the construction industry. Here’s the idea: While everyone is talking about young people lost in social media or terrified of artificial intelligence, there is a generation that is returning to manual labor, precisely because A.I. cannot yet take their jobs away. And they don't do it out of a lack of ambition, but as a conscious choice for security and stability. Take Tyshae Shields, 24, a painter's apprentice in New York. She says the work is hard, but college had overwhelmed her. Or take Eddy Alvarez, 25, who worked at a T-Mobile store with two friends. One evening, after hearing that in the morning they would only be handing out 100 applications for 15 apprentice positions, he called his friends, and they went to stand in line as early as 5:30 p.m., with a tent. Fifteen hours of waiting, in the drizzle, just to get a chance: that night, they made their choice. It’s telling that last year, applications were available for days, whereas now they run out in an hour. John Pallares, 29, standing in line with Eddy, puts it bluntly: “This is one of those jobs that, at least for now, A.I. can’t do.” They fear that their jobs as sales clerks will become obsolete in a few years. What is surprising is the disparity: one hundred applications for fifteen positions, yet the line keeps getting longer and longer. There is a sense of urgency surrounding these young people: a secure job is no longer an office job, but one that requires hands, tools, and physical presence. The prevailing narrative is that Generation Z wants everything right away and that they seek only digital gratification. Here, however, we see the opposite: young people who are willing to sacrifice themselves for a trade, ready to endure hard work and long waits. The perspective that is almost always missing is this: the real privilege today might be being able to work with one's body—because no algorithm can yet replicate a hand painting a wall or a bricklayer laying bricks. The takeaway is this: a secure future is not found behind a screen, but standing in line in the rain, with an umbrella and the hope of learning a trade. If you were struck by this decision to return to manual labor, you can press I'm In on Lara Notes: it's the way you say that this idea now belongs to you. And if you share Eddy's or Tyshae's story with a friend, you can mark it on Lara Notes as Shared Offline—because a real conversation is worth more than any number of likes. This article is from The New York Times, and it saved you about a minute compared to reading it.