Jamie Dimon says six-figure shipyard jobs are the new ‘American Dream’—but candidates will need to endure hours of extreme heat, cold, and rain

Welder on a navy boat (Credit: Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Earlier this month, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon pointed to shipbuilding as an example of the modern American Dream: a career where workers can earn six-figure salaries after just a few years of training while helping rebuild a critical piece of U.S. infrastructure. And while on paper, it’s an attractive proposition—in practice, it might be a much harder sell.

Shipyard jobs often require long shifts, physically demanding labor, and spending hours outdoors in extreme heat, cold, or rain. Those conditions have contributed to chronic worker shortages that defense leaders say threaten the country’s ability to expand naval production.