Chase Gallagher was 12 years old when he started mowing his neighbor's lawn for $35 a pop. Now, he’s 24 years old and part of a growing number of Gen Zers who are opting out of going to college. But—unlike some baby boomers’ assessment of the generation—they’re not pottering around their parents’ house dodging working altogether. In fact, Gallagher and many others are picking up the tools and turning to traditional trades.
“I just didn't see the ROI in going to university,” Gallagher tells Fortune. Instead, he put his efforts into scaling his side hustle into a successful full-time business called CMG Landscaping. But, he says, it “took a lot of courage” to relay that decision to his folks.
