# @wsj on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/C8X-1PbM8qu
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/19341086-wsj-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/b007354b3a.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-06-18T23:00:43.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) — https://gondola.cc/WSJ

## Caption

Most of the time, when Lexis Czumak-Abreu is troubleshooting a sparking outlet or stripping cables in a ditch, the size of her fan base doesn’t mean too much to her.⁠
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But then she’ll be strolling through the airport in Las Vegas, and a stranger will call her name. ⁠
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Some 2.2 million people on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook watch Czumak-Abreu do her work as an electrician in Cornwall, N.Y. ⁠
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“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,” says Czumak-Abreu, the 27-year-old daughter and granddaughter of electricians. Since she began posting videos from her job in 2022, she’s gotten thousands of messages from viewers saying she sparked their interest in trade work. ⁠
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Czumak-Abreu’s path is one that more young Americans are considering. Skepticism about the cost and value of four-year degrees is growing, and enrollment in vocational programs has risen as young people pursue well-paying jobs that don’t require desks or so much debt, and come with the potential to be your own boss. ⁠
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Fostering that appeal are workers like Czumak-Abreu, whose short videos have racked up millions of views. On TikTok, the hashtag #bluecollar drew 500k posts in the first four months of this year, up 64% over the same period in 2023. Posts hashtagged #electrician increased 77% over the same time, with #constructionworker and #mechanic posting similar jumps, TikTok says. ⁠
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Read more at the link in our bio.⁠
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📷: adriennegrunwald for wsjphotos

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 15,796
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 233

## Tags

electrician, bluecollar, constructionworker, mechanic

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