Polygenerational WTF: From AI to Elk Hunting with Zach Hanson

Zach did everything he was supposed to do went to college, got the tech job, bought the house. Then one day he looked around and realized he couldn't fix a single thing without calling someone. That bothered him enough to start learning skills on the side while keeping his white collar career going. What started as picking up welding and hunting turned into serious research about what happened to trades in this country and why people treat that kind of work like it's beneath them. When he was eliminated his tech position after 12 years and his savings ran out after 11 months, those side skills kept him afloat. Trapping and taxidermy paid the bills until he landed another tech role. COVID sped up what he'd already figured out being completely dependent on everything working perfectly all the time is a bad bet. We talk about how schools systematically got rid of shop classes, why looking down on skilled work makes no sense, and how learning to handle things yourself changes what you think you're capable of.HighlightsHow realizing you can't handle basic problems in your own life pushes you to learn practical skills even while working a desk job.Why education policy changes over decades systematically removed shop classes and created the skilled worker shortage we're dealing with now.The confidence that comes from learning hands-on skills carries over into everything else you do, not just the specific task you learned.How many people are quietly interested in becoming more self-reliant but won't say it out loud because of what others might think.Why the idea that white collar jobs are secure and blue collar work is beneath people turned out to be completely backwards.Make sure to subscribe to Blue Collar BS where we explore how different generations approach work, leadership, and building careers in the trades. Do you want to hear more stories like Zach's that challenge what you thought was possible and inspire you to try something different? We've got some amazing guests lined up!Get in touch with Zach:WebsiteLinkedInInstagramGet in touch with us:Check out the Blue Collar BS website.Steve Doyle:WebsiteLinkedInEmailBrad Herda:WebsiteLinkedInEmailThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrpOP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy