The incredible salaries earned by blue collar influencers

Blue collar work isn’t normally thought of as a glamorous career. 

But that is changing as new set of beautiful construction workers are popularizing the trade on TikTok and Instagram – and raking in huge six-figure salaries to boot.

Blue collar influencers have accumulated millions of fans online, sharing short clips of their working days and projects and inspiring others to turn their hand to tools. 

On TikTok, the hashtag ‘bluecollar’ racked up 500,000 posts in the first four months of 2024, 64 percent more than the same period in 2023 – while posts under ‘mechanic’ and ‘constructionworker’ saw similar spikes in popularity. 

Third-generation electrician Lexis Czumak-Abreu, 27, told The Journal: ‘You feel just like a normal person, until you actually get confronted by people and you’re like, oh, my goodness, this is real, people know who I am.’

Czumak-Abreu has close to 2.2million followers across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, where she shares clips of herself on top of roofs installing utility outlets or in basements fixing wiring. 

She started posting videos in 2022 and now makes $200,000 a year from clicks and brand deals, on top of her electrician salary. 

The hardworking tradeswoman still works as a spark seven days a week, despite her impressive influencer earnings – with her obvious enjoyment to her job piquing the curiosity of others looking for a new career.  

She said she has received thousands of messages since from people saying they have been inspired to work in a trade. 

Carpenter Matt Panella – who makes $200,000 a year in annual sponsorships for his posts – told The Wall Street Journal: ‘We’ve made it more appealing. We have nice vehicles. We own homes, we are successful.’

The majority of the blue collar influencers started filming themselves carrying out standard tasks at work. 

When they shared them online they were shocked by the interest they received. 

It’s part of a national shift towards skilled-work as young people seek alternatives to extortionate four year degrees. 

The number of young Americans enrolled in vocational-focused community colleges rose 16% last year to its highest level since 2018, according to The Journal. 

As well as videos of their work, some blue collar influencers share videos of the benefits their lifestyle can bring.  

One plumber, Emilio Neves, shared a TikTok of himself enjoying a day on a boat, spliced together with him at work. 

Others are countering stereotypes about their trades. 

Chloe Hudson, 31, who welds for Joe Gibbs Manufacturing Solutions, told The Journal: ‘There’s this idea that most welders are kinda dirty, like at a muffler shop.’ 

Instead, Hudson welds in full makeup and mascara. 

Their videos also draw in new recruits for 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 aren’t going to job sites saying, hey, man, can you hire me? They’re getting to know it on social media, giving them the idea that this is a legit possibility.’