Data Center Careers for Veterans in Minnesota

Transition · Updated September 2026 · 20 min read

Meta's data center campus in Rosemount was nearing completion in July 2026. Google is behind two more planned campuses: one in Hermantown that still awaits city approval, and one in Pine Island that the city approved but a court has paused. The work that keeps those buildings running is familiar to anyone who kept generators, switchgear, cooling plants or networks up in uniform. This guide maps specific military jobs (Army 91D, 12R and 25B, Navy EM and ET, and Air Force 3E0X1, 3E0X2 and 3D1X2) to the roles data centers staff, explains the Minnesota electrical licenses that decide how fast you can start, and gives Bureau of Labor Statistics pay for electricians and HVAC mechanics in Minnesota. Every project detail is dated, because the status of these projects has changed month to month through 2026.

What a data center employs, and how many people

A data center is a building full of servers, but most of the skilled trade work is in the plant that keeps those servers powered and cool. Rosemount's 2026 interim ordinance defines a data center as a facility used principally for the storage, management, processing and transmission of digital data, and lists the supporting infrastructure it may include: offices, air handlers, power generators, water cooling systems, water storage and utility substations. That list reads like a set of job descriptions. Someone has to operate and maintain each piece, and the ordinance ties all of it to sustaining digital data operations.

The permanent roles fall into a few families. Critical facilities technicians on the electrical side maintain the power chain: the utility service, switchgear, transfer equipment, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems and their batteries, and standby diesel generators. Mechanical technicians keep the cooling plant running: chillers, pumps, cooling towers and the air handlers that move air across the server rooms. Controls technicians keep the building management system and the power monitoring that watch all of this accurate. Data center technicians rack, cable and replace server and network hardware, and network operations center (NOC) staff watch networks and systems from a console and work the first steps of an outage.

Be clear about the numbers. When Meta announced its Rosemount data center in March 2024, it said the campus would support approximately 100 jobs and that more than 1,000 construction workers would be on site at the peak of construction. The City of Hermantown says Google's proposed campus would employ hundreds of construction workers over an 8 to 10 year build, with at least 40 full-time positions tied to the first building and possibly 100 or more at full build-out. In Pine Island, the city's tax abatement for Project Skyway, approved February 4, 2026, is tied to 38 new jobs with the first building, all paying at least $31.00 an hour. The biggest near-term demand is in the building trades during construction. The permanent operations teams are small by comparison.

The Minnesota projects, as of September 2026

Rosemount (Dakota County). Meta's campus is on about 280 acres at UMore Park, the University of Minnesota Outreach, Research and Education Park. Meta's March 2024 announcement described a 715,000 square foot campus and an investment of more than $800 million, and MPR News reported the same month that Meta planned to open it in 2026. On July 2, 2026, the Forum News Service reported that the building was nearing completion and, according to the city, set to be finished later that summer.

Rosemount has also closed the door to new projects for now. On April 21, 2026, the city council adopted Ordinance No. 2026-03, an interim ordinance that imposes a one-year moratorium on data centers while the city studies how to regulate them. During the moratorium no application to establish or expand a data center will be accepted, but the ordinance allows construction and equipment installation for an existing or approved data center project, so it does not stop Meta's campus.

Hermantown (St. Louis County, near Duluth). The city announced on March 3, 2026 that Google is the company behind a proposed data center campus in the southwest corner of the city. The city's project page says the environmental review for the site, an Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR), covers 26 parcels totaling 278 acres, and that the updated AUAR was submitted to the state Environmental Quality Board on August 4, 2026. On August 20, 2026, MPR News reported that the project still needed city council approval and that Google now planned three data center buildings rather than four. The city's page, last updated September 11, 2026, lists review meetings and letters with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in early September and no final approval. At the September 21, 2026 council meeting, where a vote on the project was not on the agenda, Google said its developer, Mortenson, and the Duluth Building Trades had reached a labor memorandum of understanding, which FOX21 reported commits the project to local labor. Treat Hermantown as proposed. If you want construction work there, start with the Duluth-area building trades unions.

Pine Island (northwest of Rochester). Google is the technology tenant for Project Skyway, a campus developed by Ryan Companies, and the city has approved it. The city council adopted the project's final environmental review, also an AUAR, on September 16, 2025, and on January 20, 2026 it approved the rezoning, annexation, final plat, final development plan and conditional use permit. In May 2026 a Goodhue County district judge ordered Ryan Companies not to begin or continue any construction or pre-construction work while a lawsuit over the adequacy of that environmental review proceeds. MPR News reported on August 20, 2026 that the project was still on hold even though city officials had signed off on it.

State law also changed. A 2025 special session law created a category of qualified large-scale data centers, now in Minnesota Statutes, section 297A.68, subdivision 42: at least 25,000 square feet, with at least $250 million in construction or refurbishment, enterprise information technology equipment and computer software within a 60-month period beginning after June 30, 2025. The statute defines that equipment to include cooling systems and cooling towers, not only servers and routers. A separate fee section, Minnesota Statutes, section 216B.72, has been in effect since June 15, 2025. It charges these data centers an annual fee based on peak electric demand, starting at $2 million a year for 100 to 250 megawatts. The law also requires that laborers and mechanics who construct or refurbish a qualified large-scale data center be paid the prevailing wage rate for covered work after June 30, 2025, and it says refurbishing does not include maintenance or equipment refreshment or replacement. For an electrician weighing construction work on a qualified large-scale data center, that prevailing wage requirement is the detail to know.

None of this guarantees work in a particular town. Projects shrink, pause in court or wait on council votes, and the operator decides its own permanent headcount. Use the project news to see where construction work may appear, not as a promise of a specific opening.

Power: 91D, 3E0X2, 12R, 3E0X1 and Navy EM

The power chain is where military electrical and power-generation experience lines up most directly. The Army describes the 91D Tactical Power Generation Specialist as the soldier who supervises and performs maintenance and repairs on power-generation equipment, internal combustion engines and associated equipment. The Air Force's Electrical Power Production specialists (3E0X2) operate high- and low-voltage switches, circuit breakers and other controls, interpret wiring diagrams, and troubleshoot and repair power-generating components, with work that runs from starting up portable generators to operating 24-hour power plants. Generators, breakers and the controls between them are the same families of equipment a data center keeps on standby.

Electricians come from several directions. The Army's 12R Interior Electrician installs, maintains and distributes electricity, working on interior electrical systems and fixing short circuits and faulty equipment. The Air Force's Electrical Systems specialists (3E0X1) install, service, modify and repair electrical equipment and systems and troubleshoot malfunctions. Navy Electrician's Mates (EM) install and maintain power distribution circuitry, lighting circuitry and storage batteries, and maintain power distribution systems and electric motors. Batteries and distribution circuitry are at the core of a UPS system.

The Department of Labor's O*NET military crosswalk, which links military codes to civilian occupations, lists Electricians (SOC 47-2111) among the related civilian occupations for 91D, 12R, 3E0X1, 3E0X2 and EM. For 91D and 3E0X2 it also lists power plant operators and the electrical and electronics repairers who work on powerhouse, substation and relay equipment. Quote it when a recruiter, an apprenticeship program or a licensing office asks how your job relates to theirs.

Be honest about the gaps. The generators you ran in the field were probably smaller than the standby sets behind a large campus, and the switchgear may be more complex. What carries over well is the habit set: working from technical manuals, preventive maintenance on a schedule, lockout and tagout, and not guessing around energized equipment. In interviews, expect questions about how you planned and documented work on live or critical equipment, and have specific examples ready. What usually has to be added is a Minnesota license, covered below, and documented electrical safety training.

Cooling: Army 91C, Air Force 3E1X1 and HVAC mechanics

Nearly all the electricity a server uses ends up as heat, so cooling is the other half of the critical plant. The Army's 91C Utilities Equipment Repairers maintain utilities equipment and support systems such as air conditioners and refrigeration units, and Air Force HVAC/R specialists (3E1X1) maintain the mechanical systems that keep spaces temperature-controlled. O*NET lists Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers (SOC 49-9021) among the related civilian occupations for both.

One federal credential is a legal requirement here: EPA Section 608 certification. EPA states that technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerants into the atmosphere must be certified, that since January 1, 2018 the requirement also covers most substitute refrigerants such as HFCs, and that Section 608 credentials do not expire. If you earned it in service, find the card and the name of the certifying organization before you apply. LockLeed's separate EPA 608 guide covers the exam types and how to get the test paid for. On the state side, Minnesota's electrical licensing law exempts heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration contractors and their employees from electrical licensing when they do HVAC work as described in section 326B.38.

The plant may be bigger than anything you maintained on a base, and the control sequences will be new, but the refrigeration cycle, the preventive maintenance discipline and the logbook habits are the same. Rosemount's ordinance lists air handlers and water cooling systems among a data center's supporting facilities, so ask in interviews which systems the site runs and how the maintenance is split between staff and outside contractors.

Controls, monitoring and the network: 25B, ET and 3D1X2

Not every data center role is a trade. The Army describes the 25B Information Technology Specialist as maintaining, processing and troubleshooting military computer systems and operations. Air Force Cyber Transport Systems specialists deploy, sustain, troubleshoot and repair voice, data and video network infrastructure, including installing fiber-optic cable. Navy Electronics Technicians maintain, repair and calibrate electronic equipment, including radar, communications and navigation systems.

Those backgrounds point toward three kinds of work. Data center technicians install and replace server and network hardware and the cabling between it. NOC technicians monitor networks and systems and handle the first steps of an incident. Controls technicians keep the building management and power monitoring systems accurate, which draws on the calibration and troubleshooting skills ETs use. O*NET lists Computer Network Support Specialists (SOC 15-1231) among the related occupations for 25B, for 3D1X2 and for the Navy's submarine communications Electronics Technician (ETR).

A note on Air Force codes. O*NET lists 3D1X2 Cyber Transport Systems as a title no longer in active use, and airforce.com now shows the Cyber Transport Systems specialty under AFSC 1D731A. If your DD-214 says 3D1X2, keep the code, and put the plain-English title next to it on your résumé so a civilian reader does not have to decode it.

Low-voltage control and communications wiring has its own Minnesota license, covered below. NOC work is monitoring and troubleshooting from a console rather than wiring, so the certifications that matter there are IT certifications. LockLeed's CCNA and network certifications guide covers those.

Minnesota electrical licensing decides how fast you start

Minnesota regulates who may do electrical work, and the electrical work inside a data center is no exception. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) says that to perform electrical work in Minnesota you must be licensed by DLI or registered with DLI as a registered unlicensed electrician. A registered unlicensed electrician works under the direct supervision of a licensed journeyworker or master electrician, and state law limits a licensed individual to supervising no more than two unlicensed individuals, or three for technology circuits or systems work. As of September 2026, DLI lists the initial registration fee as $14.

The licenses that matter most for data center work, with the minimum experience Minnesota rules and statutes require:

• Class A journeyworker electrician: 48 months, including at least 24 months of wiring and installing. The rule allows no more than 24 months of credit for maintaining and repairing, and up to one year of credit for an approved two-year post high school electrical course.
• Class A master electrician: 60 months of experience in planning, laying out, supervising and installing. The statute also accepts one year of experience as a licensed journeyworker, or graduation from a four-year electrical course at an accredited college or university, instead.
• Maintenance electrician: 48 months, including at least 24 months of maintaining and repairing electrical wiring, apparatus and equipment.
• Power limited technician: 36 months, including at least 12 months of wiring and installing technology circuits or systems. An approved two-year electrical course or other approved technical training can count for up to 12 months or 2,000 hours.

Getting military experience counted

Military experience can count. Minnesota Rules, part 3800.3520, subpart 4, item D, lets DLI accept experience performing electrical work in the armed forces of the United States that the department determines is substantially equivalent to work performed while employed by a licensed contractor in Minnesota. The rule says that determination is based on a certification by the military for the type of work performed. Subpart 4 also covers only four categories of experience: planning, laying out, supervising, and wiring and installing electrical wiring, apparatus and equipment for light, heat and power. Nothing in the rule converts a job code into months automatically, and DLI makes the call.

Start with that certification. Ask DLI what form of military certification it accepts, then request that certification before you separate, while you still have access to your unit and your records. Keep training certificates, evaluations that describe electrical duties and maintenance records you are allowed to keep as supporting documents. If you come up short, registering as an unlicensed electrician and working under a licensed electrician, or entering a registered apprenticeship, is how the remaining months get logged.

Maintenance time needs care. Subpart 4 does not name maintaining and repairing among its categories, so ask DLI before you count military maintenance time toward any license, including the maintenance electrician license. The journeyworker schedule also requires at least 24 months of wiring and installing and credits no more than 24 months of maintaining and repairing, so a background that is mostly maintenance needs installation time added before it reaches a journeyworker license.

Low-voltage and controls work: the power limited technician license

The power limited technician license is the one to look at if your background is 25B, ET or 3D1X2 and you want to install rather than monitor. Minnesota law defines technology circuits or systems as class 2, class 3 and class 4 circuits for remote control, signaling, control, alarm and audio signal, isolated from other circuits and not including process control circuits, plus antenna and communication circuits as covered by the National Electrical Code. A licensed power limited technician may install, alter, repair, plan, lay out and supervise that work, which covers much of the wiring behind building controls, alarms and communications.

You do not always need your own license to start. Under Minnesota Statutes, section 326B.33, subdivision 21, paragraph (b), employees of a licensed electrical or technology systems contractor or other employer, supervised by a master electrician or a licensed power limited technician, do not need a license of their own to plan, lay out, install, alter or repair technology circuits or systems. That exemption reaches much communication, alarm and signaling wiring, but it does not cover planning, laying out or installing the four kinds of work listed below. Read the first two closely if you want controls work in a data center. Low-voltage wiring that lets a building management system switch pumps, fans or other equipment on power circuits falls under the first. Control wiring inside a cabinet that also holds physically unprotected power circuits falls under the second. Treat both as licensed work.

• In buildings other than residential dwellings, class 2 or class 3 remote control circuits that control circuits or systems other than class 2 or class 3. The statute adds that circuits that "interconnect these systems through communication, alarm, and security systems are exempted from this paragraph."
• Class 2 or class 3 circuits in electrical cabinets, enclosures or devices that contain physically unprotected circuits other than class 2 or class 3.
• Class 4 circuits or systems.
• Technology circuits or systems in hazardous classified locations as covered by the National Electrical Code.

Maintaining one employer's own facility

One more route applies to people who maintain a single employer's own facility. Under Minnesota Statutes, section 326B.33, subdivision 21, paragraph (a), a maintenance electrician does not need a license for maintenance and repair of electrical equipment owned or leased by the employer, on property the employer operates and owns or leases, if the work is supervised as the statute requires (by a licensed master electrician, a licensed maintenance electrician, an electrical engineer, a licensed power limited technician for technology circuits only, or the responsible master electrician of a contractor the employer has hired) and the employer has a current certificate of responsible person on file with DLI.

DLI's guidance adds two limits. A maintenance electrician who is not licensed must be registered with DLI and supervised. DLI also reads maintenance narrowly: Minnesota Rules define it as adjusting, repairing or replacing worn or defective parts, and DLI lists installing new wiring, connecting new equipment and building automation systems as work outside that scope. Ask any employer which arrangement it uses, because it affects what you are allowed to touch, who supervises your work and what record of your experience you can get.

Safety training: OSHA's qualified person and NFPA 70E

Federal OSHA rules at 29 CFR 1910.332 require training for employees who face a risk of electric shock that is not reduced to a safe level by the installation itself. A qualified person, meaning someone permitted to work on or near exposed energized parts, must at a minimum be trained to distinguish exposed live parts from other parts, determine the nominal voltage of exposed live parts, and know the required clearance distances. The training can be classroom or on-the-job, and its depth is set by the risk to the employee. Being a qualified person follows from the training your employer provides for the work you are assigned, so a new employer will make its own decision about whether you are qualified on its equipment.

NFPA 70E is the National Fire Protection Association's Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace. It is a standard, not a license. NFPA runs its own Certified Electrical Safety Worker (CESW) credential based on it. As of September 2026, NFPA describes an open-book exam of 110 multiple-choice questions with a 3-hour maximum, and a $499 initial application and exam fee. If a posting asks for 70E training or the CESW, ask whether the employer provides its own electrical safety training before you pay for either yourself, and keep every completion record either way. For construction-phase work, LockLeed's OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 guide covers the Outreach cards.

What the work pays in Minnesota

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a data-center-only wage for these trades in Minnesota, so the closest official figures are for the occupations that do the work. These are May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) estimates, the most recent available as of September 2026, and they cover all industries, not only data centers.

• Electricians (SOC 47-2111), Minnesota: 14,350 jobs; median $37.58 an hour ($78,160 a year); mean $38.86 an hour ($80,830 a year).
• Electricians, Minnesota range: $47,480 a year at the 10th percentile to $118,820 at the 90th.
• Heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers (SOC 49-9021), Minnesota: 4,200 jobs; median $36.71 an hour ($76,350 a year); mean $35.57 an hour ($73,990 a year).
• HVAC mechanics, Minnesota range: $48,220 a year at the 10th percentile to $100,030 at the 90th.
• National medians for comparison: electricians $30.38 an hour ($63,190 a year); HVAC mechanics $29.33 an hour ($61,010 a year).
• Metro medians near the projects: Minneapolis-St. Paul electricians $39.37 an hour ($81,890) and HVAC mechanics $37.25 ($77,490); Duluth electricians $39.76 ($82,700) and HVAC mechanics $36.40 ($75,710).

Reading those numbers correctly

OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay. BLS excludes overtime pay, shift differentials, on-call pay and weekend premium pay from the survey. Data center operations are continuous, so a shift role's real earnings can sit above or below these medians depending on the schedule and the premiums an employer pays. Ask for the shift pattern and the premium structure in writing before you compare offers.

These are also all-industry figures. An electrician in residential service and one on a large commercial build sit in the same line of the table. Construction work on a qualified large-scale data center carries the state prevailing wage requirement described above, which is a separate rate from these survey figures.

No wages are given here for NOC or data center technician roles. The occupations those jobs fall under vary by employer, and this guide only quotes figures it can trace to a single official series.

A practical plan from your last year in uniform

The steps below assume you are within a year of separation, or already out and deciding where to aim.

• Pick the lane first: licensed electrical, mechanical and refrigeration, controls and low-voltage, or IT and network operations. The license and certification path is different for each.
• Pull your records while you still have access: training certificates, evaluations that describe your duties, and any EPA 608 card or certificate number.
• If electrical is the lane, ask DLI what certification by the military it accepts for armed forces experience and get it before you leave, then register as an unlicensed electrician so civilian months start counting under a licensed supervisor.
• If construction on one of these projects is the goal, look at registered electrical apprenticeships through the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry's apprenticeship program. VA can pay GI Bill benefits for on-the-job training and apprenticeship programs it has approved; check the program in the GI Bill Comparison Tool first.
• For the plant side, get EPA 608 if you do not already hold it, and ask each employer what electrical safety training it provides.
• For NOC and data center technician roles, match your service record to the certifications named in the postings you are applying to.
• Write the résumé in civilian terms: the equipment you worked on, its size or capacity, the uptime you were responsible for, and the procedures you followed.

Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these sources. Figures and rules change, so check the current source before you act.

• Meta Data Centers: Hello, Rosemount! (March 14, 2024)
• MPR News: Meta to open data center in Rosemount in 2026 (March 14, 2024)
• InForum (Forum News Service): Rosemount data center nearing completion (July 2, 2026)
• City of Rosemount: Ordinance No. 2026-03, interim ordinance and moratorium on data centers (adopted April 21, 2026)
• City of Hermantown: Google announces plans for Hermantown data center (March 3, 2026)
• City of Hermantown: Data center project page (updated September 11, 2026)
• MPR News: Google in two Minnesota towns as data center opposition grows (August 20, 2026)
• Northern News Now: Google to present at Hermantown council meeting (September 21, 2026)
• Northern News Now: Google addresses environmental concerns at Hermantown council meeting (September 22, 2026)
• FOX21: Google shares labor agreement update on proposed Hermantown data center (September 21, 2026)
• MPR News: Pine Island data center construction halted by judge (May 26, 2026)
• City of Pine Island: Project Skyway (sections updated through June 30, 2026)
• Minnesota House: New law summary, data centers (2025 1st Special Session, chapter 12)
• Minnesota Session Laws 2025, 1st Special Session, chapter 12
• Minnesota Statutes 297A.68, subdivision 42: Data centers
• Minnesota Statutes 216B.72: Qualified large-scale data center fee
• U.S. Army: 91D Tactical Power Generation Specialist
• U.S. Army: 12R Interior Electrician
• U.S. Army: 25B Information Technology Specialist
• U.S. Army: 91C Utilities Equipment Repairer
• U.S. Navy: Electrician's Mate (EM)
• U.S. Navy: Electronics Technician (ET)
• U.S. Air Force: Electrical Systems (3E0X1)
• U.S. Air Force: Electrical Power Production (3E0X2)
• U.S. Air Force: HVAC/R (3E1X1)
• U.S. Air Force: Cyber Transport Systems
• O*NET Military Crosswalk: 91D
• O*NET Military Crosswalk: 12R
• O*NET Military Crosswalk: 25B
• O*NET Military Crosswalk: 91C
• O*NET Military Crosswalk: EM
• O*NET Military Crosswalk: ET (including ETR)
• O*NET Military Crosswalk: 3E0X1
• O*NET Military Crosswalk: 3E0X2
• O*NET Military Crosswalk: 3E1X1
• O*NET Military Crosswalk: 3D1X2
• Minnesota DLI: Electrical licensing basics
• Minnesota DLI: Experience requirements for an electrical license
• Minnesota DLI: Employees and electrical maintenance
• Minnesota Statutes 326B.33: Electrical licenses
• Minnesota Statutes 326B.31: Definitions
• Minnesota Rules 3800.3520: Examination; minimum experience requirements
• Minnesota DLI: Apprenticeship
• US EPA: Section 608 Technician Certification
• 29 CFR 1910.332: Training (GovInfo, 2025 edition)
• NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace
• NFPA: Certified Electrical Safety Worker (CESW)
• BLS OEWS May 2025: Minnesota
• BLS OEWS May 2025: National
• BLS OEWS May 2025: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
• BLS OEWS May 2025: Duluth, MN-WI
• BLS OEWS: Frequently asked questions (wage definition)
• VA: On-the-job training and apprenticeships