Zach Hanson is the kind of person who doesn’t just tolerate getting his hands dirty. He likes it. That turns out to be exactly the right disposition for a plumber. 

“I don’t mind working late or getting my hands dirty. I just kind of like that kind of thing,” he said. 

That attitude has served him well. Zach graduated from Madison County High School this spring and has been working for Remedy Plumbing in Athens since June of last year, meaning he was already pulling paychecks while his classmates were still finishing out their senior year. As a service technician, he goes where the work is: fixing leaks, replacing water heaters, and handling remodels. Remedy does mostly residential plumbing with some commercial work mixed in, and Zach is the one showing up to get it done. 

He didn’t arrive at plumbing by accident. His older brother Brett is an electrician, and Zach figured it would be good to have another trade in the family.  

“Plumbing just spoke to me,” he said.  

He made the decision to pursue it around his senior year, and he hasn’t looked back. Remedy is a small company with a handful of service technicians and install techs, and Zach says the crew has been key to his development.  

“Just about every one of the techs have helped get me to this point, teaching me what all I needed to learn, and how to do it the right way,” he said. 

He also credits Mr. Carithers at Madison County High School, where he learned to solder through Skills USA. It’s a skill that translates directly to the work he does now. 

Zach says customer communication is something he’s still developing, especially in situations where he has to go back and correct a mistake. But he’s working through it, one job at a time. 

The career path ahead is clear. His boss wants him to grow into an install tech role, and after a few years of learning the work, move into selling jobs on commission, going to customers’ homes, diagnosing problems, and writing up estimates. Zach understands the logic: you have to know the work before you can sell it. 

His advice for anyone younger who’s thinking about the trades is simple.  

“Always ask questions, because you ain’t gonna’ learn anything if you don’t ask.” 

As for what he’s working toward outside of the job, Zach wants land, a big house, room to spread out, and goats, chickens, ducks. He’s got a jon boat and a sister with a bigger one, and when he’s not working he’s fishing, hunting, or camping. 

HireSmart Cares supported Zach’s move into the trades with a work boot voucher for graduating Madison County High School students who step directly into a trades career. The timing turned out to be good. Not long before receiving the voucher, Zach lost a pair of boots on the job when a customer flushed a toilet while he was cleaning out a drainpipe that had a hole in it. 

“I love these things,” he said of the new pair. The boots, it’s safe to say, are earning their keep.