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Cycling industry needs 45,000 mechanics right now, and it's an AI-proof job
(www.cyclingweekly.com)
this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2026
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micromobility - Bikes, scooters, boards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility
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Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles, heelies, or an office chair: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!
"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.
micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"
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Lots of AI-proof trades that pay well. HVAC, welding, plumbing, mechanics, etc.
HVAC starting wage of $18.00 in 2026? (quick search)
So, like 80s minimum wage ($6.00 an hour then is $18 an hour today). I made that at Qwik Stop. I'm not joking.
I'm sorry kids I am older and know I could barely make it in 80s and you have it so much worse.
I had to eat packets of ramen for years, always had roommates, couldn't afford a car or pet. I'm really sorry
heh years ago, my GenX ass was working 3 jobs to afford rent and ramen, along with potatoes and herbs (super cheap in the Chinese market), and had a Boomer tell me "you young kids must be eating lots of mac and cheese!".
I did take a pleasure in telling him "mac and cheese is rich food, it takes milk and butter. You must have been well-off if that's your mark of poverty".
And compared to how fucked the young after me are, I was living high on the hog.
A plumber's salary bought me a house at 27 and now less than 10 years later I have enough savings to buy another if I wanted to. Of all my friends the only people who own the house they live in are the ones working in trades. Every single one of them with an office job is renting and doesn't even own a car.
That's great.
But, we have 300 million people and the trades aren't going to keep them all feed and housed. Look at the big picture.
Glad you've done well. I'd wager you're an owner of your own business, and not a plumber working for an owner. Would I win that bet?
(I didn't start to make money until I left the work force and became an "entrepreneur". I made more money with dog walking as an owner than I ever did as an employee)
I don't see how it's an argument against finding a job in the trades that not literally everyone can do that. Not everyone can be a doctor either - doesn't mean you shouldn't chase that if it's what you want to do. Tons of people are more or less succesfully climbing the corporate ladder and have no desire to do anything else. This advice isn't for those people but the ones that are struggling with that or worrying that it is not AI proof - there are alternatives to it.
And yes nowdays I do own my bussiness but that wasn't always the case. I had a higher income as an employee. I traded that for more freedom and meaning.
Ok, but a lot of plumbing is ripping people off. A neighbor needed a pipe capped for a shower renovation, a plumber charged them $300. I capped the remaining pipes when I heard this. Being a home owner means navigating around the sleazy trades, a combination of scam artists and "professionals" who fake the job.
But it comes down to people don't know how to practically do anything any more. The idea of taking my bikes to a mechanic doesn't make any sense.
There are some shady people in every profession, but most tradespeople aren’t ripping off customers too badly. It’s more like people who don’t work in the trades aren’t aware how expensive the operating costs are, like getting licensed/bonded/insured etc. Running a plumbing business is more financially complex than just buying materials and plugging them in to the clients’ home, so of course as a DIY homeowner you can skip a lot of nonsense. If you can do the work yourself, great! You save money and it gives the pros more time to help out folks who can’t do the work themselves.
Not sure if that's accurate but I make double that as a veteran diesel tech in a metro area.