One job AI can’t replace? Hilton Head builder shares career advice
This article is part of a series profiles of local business owners in major sectors of the Hilton Head economy. Check back for more in the coming weeks.
At a time when many residents of South Carolina are questioning whether their jobs will be taken over by artificial intelligence, there’s one industry that needs more human hands than ever: construction.
That’s just one of the reasons that Cameron Hackett, owner of Hackett Homes and Construction, sees a wealth of opportunity in the home construction market on Hilton Head.
“You’re not getting ChatGPT to build your house,” the local homebuilder said.
It’s a fun, satisfying career where every day is different, said Hackett, who switched career paths after studying criminal justice in college.
It’s also a job where he can see the outcome of his labor wherever he goes.
Driving around Beaufort County, Hackett sees homes he built everywhere. There’s something “satisfying,” he said, about turning an empty lot into a home, and driving by it years later to see a family with kids in the yard.
People of any age or life experience can find success in the industry, but it takes a lot of hard work and a bit of luck, Hackett said.
“It’s real easy to get into,” Hackett said. “Being good ... that’s a whole ‘nother bear.”
From criminal justice to building homes
Hackett didn’t start out in life thinking he would fall into the home construction business.
He studied criminal justice at college, but realized right before graduating it wasn’t the right path for him.
With no experience in the construction industry, Hackett took a job with a production builder in Charleston.
“They kind of threw me to the wolves,” Hackett said. “But in this industry ... that’s really the only way that you can learn.”
One of the key things he learned is to be “very tactful” in handling clients.
“If you say you’re going to do something, you do it, period,” Hackett said.
Hackett moved up the ladder quickly, and left the Charleston company as a senior builder to take up a job in the Hilton Head area with a different company. But he found that the new company’s values “didn’t align” with his values, and began thinking about making it on his own.
The “aha” moment came when someone approached him at his job to ask if he knew someone who did kitchen remodeling.
“They walked away, and I was like, ‘What the hell am I doing? I just got served an idea on a silver platter,’” Hackett recalled.
Realizing there was demand in the Hilton Head area for remodeling work, Hackett pursued a residential construction license and founded Hackett Homes and Construction in 2022.
Before long, his client base began to grow. In addition to helping his clients revamp their own homes, he’s done remodeling projects in rental properties as well, helping meet a growing demand for remodeling in the Hilton Head area as more people seek to tap into the short-term rental market.
Finding your niche
Hackett says he’s been able to carve out his niche in the market as a solid, “middle of the road” home construction company.
He specializes not in luxury, but in being able to “make most budgets work” without compromising on quality.
His secret to building a home on a budget is to identifying where clients’ care about high-quality materials, and where they okay with something more affordable materials.
Take flooring, for example. A lot of homeowners want real wood floors, but it can come at a high price.
Builders like Hackett suggest luxury vinyl plank flooring as a cheaper option. It’s cheaper to install and is easier to replace and repair than other options.
A good “middle of the road” option for those not keen on plastic floors is engineered wood floors. They’re more expensive than vinyl, but cheaper than real wood, and come pre-finished.
On the higher end is real wood flooring. Not only is the material more expensive, but it requires more maintenance than other options. Dents, dings, and scratches are common and will require more effort to repair.
Someone building a home as a rental property will have different priorities than someone building a home for their own family. Hackett tries to identify what’s important to his clients and educate them on all their options so that “they’re putting the money where it’s important to them,” he said.
Hilton Head is a pretty small town, and “reputation travels fast” Hackett said, so it’s important to maintain your clients’ trust.
“Purchasing or building a home is a very emotional thing for my clients,” Hackett said. “These are the largest purchases most people will make in their life.”
What does it take to become a homebuilder?
If you’re thinking about making a career change, know that it can take years of hard work to rise to the level of owning your own company.
Hackett holds a residential builders license, which allows him to build and remodel single-family homes.
To get a residential builder’s license, you’ll need to prove you’ve worked for another builder for at least a year and pass a “demanding” exam.
A general contractor’s license is needed to build any kind of commercial construction, such as strip malls, office parks, town homes and condos. That license requires two years of proven experience and an exam.
The exams tests your ability to “locate information” in codebooks and apply it to decision making. “It’s open book, but there’s nine books, and each book is 1000 pages,” Hackett said.
The good news for anyone looking to go into construction is there’s no specific degree required.
“You don’t need to be an engineer to do this job,” Hackett said. “It’s being able to manage multiple items and having critical thinking skills.”
For anyone with a teenager figuring out what to do with his or her life, Hackett suggest that they take up a summer job with a construction crew and get their hands dirty.
“It’s a great line of work, and we need more people doing it,” Hackett said.
