Earning a degree in petroleum technology prepared Barry Zink for various jobs in the oil and gas industry. However, when he arrived in Alaska in 1985, oil prices were plummeting and major energy companies weren’t hiring. “I never used my degree,” says Zink.He returned home to Palmyra, New York, and worked for 28 years as an onsite installer before opening Zinks Septic Solutions in April 2014. “I wish I’d struck out on my own much sooner,” says Zink, 52. “I doubled the number of installations in the second year, enabling me to hire two employees.”The company hit another milestone in
