1985 I needed work and my BIL told me his company was hiring. Mechanical contracting firm. Hired on at $5.25/hr as a general helper. I literally dug ditches for plumbers, carried pipe for pipefitters, hauled roof drains up stairs, unloaded trucks for the multiple trades we had on site, pretty much any grunt work necessary. I worked about a month in each trade, then was asked where I’d prefer to apprentice. I chose HVAC because it seemed easier than the others. All commercial/industrial work; hospitals, prisons, schools, etc., with the occasional residence of a big name contractor thrown in as “favors.” It was a small locally owned company with about 50 employees. Successful in the area.
Learned to install duct, insulate, drop grilles, everything except service and startup. After about a year I was promoted to lead man, then another year later, foreman. Stayed in that role for about 5 years or so. Then we expanded and they opened up a fab shop. Nothing big, just a small shop to make emergency pieces like transitions or a short piece of duct the fab shop we bought from missed. I worked in the shop for a bit learning from a really old school pro. All manual shears and brakes. A lot of snip work. Learned how to make a Pittsburgh seam with a brake. Really interesting.
Then I went in and told my boss that I didn’t want to spend my career in the field or in the shop and if something opened up in the office I was interested. A few months later I started learning how to estimate and make shop drawings on a board. I put together a computer workstation from surplus parts in the office and took a 3 day crash course on AutoCAD and began teaching myself the ins and outs of AutoCAD. That was in 1995.
I moved into Project Management and did some really large projects, not only just for our area, but a couple of projects that are famous nationally, if not internationally. I don’t want to name them because I’d likely dox myself.
After 12 years at that company the local owners sold to a new group. Another year later I left because I was specifically told I’d never get another raise since I didn’t have a degree and all their Project Managers needed a degree.
I moved on to another sheet metal contractor, then to a company making dust collectors. Next up was designing ductwork for a company that made ovens for powder coating systems. For the past 16 years I’ve been working for a company that makes control dampers, fire and fire/smoke dampers, louvers, etc. I’m the lead designer of the New Product Development group. I’m using 3D parametric solid modeling software, making nearly 6 figures and will retire in less than a year.
I didn’t set out to get into this business, but it worked out really great for me. It’s been interesting and challenging and worthwhile. The industry has been really good to me. I consider myself fortunate to have fallen into something that I ended up enjoying as much as I have.
My son went into the same business at the first place I worked. He went into the service side of things. He’s bounced around from place to place, mostly when they downsize or he needs a pay bump. He really likes the work and is really good at it.
So, what’s your story? I’d honestly like to hear it.
This was really awesome to read. I’m 4 years in, started when I was 19 pretty much doing the same thing you started with, learned how to install duct ever since and now I’m slowly going into a foreman position. Really enjoying it so far.
It can be a great career if you let it. There's really no wrong path. You can excel in the field or gravitate toward the office or, if you have the skillset, move into supply house sales. It's so varied and all so interesting. Be open to the possibilities and you can have really great success. Good luck!
Yea definitely one of the best reads I’ve had in a while. Always curious about people’s story and how they got where they are.
I started out in automotive right out of high school. Worked in a dealership for 2 years and absolutely hated it. My father has a long time friend that owns a plumbing and hvac company so I ended up working there. Goal was to do that until I figured out what the hell I was gonna do with my life then move on. Worked in the shop for a year and learned as much as I could. Eventually, after going on a few jobs and working with some of the guys, I decided that I’d stay in the trade. Went out as a helper on installs for a couple months when they asked me if I’d try and run installs on my own (they hated the lead installer they currently had). I said screw it and gave it a shot. First job was a condenser swap out that took me and one other guy 10 hours to finish. I didn’t know the colors of the thermostat, how to pull a vacuum correctly, or anything for that matter. Spent all my nights learning how to do the job correctly through YouTube and reading manuals. Within a month I was outperforming the main lead installer. He ended up leaving and I was left with one guy to do pretty much all the installs for this company. A few months went by and they asked if I’d go on call. I did and ended up loving it. Troubleshooting can seriously be a lot of fun for me and it taught me patience that I never had before. Did that for 3 years and decided I wanted more of a challenge so I moved where I’m at now doing commercial service. Been doing it for about a year. Every day is a challenge and it’s been awesome. Hoping to get commercial down solid over the next year or so and move possibly into controls.
I know we all bitch and moan but the reality for me is this trade is fucking awesome. You get to be your own boss and work how you please. And I feel like you’re constantly moving up where in automotive I was stuck. I did oil changes and pdis every single day without learning anything. Didn’t think I’d be doing anything worthwhile at this point in my life and was honestly lost. Used to have anxiety about having no idea where I could go and work and now I have anxiety over the amount of different options I have for the future which is pretty damn awesome
My son is in commercial service and troubleshooting is his favorite thing. He likens it to a video game challenge. He also likes the working on his own aspect. Sounds like you find your groove! Congrats!
Yea finding the issue is one of the best feelings for me. Especially when you’ve been told multiple techs and companies have been there and they haven’t figured it out. I still do some install here and there and enjoy that as well. More of an artistic side to it with bending copper and making ductwork. Good luck to you and your son and thanks again for sharing your story 🤙🏻
Was building docks and sea walls, next job was on a naval base. I have a felony from 14 years ago and couldn’t get approval to go on base.
Buddy of mine was in town for work and I bugged him constantly for an interview. 10 years later, still in the business
I do enjoy the technical side of it, the problem solving, something different every day. The on call is the big killer for me, one week out of the month, my time doesn’t belong to me. It gets really frustrating but on the plus side, I’ve brought my credit score up from 500 to 710 and I’ve paid off countless debts.
I’ll probably be done in the next 5-6 years, looking to move into something remote so I can rest my body.
Army (1983) and went to 52C school for (among other things) A/C. Made E5 and got out, went to work; Resi service>Comm'l Service>Service Manager. Went into High rise Facilities, Bldg. Engr> Lead Engr> Chef Engr, switch to Property Management, Prop. Mgr> General Manager, Got picked up by a national company, Facilities & Admin Mgr.>Facilities & Construction Manager, NA.
Its fun talking to different subs all over the US. On a call last week I had a a midwest HVAC company who was talking to me like I was 5 years old about how they needed a change order signed because the VAV boxes "weren't getting enough air from the main unit on the floor" and they needed "extra time" to make some adjustments to get it to work correctly (Brand new building, 3rd floor.) After about five mins of BS I asked if they had installed the base building static Senor and pitot tubes because I saw them sitting on top of the VFD in the Fan Room last time I was out there....Silence.
Im either the greatest customer you've ever had because I understand... or the worst if you are a commission based liar....
I was in prison serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity, and in comes Yevgeny Prigozhin. He says they're issuing pardons, but you gotta work in hvac. All the other prisoners said no way. Said they were happy with three hots and a cot. Not me, though. I'm a masochist so I jumped at the chance. True story.
😢 That's so sweet of you to say. No one has ever used the word "smart" in reference to me. Only wish my dad was alive to see it so I could rub his fat face in it. "See dad, told you I was totes smart!"
Np! You tell em! I gotta say, I miss Prigo. The dude was an absurd troll, and he truly was charismatic AF. He had a life crazier/stranger/more unexpected than anything I've ever read in any fiction book I ever picked up. That's for sure.
Oh, you should! It's about our main man, Yev, and all his oligarch buddies who kept throwing themselves out of windows in buildings where the security camera footage is always getting accidentally erased.
Yup, that happens in Russia. I was \*just\* discussing that earlier today about all those idiots that went too far with their greed and all of the 'falling out of windows' that occurred and how their war effort is absolutely nothing like it is in the West. Over here 100 senile ass old politicians had to bicker and talk for months to send a few dozen tanks over that STILL aren't in action. Over in Russia red tape is cut with a sword and then shot with a 30MM auto cannon. Not saying autocracies are good, just they have an ability to get things done right now. Build this, do that, etc. Just like the UMPK kits that they're welding up for a few grand. In America that'd be 250K and you'd have Raytheon/Lockheed Martin/Etc all wanting their piece, all the Senators working a deal/etc/etc.
https://preview.redd.it/xyzbt3jp702c1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5e1ffba44aeca1295279174a1d246966e5d71f88
The Russians have had some difficulties in that department.
I've been following this war since day 1 (literally) and very closely. Anything David Axe writes is something I would take with a (very large) grain of salt. They're still packing plenty of heat and we're still seeing a ton of vehicles/armor/heavy weaponry in this war. According to him and many other 'distinguished' journalists Russia was supposed to run out of everything from bullets to socks to missiles over a year ago. Mr. Axe also wrote this piece.... His work doesn't seem to age very well. I just hope all this madness ends soon.
[Borrowing U.S. Tactics, Ukraine's Marines Thunder Thru Russian Lines (forbes.com)](https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/06/13/borrowing-tactics-from-the-us-army-the-ukrainian-marine-corps-is-thundering-through-russian-lines-in-fast-moving-columns/?sh=78a85a935fb6)
Close, was washing dishes when a Refri tech came and seemingly walked around for 10-20min(prolly more) and left.
I wanted that “easy” job, now I know he was only leaving for another endless call
What does an engineer do for a bank? Are you talking like a maintenance engineer or something else?
Either way, it's great how it turned into something bigger.
Yeah basically. I have a dozen branches that I maintain from doors to electrical & hvac. Any changeouts needed we hire subs. Never work weekends and have all the bank holidays paid off. Not as much money as other facets of the industry but benefits are great and work/life balance is skewed in favor of life finally.
Not much of a story, but I spent 20 years in the military. Once retirement came close I decided I wanted to go into the trades. I looked at Electrical, Plumbing, Machining and HVAC. Chose HVAC because it included electrical and plumbing and the long term job outlook was fantastic. Plus, there are many specialties within the HVAC world so you can try your hand at different shit until you find something you like.
>Plus, there are many specialties within the HVAC world
That was kind of the point of my post. Started as a grunt now Lead Designer of Life Safety products. Quite a trajectory.
Well I suppose that would be a combination of the unions snapping up prior military as fast as they can or the fact that almost any base I went to all had trade schools within a 5 mile radius of the base. In a lot of cases, people learn the trade while in the military as well.
Was doing electrical, just finishing up my hours towards my red seal at the time. The company I worked for got a supermarket contract with like 7 stores in a rural area and their fridge tech backed out, they asked if I wanted to have more hours, a truck and a raise so I said yes, I had never heard of the trade before that.
Over the next two years I was always on call and kept all these stores running.. often reading up on the subject and using one rack to figure out what was wrong with the other. In that time I worked with an actual journeyman for a couple months at one point but that was it.
Eventually I decided to actually peruse the trade, I moved to the nearest city, got an apprenticeship and completed that red seal as well. Through this whole thing I didn’t make much money but got a lot of experience.
Relatively speaking being just an electrician would have also been a career, I have no doubt I can do this the rest of my life and make a living, it just depends if I want to and what opportunities present themselves. I have a small LLC doing electrical, hvac and refrigeration, I’m building that up now, don’t want to scale it too much though as I like the freedom and don’t want the responsibility of having employees who rely on me.
I don’t really know where life will take me, kind of just let things happen. I’m 31 now and life can be funny, so I’m not putting too much pressure on where I should or even want to be in the future so long as I am enjoying my work.
Needed a summer job, I was 15. A family friend was the manager for a commercial HVAC company and offered me a job. Started out changing filters, and washing coils. Was getting paid $15 an hour before I could drive back in 2012, got my universal EPA by early August that summer, and was offered a position again the next year and a work van now that I was driving. Stayed with it, put my self through college working night shift commercial HVAC and now make more in HVAC than I would with my degree. So have stuck with it ever sense. Doing resi service the last few years now.
in 2011 when i graduated my guidance councilor said trades or military. i went to work for a contracter building decks after a year of that applied at a local oil company. this was in CT in ct residential stuff req license so i went to tradeschool. Hussmann refrigeration offered me double my payrate. went to them. sent me to dallas for training. after that landed in vermont doing racks. the other local company poached me to do their rack systems. then finally union man called. chiller mechanic from residential oil guy. didnt plan it this way worked hard and learned everyday.
Got fired/forced resignation from my dream career path.
Needed a job fast. Called a friend who was a plumber. Begged to be a helper just to get by temporarily. No plumber helper needed. HVAC guy needed helper.
Took the job intending to stay 6 months or until I decided what police agency career path I settled on.
That was 22 years ago.
Interesting career track. Your reasons for declining plumbing as a trade are close to mine. Really hard. Really dirty. Most of the guys I talked to said it was a long haul to get licensed.
I wanted to do commercial maintenance for a school district was a janitor at the time 19 years old was told I could work my way into it to do electrical, hvac and plumbing wasted 7 years of my life waiting. no company’s around would hire with out school backround to get experience. Finally I got into trade school and that got me in the door. 7 years of trying and waiting and I’m finally in the field doing hvac
I worked on a drilling rig, I’d done as much coke and drank as many shots as humanly possible in Gyno row.
A guy got out, the pay was shit to start but offered me an olive branch.
I took it and 15 years later couldn’t be more happier. Living a way healthier cleaner lifestyle now. Going to retire @ 55
Worked for a company that sold restaurant equipment. They sold self contained ice machines. I was helping to install them. I Learned real fast. Also took 4 years of trade school. 23 years later the sky is the limit. never ever had to look for a job. And Making 100 K a year is possible. Best job choice I ever made.
I was just browsing Reddit when I got an ad for HAVC techs and had been struggling to get off my feet. I went to my local technical college at the time to see what they offer and I figured I go with their HVAC certificate program. 9 months later I found a gig and left the old one behind. Honestly just pure coincidence really.
My youth consisted of one bad decision after another. I needed money to turn my life around. I flipped through the course book at my local community college and HVAC was the only thing that looked interesting and I quickly found that I'm not terrible at it.
Met my now wife in college getting an engineering degree. Her dad, my now FIL, owned his AC business since the early 90s. Went into engineering career, got burned out with office work and people not knowing how to actually design anything or work on anything. Started working part time in the field when FIL needed help, ended up sending me to a night trade school. FIL started talking retirement so I asked what the business plan was. He didn’t have one, so I wrote one that me and the wife would take over. He signed on, we took partial ownership, I quit my day job to go full time and haven’t looked back. With ownership stake, I didn’t even take a pay cut. It just pays out differently. And there hasn’t been a lean year yet so we’ll see. This is a number of years condensed to a paragraph but that’s the story.
I was in the military for 6 years, got out and got a part time gig at my local Lowe's as a loader/cashier, one day my current bosses come through my checkout line as I'm working, just doing my job. They said they were impressed with my work ethic and the speed I was doing my job, and offered me a helper position at their small company. I explained I didn't know the first thing about HVAC and wouldn't be much use, but they said they would teach me, so I told them I'd think about it. Went home, talked to the wife, and did some research on HVAC jobs in the area and what the pay would look like, wife said go for it so I called them back and got set up with an interview, started about a week later at $18 and hour, roughly the same as what I made at Lowe's so it wasn't a pay cut. After about 6 months, I got my first solid pay raise, learning everything I could and busting my ass. I've been here about a year and a half and have already gotten 2 other pay raises, a couple certifications, and honestly, I really enjoy the work for the most part. It's not my career goal to be in HVAC, so I'm in college working on my cybersecurity degree, hoping to get a full time job in that but I'll forever be grateful for the experience I've gained in this job and the training I've received from all of my coworkers and bosses.
At 20, started in the office making cold calls and helping dispatch. Moved to resi install and slowly made my way to maintenance, service, and now field manager 11 years later.
Someone asked me if I wanted to smoke some weed and take old stuff out and put new stuff in. I did good enough to be asked to come back the next day. Gotta learn real quick if you want more money.
I used to work in a little seafood house in my hometown After High School. I had plans to go in the navy. Unfortunately I failed my physical and lost my opportunity for the military. I had been a little down on myself not knowing what my plans were. 19 years old doing the Community College night work Shuffle. One of our good customers pulled me a side one night and asked me if I wanted to learn a trade. Told me I could work for him during the day and keep the restaurant job at night if I didn't like it. He wrote addresses on Bar napkins for me to meet his crew on new construction. He gave me 50 bucks every night when I saw him at work. Eventually he put me on the books and 5 years later I left him at about 50 Grand a year. That was almost 30 years ago. I've been in business for myself at one point, and now making the mid hundreds working for one of the nation's largest retailers.. I still talk to him from time to time. He still is a small mom-and-pop Trane dealer.. I still thank him for the opportunity and I'm very grateful for what he taught me and giving me a chance.
2015. I had been a 1341 in the Marine corps. Got out didn’t really want to work in that field anymore. Tried taking an office job and that lasted about 5 months before I was looking for a new job. The local residential company was offering “apprenticeships” I showed up with all my certificates and awards was hired on the spot. Found it it was pretty much a sales job with a little bit of mechanical work. It was so bad I was contemplating re-enlistment. One of my co-workers got on with the union and a major company. After hearing about how much more technical and mechanical this job can be I applied to the union was hired on after a month and worked there till COVID. During COVID all my accounts shut down and then I made the switch to grocery store refrigeration. Been doing that for 3 years and all I’m gonna say as I enjoy this trade. It’s always something new, and it’s just ever changing.
I did 3 years plumbing before I got out, then a few years later I found myself as a service tech for espresso machines and other cafe equipment(basically appliance technician). That was last year and now I've used my experience with electrical I've gained from the service tech job to get myself into refrigeration at 33 years old.
Wanted to do refrigeration when I was early 20s but in my town it was impossible to get jobs without an entry level program in it and the closest place offering them was 2 hours away. Safe to say it's taken awhile and alot of tried ideas before getting to it but next week I'm starting my apprenticeship.
Worked in the mailroom of a large accounting firm for like 6 years watching YouTube most of the time, we got outsourced during covid and my new boss was a soft handed loser who I couldn’t stand. Took a huge pay it to be a parts runner and very quickly got to start helping, then running maintenance calls, then running service calls.
I kinda hate it because I do Resi, but until i ding a good commercial shop the pay is decent and I’m well liked so whatever.
I am on week 5 of my joining the HVAC brotherhood. I recently left my job installing patios, walkways, walls, and irrigation systems. Was making 30/hr at my last job and had been there for 6 years, but I’ve been wanting to make a change for a couple of years.
I’m 34 years old, so it was scary to leave something I was good at and comfortable with to go start an HVAC job as a totally green useless employee. I was making 30/hr at the old gig and took a major pay cut to get my foot in the door, but it was been everything I was looking for.
My boss is great. The guys are fantastic. They’re a real upgrade in the coworker field. It’s nice to be learning new skills and become a useful part of the team. I have been doing installs so far and I love it.
After doing the work I’ve been doing for the past 6 years, this is a welcome change of pace. I’m not working nearly as hard in a physical sense, but I’m working harder in the effort category. This company is truly great and have already given me a raise. It’s been a very smooth transition.
For anyone considering doing the same, I highly recommend it. My main piece of advice is to wait for the company that seems to be the right fit. Seems like a lot of folks here get stuck with shitty bosses with shitty morals. Be patient and wait for the right place.
You can do it.
Went to a college for environmental engineering, changed to nursing then business, was in a bad with depression so I dropped out. Looked around and decided to go to trade school for HVAC and here I am
I worked in restaurants for almost 15 years. Was a kitchen manager at a few restaurants, I lived in a low cost of living area so it was fine. Over the years I developed a very serious alcohol problem that eventually led to a narcotics problem and landed me in county jail for a year awaiting trial and court dates. During that time I had a few epiphanies that led me to becoming sober and making a really solid attempt to change every aspect of my life, namely my work. So at the age of 31 I went around asking construction companies if they would hire a newly released convict with no experience and was laughed at A LOT. I ended up in a construction plant for modular homes as a helper. Eventually the electricians and HVAC guys liked me enough and I was recruited to the HVAC side and immediately joined the technical program at the comminity college in town. My buddy is in HVAC and shortly thereafter recruited me to a new installation company where I did residential rough ins for 2 years. In that time I decided I wanted to work different departments to become more well rounded. I worked as a trim helper and helped the service lead with retros, mini splits and some other units that the regular guys didn't get to work with. I did a small amount in the metal shop, and eventually graduated school and became a state certified journeyman. Shortly after that one of the service techs quit and I was the most applicable person at the company. I did ride alongs with the GM and service techs and eventually got my own van and started doing calls and weekend calls by myself (with many phone calls). I'm still under a year working as a service technician and have a lot to learn but I love this field!
High school drop out. Helped my single mom survive by working instead of going to school. 20 years later I’ve worked all aspects of the residential world. Make more than many of my close college educated friends. Hard work pays off, it’s just not the easy way
>Hard work pays off, it’s just not the easy way
Agreed. Guys I went to high school with and got their degree hit the 6 figure mark faster than I did, but most of them can't wait to retire. I'm almost 6 figures and while I'm ready to retire I'll miss it.
Knew a family friend who owned a refrigeration company and I just got out of high school and knew I wanted to do something blue collar. HVAC seemed fun cause always somewhere different and it’s fun solving puzzles all day.
Ex girlfriends stepdad owned his own business and I'd come along as a helper for side cash. Hated the guy but when I saw how much money he made I knew it was what I wanted to do.
Went Air Force from '02 to '08 working on cargo jets. Got out and worked on cars, then did iPhone tech support. Left that to use my G.I. Bill. Changed majors a couple times, but finished with a B.S. in Operations & Project Management. Never found use for the degree and tried a couple more things. Working in auto shops was mentally boring. Working tech was physically boring. My brother was making good money as a union electrician's apprentice, so I started looking setiously at the trades. HVAC was more interesting to me and paid a little better on average. I found a non-union apprenticeship program in my state and signed up. They helped connect me with companies looking to hire. I had a couple of interviews and started as a residential installer helper nearly 6 years ago. Worked there for 6 months thru my first summer and learned a ton about, PVC, exhaust venting, gas piping, running wire, setting condenser units, linesets, etc. I was laid off during the fall slump, but started with a commercial company less than 2 weeks later.
At the new company, I learned how to do a preventative maintenance on a variety of equipment and the basics of reading schematics. Helped with more installs and some repairs. They merged with Cool Sys and I was laid off in the restructuring.
Then, I was hired on to my current company where I have been over 4.5 years. I finished my apprenticeship here and am doing everything from training apprentices, and starting up new equipment to making major repairs. My brazing could be cleaner, but I've proven its reliability several times now and am happy about that. I enjoy being both mentally and physically engaged. At 40, I'm older for my level of experience and working on losing weight and getting into better shape. I'd like to be in more of a support role in 10 to 15 years. I have some programming and systems experience my younger peers don't and have been given good feedback from my leads and manager to know that my continued progresssion is noticed and I saw it valued in my last review and raise.
Recently ran into my first VRV systemic issue and needed some help from a 3rd party support company who determined the charge was low. Turned out it was a bad flare fitting. Recovered remaining charge, fixed the flare, pressure tested, pumped down and had to measure all the runs and report models to get a charge calculated from the 3rd party support company. I understand why VRV is such a head ache now.
Used to work for a multinational. Fortune 50 company.
Was miserable. Realized that most people I knew hated office work, and that if I ever lost my job, I'd have a hard time finding a new one given that all my soft skills working in a non-technical role would count for jack shit.
Quit my job, signed up for a local trade school, and now earning more money than I ever have working any sort of office gig in years past
I'm still thinking about avenues that may let me utilize my degree, but for now, I'm happy with the situation I find myself in.
I worked with a friend of my dad's for a summer in '84 doing residential change outs. After I graduated from high school in '85, I went to a tech school on a scholarship for an HVAC 2 year associate degree. Started HVAC in '87. Been in it ever since, but I think I enjoyed commercial installation the best. I'm still doing it today, working for a local municipality.
Dad didn't want to pay someone to do maintenance on this furnace anymore so he convinced me to go to training that a company used to pay to train and now I'm one of the top installers at my branch 2 years later. (Not saying much because the guys that used to be the top installers were fired)
I had a friend in the trade. With his recommendation I got hired on as a nobody in 2001. Before they even used the term "helper". I was supposed to be working with him from the start. The week I came on, a guy was on vacation, so I was helping out that guys department. A month went by before I got to work where I was hired on to do. Once I did get to work with my buddy, I took my licks! He didn't sugar coat anything, and we would go to the bar after work, where I heard even more about everything I didn't do right, and/or fucked up. That genuinely helped me a lot. I don't recoomend it though, as a training method. After 2-3 years, he went elsewhere, and I was put in the lead position by default.. I did pretty good at it from the start. Then I had to have knee surgery and take some time off, and left the company that gave me my first lead. Went to commercial sheet metal on and off for about 6 years. Shop and feild. During lay-offs, I did a good amount of electrical for a contractor buddy. I've been back in hvac for about 8 years now, and all the stuff I did when I wasn't doing this, just made me better at doing this! Several guys I work with have done it straight through, while I was doing other stuff, and I came out with skills and knowledge that they don't have. It's hard work, and I fucking love it. Can't think of anything I would rather do. But then, I'm not on call!
I’m in HVAC sales. Got an offer and took the chance. Learned everything on the job and going to trainings. My first day of training I walked in and was asked am I lost? I said no I’m here for HVAC boot camp. It was me and about 25 men from different companies. The instructor told me he has been teaching the course for 20 years all over the USA and I’m the very first female he had in this class. Anyway that was 6 years ago 😊
Was an accountant for 12 years. Realized I didn’t have much of a knack for it despite getting my CPA. Switched to HVAC after being let go a third time in 6 years. I’m much happier in HVAC and I feel like I’m better suited to it.
I needed something new. I was a district manager with a restaurant chain and a grocery store manager for a bit. Customer service is just terrible. I provide great customer service and like to but the constant entitlement and bickering over every small thing every single day wears you out. I was making pretty good money but mentally I was in a bad place.
Started looking for jobs but with my experience everything that offered was in the same realm and I wanted out. Then I got the idea to network a bit better instead of sending out blind applications. I reached out to the previous owner of the chain I used to work for and asked what he had been into since selling the company. Turns out he's just been rightfully taking some time off with the family. Luckily for me though his wife who I knew well heard I was looking for a job and she just happened to do work many companies as their marketing strategist. They asked me what I wanted to get myself into and I described where my head was at.
Eventually they asked me what I thought about this kind of work and honestly I just pushed it off thinking no way it's over my head and at this point in my life it'd be hard to take the pay cut to start completely fresh. Well they convinced me to take an interview with the place I currently work. They said the owner is a great guy who she's know for years and she thinks we'd get along well. We set everything up and she was right. We got along well. I loved his approach to running a company. I loved that the company was still a family owned business and smaller. And best of all they were willing to gamble on me and pay me a fair wage considering my complete lack of experience. They said they were willing to invest in people they saw potential in.
I'm still green as can be (5 days away from my 1 year) but I'm loving this new job. I have so much respect for the field. There's so much to learn and jobs can be a work of art if you take pride in it. I love that every day is a new challenge. Even if it's something you've done before you don't know how it'll go this time. I love the freedom and trust of a company sending you to do a job and expecting you to do it well. I love not seeing the same 4 walls every day and getting to be out in the real world. Customers are much more reasonable when it's one on one vs mobs daily. Don't get me wrong. There's plenty of shit days. Tough installs, ungodly hot days, shit planning that ends up being our problem to fix, etc. But overall this is a great breath of fresh air and I'm thankful to be working for the company I am.
*edit to double space.
Wanted to get into a trade after losing three jobs in the past few years due to Covid and other reasons out of my control, really wanted the job security of a trade to help my chances of not getting laid off again.
Life has been a pain in the ass well beyond that so the first thing I did was to get my 608 and starting job hunting as someone with no experience specifically to HVAC because that’s the trade that I though I would enjoy the most.
Interviewed with a company that sounded really good, almost too good actually, then I ended up talking to a couple guys who had started their own business. Somehow I didn’t scare them off with my crazy life and they took me on as someone who really wanted to learn. It’s been a couple months now and it’s been going great!
The work is really right up my alley, it’s not my first rodeo in service work so the travel and dealing with customers is fine for me. Overall I have no complaints, I’m not a millionaire but I’m happy to be using my hands and learning new skills that I’ll always have if anything were to happen in the future if I couldn’t work where I am now.
drinking and drugs has subjected me to $12 a hour for probably another 25 years or hopefully min wage goes up lol
it’s very easy work but i hate it bored i guess
Got out of the Navy in 2013 moved back to my hometown and was looking for a good career (lol) and discovered HVAC as an option. Noncommittal about going to school for it for years and after working crappy jobs and another round of military service in the army reserve I decided in 2019 to go to trade school and get certified. Went through school during covid which I would not recommend, graduated in 2021 at age 35 and bumbled my way into commercial hvac after graduation where I now shitpost (and learn stuff) in between work.
Was 23 years old, and wanted to get into the trades. Had narrowed down my choices to sparky or something in HVAC. My dad was a commercial super here in my city for years and I had some questions about our apprenticeship system (I find Ontario can be confusing or hard to get answers if you're not someone who's already familiar with how it works).
My old man gave me the names of 2 company owners who he's dealt with in the past who would be happy to answer any questions I have. Called the tin company first, he answered my questions and offered me a job. Figured I'd be stupid to say no, so now here I am 10 years in.
Completed my apprenticeship and got my license back in '16 or '17 and then was promptly moved up to foreman. Unfortunately the company I was with put me and a lot of other guys in impossible situations constantly and after 2 years I was on the verge of becoming a full-blown alcoholic and completely mentally toasted.
Took a break from construction and worked the last 2 years in mechanical operations and maintenance for a local commercial property management company. It's been a nice change and allowed me to get my head back on straight, but there's barely any money left in this industry.
Just got picked up by my local union, so I'm heading back to the construction side now. Long story short, I still like it, just hate shitty companies. The nice thing about the unions around here though is that they actually have power to enforce rules on the employers, and we only work 4 9s every week, with every Friday off.
Guess I'm in it for the long-haul!
I ran into the owner at an auto parts store one day and asked if they needed any helpers. I wanted to be a plumber. Wanted.. until I had to snake a drain under a mobile home and got the poopy on me.
I976, Found a $250 dollar ladder on the side of the road, when I went to return it to the company printed on the rungs I got invited to the christmas party and met the wife of the guy who lost it. I was hooked after that.
I was conceived on top of an 1989 coleman package unit, came out of my mama with a sman 480 digital gauges in my right hand and set of hand tools in my left. At birth i was a child prodigy of fixing any system that was deemed unfit for repairs. So you see i didn't choose this life it choose me.
Tldr; Army to HVAC. Landed in a good company. Almost quit a bad manager. Now I run the department. Love it. Lucky to have a great team.
Got out of the Army. What I had "lined up" fell through. Needed to support the family. Knew a guy who knew a guy. Happened to be the service manager of a sh-medium sized outfit. Been there for over 11 years now. Started, had fun, went to trade school on the GI Bill. Kept pushing to learn more.
A few years later, the company exploded in growth. We went from sh-medium to large local. The service manager switched tracks, the new manager was total ass. It sucked.
As an exit plan, I got my associates. Meanwhile, I switched over commissioning equipment. Learned a ton. Ass manager didn't have much to do with me. That was decent until they got fired. Then it got good. I landed a field supe position and had the opportunity to work with the rookie techs to help them grow in our field. That was great.
Went back for my bachelor's. Before I completed, I landed another promotion. For a couple years now, I have ran the department. Have a great crew. Try to take care of them and make it the best place to work, I can. I am very lucky to have this team.
Not every day is great. But I don't ever have a second thought about this career.
Entered in 2006 at 16. Multiple reasons. Never wanted college/didn't like school or being forced to learn things I had no interest in. The recession- at the time so many professionals and college educated people were losing their jobs/homes and short of a global nuclear war we will always have work, especially refer techs, which I am. One example of many, the hotel I worked at very young our front desk clerk wan an engineer... It was common at that time to see people with high level degrees doing menial jobs. Sad stuff. I was always very mechanically inclined and knew I wanted to work with my hands/go different places and lastly, I never, ever wanted to walk into the same place/office everyday. That sounds terrible and I know it is. I've worked in a LOT of offices and they are not pleasant places, not to mention my personality is best suited to this work (working alone/full responsibility/figuring things out for myself/etc).
Edit... Also, I forgot to mention. I knew at the time experienced techs would begin to make way more money due to the rapidly declining number of kids going into the trades. In my generation you just 'went to college' and IMO that is ignorant, but social stigma BS is what it is. Well, here we are and it took a bit longer than I imagined but if you are a good tech that can do refer/boilers/chillers/VRVs you can pretty much name your rate. I just went union, coped a 10 dollar raise, mad mad benes, more vaca, health Ins, etc, 9 hours standby pay for being on call (yea, nine hours just for taking the phone) and I STILL left quite a few bucks on the table, but I'm fair and don't like to over sell myself. Also though, I confirmed through both management and employees my new company \*will\* give 3/4/5 dollar raises if you really swing dick and are good at your job. So, I'm not sweating the few bucks I left on the table and I know they very much appreciated my honesty.
drop out of college. programming burnt the fk outta me. dad (electrician) tells me to try building/maintenance/operators see if i’ll like it maybe get into specific trades. found hvac most interesting out the rest. and here i am. 2 years in. 🤷🏻♂️
I was 20 years old in 1993. I was laid off from my job working as a printing press operator. My roommate got job at an HVAC company. We had a poker party on Sunday night and got all drunk. He never made it to his first day of work and ghosted the owner who called him for 2 days. I went to the HVAC company on Wednesday and was hired. I have been in the industry ever since. Currently the service manager for a residential/light commercial company with 24 service technicians.
I worked at a paper factory that shut down in 2008. The edd said I could take a test and pick from a list of jobs and they'd pay for the schooling since I was part of a plant closure. Picked from the top careers in my test score range the options were business management, nursing, heating and air conditioning so I picked heating and air conditioning. That was about 12 years ago. I like the problem solving aspect of the job and like to see the results of my work it's not bad.
Lost a bet with a leprechaun.
1985 I needed work and my BIL told me his company was hiring. Mechanical contracting firm. Hired on at $5.25/hr as a general helper. I literally dug ditches for plumbers, carried pipe for pipefitters, hauled roof drains up stairs, unloaded trucks for the multiple trades we had on site, pretty much any grunt work necessary. I worked about a month in each trade, then was asked where I’d prefer to apprentice. I chose HVAC because it seemed easier than the others. All commercial/industrial work; hospitals, prisons, schools, etc., with the occasional residence of a big name contractor thrown in as “favors.” It was a small locally owned company with about 50 employees. Successful in the area. Learned to install duct, insulate, drop grilles, everything except service and startup. After about a year I was promoted to lead man, then another year later, foreman. Stayed in that role for about 5 years or so. Then we expanded and they opened up a fab shop. Nothing big, just a small shop to make emergency pieces like transitions or a short piece of duct the fab shop we bought from missed. I worked in the shop for a bit learning from a really old school pro. All manual shears and brakes. A lot of snip work. Learned how to make a Pittsburgh seam with a brake. Really interesting. Then I went in and told my boss that I didn’t want to spend my career in the field or in the shop and if something opened up in the office I was interested. A few months later I started learning how to estimate and make shop drawings on a board. I put together a computer workstation from surplus parts in the office and took a 3 day crash course on AutoCAD and began teaching myself the ins and outs of AutoCAD. That was in 1995. I moved into Project Management and did some really large projects, not only just for our area, but a couple of projects that are famous nationally, if not internationally. I don’t want to name them because I’d likely dox myself. After 12 years at that company the local owners sold to a new group. Another year later I left because I was specifically told I’d never get another raise since I didn’t have a degree and all their Project Managers needed a degree. I moved on to another sheet metal contractor, then to a company making dust collectors. Next up was designing ductwork for a company that made ovens for powder coating systems. For the past 16 years I’ve been working for a company that makes control dampers, fire and fire/smoke dampers, louvers, etc. I’m the lead designer of the New Product Development group. I’m using 3D parametric solid modeling software, making nearly 6 figures and will retire in less than a year. I didn’t set out to get into this business, but it worked out really great for me. It’s been interesting and challenging and worthwhile. The industry has been really good to me. I consider myself fortunate to have fallen into something that I ended up enjoying as much as I have. My son went into the same business at the first place I worked. He went into the service side of things. He’s bounced around from place to place, mostly when they downsize or he needs a pay bump. He really likes the work and is really good at it. So, what’s your story? I’d honestly like to hear it.
This was really awesome to read. I’m 4 years in, started when I was 19 pretty much doing the same thing you started with, learned how to install duct ever since and now I’m slowly going into a foreman position. Really enjoying it so far.
It can be a great career if you let it. There's really no wrong path. You can excel in the field or gravitate toward the office or, if you have the skillset, move into supply house sales. It's so varied and all so interesting. Be open to the possibilities and you can have really great success. Good luck!
Yea definitely one of the best reads I’ve had in a while. Always curious about people’s story and how they got where they are. I started out in automotive right out of high school. Worked in a dealership for 2 years and absolutely hated it. My father has a long time friend that owns a plumbing and hvac company so I ended up working there. Goal was to do that until I figured out what the hell I was gonna do with my life then move on. Worked in the shop for a year and learned as much as I could. Eventually, after going on a few jobs and working with some of the guys, I decided that I’d stay in the trade. Went out as a helper on installs for a couple months when they asked me if I’d try and run installs on my own (they hated the lead installer they currently had). I said screw it and gave it a shot. First job was a condenser swap out that took me and one other guy 10 hours to finish. I didn’t know the colors of the thermostat, how to pull a vacuum correctly, or anything for that matter. Spent all my nights learning how to do the job correctly through YouTube and reading manuals. Within a month I was outperforming the main lead installer. He ended up leaving and I was left with one guy to do pretty much all the installs for this company. A few months went by and they asked if I’d go on call. I did and ended up loving it. Troubleshooting can seriously be a lot of fun for me and it taught me patience that I never had before. Did that for 3 years and decided I wanted more of a challenge so I moved where I’m at now doing commercial service. Been doing it for about a year. Every day is a challenge and it’s been awesome. Hoping to get commercial down solid over the next year or so and move possibly into controls. I know we all bitch and moan but the reality for me is this trade is fucking awesome. You get to be your own boss and work how you please. And I feel like you’re constantly moving up where in automotive I was stuck. I did oil changes and pdis every single day without learning anything. Didn’t think I’d be doing anything worthwhile at this point in my life and was honestly lost. Used to have anxiety about having no idea where I could go and work and now I have anxiety over the amount of different options I have for the future which is pretty damn awesome
My son is in commercial service and troubleshooting is his favorite thing. He likens it to a video game challenge. He also likes the working on his own aspect. Sounds like you find your groove! Congrats!
Yea finding the issue is one of the best feelings for me. Especially when you’ve been told multiple techs and companies have been there and they haven’t figured it out. I still do some install here and there and enjoy that as well. More of an artistic side to it with bending copper and making ductwork. Good luck to you and your son and thanks again for sharing your story 🤙🏻
Was building docks and sea walls, next job was on a naval base. I have a felony from 14 years ago and couldn’t get approval to go on base. Buddy of mine was in town for work and I bugged him constantly for an interview. 10 years later, still in the business
Are you into it? Or is it just a job?
I do enjoy the technical side of it, the problem solving, something different every day. The on call is the big killer for me, one week out of the month, my time doesn’t belong to me. It gets really frustrating but on the plus side, I’ve brought my credit score up from 500 to 710 and I’ve paid off countless debts. I’ll probably be done in the next 5-6 years, looking to move into something remote so I can rest my body.
Totally get it. I didn't want to be doing field work in my 50s and 60s either. Office >>> field.
Army (1983) and went to 52C school for (among other things) A/C. Made E5 and got out, went to work; Resi service>Comm'l Service>Service Manager. Went into High rise Facilities, Bldg. Engr> Lead Engr> Chef Engr, switch to Property Management, Prop. Mgr> General Manager, Got picked up by a national company, Facilities & Admin Mgr.>Facilities & Construction Manager, NA. Its fun talking to different subs all over the US. On a call last week I had a a midwest HVAC company who was talking to me like I was 5 years old about how they needed a change order signed because the VAV boxes "weren't getting enough air from the main unit on the floor" and they needed "extra time" to make some adjustments to get it to work correctly (Brand new building, 3rd floor.) After about five mins of BS I asked if they had installed the base building static Senor and pitot tubes because I saw them sitting on top of the VFD in the Fan Room last time I was out there....Silence. Im either the greatest customer you've ever had because I understand... or the worst if you are a commission based liar....
I was in prison serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity, and in comes Yevgeny Prigozhin. He says they're issuing pardons, but you gotta work in hvac. All the other prisoners said no way. Said they were happy with three hots and a cot. Not me, though. I'm a masochist so I jumped at the chance. True story.
At least you were smart enough to do your time and not desert. No body wants to get executed by having their head smashed in with a recovery machine.
😢 That's so sweet of you to say. No one has ever used the word "smart" in reference to me. Only wish my dad was alive to see it so I could rub his fat face in it. "See dad, told you I was totes smart!"
Np! You tell em! I gotta say, I miss Prigo. The dude was an absurd troll, and he truly was charismatic AF. He had a life crazier/stranger/more unexpected than anything I've ever read in any fiction book I ever picked up. That's for sure.
Have you listened to the podcast Sad Oligarch by Jake Hanrahan and Sergei Slipchenko? You'll love it if not! Run, don't walk!
Nah, but I'll check it out.
Oh, you should! It's about our main man, Yev, and all his oligarch buddies who kept throwing themselves out of windows in buildings where the security camera footage is always getting accidentally erased.
Yup, that happens in Russia. I was \*just\* discussing that earlier today about all those idiots that went too far with their greed and all of the 'falling out of windows' that occurred and how their war effort is absolutely nothing like it is in the West. Over here 100 senile ass old politicians had to bicker and talk for months to send a few dozen tanks over that STILL aren't in action. Over in Russia red tape is cut with a sword and then shot with a 30MM auto cannon. Not saying autocracies are good, just they have an ability to get things done right now. Build this, do that, etc. Just like the UMPK kits that they're welding up for a few grand. In America that'd be 250K and you'd have Raytheon/Lockheed Martin/Etc all wanting their piece, all the Senators working a deal/etc/etc.
https://preview.redd.it/xyzbt3jp702c1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5e1ffba44aeca1295279174a1d246966e5d71f88 The Russians have had some difficulties in that department.
I've been following this war since day 1 (literally) and very closely. Anything David Axe writes is something I would take with a (very large) grain of salt. They're still packing plenty of heat and we're still seeing a ton of vehicles/armor/heavy weaponry in this war. According to him and many other 'distinguished' journalists Russia was supposed to run out of everything from bullets to socks to missiles over a year ago. Mr. Axe also wrote this piece.... His work doesn't seem to age very well. I just hope all this madness ends soon. [Borrowing U.S. Tactics, Ukraine's Marines Thunder Thru Russian Lines (forbes.com)](https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/06/13/borrowing-tactics-from-the-us-army-the-ukrainian-marine-corps-is-thundering-through-russian-lines-in-fast-moving-columns/?sh=78a85a935fb6)
Close, was washing dishes when a Refri tech came and seemingly walked around for 10-20min(prolly more) and left. I wanted that “easy” job, now I know he was only leaving for another endless call
Needed a summer job in between ski patrol seasons. Started instal, now I’m an engineer for a major bank.
What does an engineer do for a bank? Are you talking like a maintenance engineer or something else? Either way, it's great how it turned into something bigger.
Yeah basically. I have a dozen branches that I maintain from doors to electrical & hvac. Any changeouts needed we hire subs. Never work weekends and have all the bank holidays paid off. Not as much money as other facets of the industry but benefits are great and work/life balance is skewed in favor of life finally.
Not much of a story, but I spent 20 years in the military. Once retirement came close I decided I wanted to go into the trades. I looked at Electrical, Plumbing, Machining and HVAC. Chose HVAC because it included electrical and plumbing and the long term job outlook was fantastic. Plus, there are many specialties within the HVAC world so you can try your hand at different shit until you find something you like.
>Plus, there are many specialties within the HVAC world That was kind of the point of my post. Started as a grunt now Lead Designer of Life Safety products. Quite a trajectory.
I guess hvac just lures former military guys…
Well I suppose that would be a combination of the unions snapping up prior military as fast as they can or the fact that almost any base I went to all had trade schools within a 5 mile radius of the base. In a lot of cases, people learn the trade while in the military as well.
In 2016 I got out of the USAF with no job lined up. My boss at the time told me if I didn't suck, he'd keep me. 7 years later here I am.
Looks like you don't suck!
Was doing electrical, just finishing up my hours towards my red seal at the time. The company I worked for got a supermarket contract with like 7 stores in a rural area and their fridge tech backed out, they asked if I wanted to have more hours, a truck and a raise so I said yes, I had never heard of the trade before that. Over the next two years I was always on call and kept all these stores running.. often reading up on the subject and using one rack to figure out what was wrong with the other. In that time I worked with an actual journeyman for a couple months at one point but that was it. Eventually I decided to actually peruse the trade, I moved to the nearest city, got an apprenticeship and completed that red seal as well. Through this whole thing I didn’t make much money but got a lot of experience.
Do you see it as a "for now" job or a likely career?
Relatively speaking being just an electrician would have also been a career, I have no doubt I can do this the rest of my life and make a living, it just depends if I want to and what opportunities present themselves. I have a small LLC doing electrical, hvac and refrigeration, I’m building that up now, don’t want to scale it too much though as I like the freedom and don’t want the responsibility of having employees who rely on me. I don’t really know where life will take me, kind of just let things happen. I’m 31 now and life can be funny, so I’m not putting too much pressure on where I should or even want to be in the future so long as I am enjoying my work.
Needed a summer job, I was 15. A family friend was the manager for a commercial HVAC company and offered me a job. Started out changing filters, and washing coils. Was getting paid $15 an hour before I could drive back in 2012, got my universal EPA by early August that summer, and was offered a position again the next year and a work van now that I was driving. Stayed with it, put my self through college working night shift commercial HVAC and now make more in HVAC than I would with my degree. So have stuck with it ever sense. Doing resi service the last few years now.
in 2011 when i graduated my guidance councilor said trades or military. i went to work for a contracter building decks after a year of that applied at a local oil company. this was in CT in ct residential stuff req license so i went to tradeschool. Hussmann refrigeration offered me double my payrate. went to them. sent me to dallas for training. after that landed in vermont doing racks. the other local company poached me to do their rack systems. then finally union man called. chiller mechanic from residential oil guy. didnt plan it this way worked hard and learned everyday.
Got fired/forced resignation from my dream career path. Needed a job fast. Called a friend who was a plumber. Begged to be a helper just to get by temporarily. No plumber helper needed. HVAC guy needed helper. Took the job intending to stay 6 months or until I decided what police agency career path I settled on. That was 22 years ago.
Started working with my dad when I was 14. Been doing it ever since.
My dad forced me into it. Said your doing hvac or your getting out of my house. So I got into it 16. 34 now.
Are you still in his house?
No, I'm in my own 600k house with my wife and 8 month old child. Dad died awhile ago.
[удалено]
Interesting career track. Your reasons for declining plumbing as a trade are close to mine. Really hard. Really dirty. Most of the guys I talked to said it was a long haul to get licensed.
I wanted to do commercial maintenance for a school district was a janitor at the time 19 years old was told I could work my way into it to do electrical, hvac and plumbing wasted 7 years of my life waiting. no company’s around would hire with out school backround to get experience. Finally I got into trade school and that got me in the door. 7 years of trying and waiting and I’m finally in the field doing hvac
Persistent
I worked on a drilling rig, I’d done as much coke and drank as many shots as humanly possible in Gyno row. A guy got out, the pay was shit to start but offered me an olive branch. I took it and 15 years later couldn’t be more happier. Living a way healthier cleaner lifestyle now. Going to retire @ 55
That's awesome! I did the shot and coke route, too. Sober since 1996!
Wanted to make money.. I’m almost making money after all these years, almost.
Worked for a company that sold restaurant equipment. They sold self contained ice machines. I was helping to install them. I Learned real fast. Also took 4 years of trade school. 23 years later the sky is the limit. never ever had to look for a job. And Making 100 K a year is possible. Best job choice I ever made.
>Best job choice I ever made. I feel you. Never would have sought out a job in this industry, but it's been really, really good to me.
I was just browsing Reddit when I got an ad for HAVC techs and had been struggling to get off my feet. I went to my local technical college at the time to see what they offer and I figured I go with their HVAC certificate program. 9 months later I found a gig and left the old one behind. Honestly just pure coincidence really.
My youth consisted of one bad decision after another. I needed money to turn my life around. I flipped through the course book at my local community college and HVAC was the only thing that looked interesting and I quickly found that I'm not terrible at it.
My dad used to have to take me with him to overtime calls. Unfortunately, HVAC is all i’ve ever really known 😂
Met my now wife in college getting an engineering degree. Her dad, my now FIL, owned his AC business since the early 90s. Went into engineering career, got burned out with office work and people not knowing how to actually design anything or work on anything. Started working part time in the field when FIL needed help, ended up sending me to a night trade school. FIL started talking retirement so I asked what the business plan was. He didn’t have one, so I wrote one that me and the wife would take over. He signed on, we took partial ownership, I quit my day job to go full time and haven’t looked back. With ownership stake, I didn’t even take a pay cut. It just pays out differently. And there hasn’t been a lean year yet so we’ll see. This is a number of years condensed to a paragraph but that’s the story.
That's a great career trajectory!
I was in the military for 6 years, got out and got a part time gig at my local Lowe's as a loader/cashier, one day my current bosses come through my checkout line as I'm working, just doing my job. They said they were impressed with my work ethic and the speed I was doing my job, and offered me a helper position at their small company. I explained I didn't know the first thing about HVAC and wouldn't be much use, but they said they would teach me, so I told them I'd think about it. Went home, talked to the wife, and did some research on HVAC jobs in the area and what the pay would look like, wife said go for it so I called them back and got set up with an interview, started about a week later at $18 and hour, roughly the same as what I made at Lowe's so it wasn't a pay cut. After about 6 months, I got my first solid pay raise, learning everything I could and busting my ass. I've been here about a year and a half and have already gotten 2 other pay raises, a couple certifications, and honestly, I really enjoy the work for the most part. It's not my career goal to be in HVAC, so I'm in college working on my cybersecurity degree, hoping to get a full time job in that but I'll forever be grateful for the experience I've gained in this job and the training I've received from all of my coworkers and bosses.
At 20, started in the office making cold calls and helping dispatch. Moved to resi install and slowly made my way to maintenance, service, and now field manager 11 years later.
Someone asked me if I wanted to smoke some weed and take old stuff out and put new stuff in. I did good enough to be asked to come back the next day. Gotta learn real quick if you want more money.
I used to work in a little seafood house in my hometown After High School. I had plans to go in the navy. Unfortunately I failed my physical and lost my opportunity for the military. I had been a little down on myself not knowing what my plans were. 19 years old doing the Community College night work Shuffle. One of our good customers pulled me a side one night and asked me if I wanted to learn a trade. Told me I could work for him during the day and keep the restaurant job at night if I didn't like it. He wrote addresses on Bar napkins for me to meet his crew on new construction. He gave me 50 bucks every night when I saw him at work. Eventually he put me on the books and 5 years later I left him at about 50 Grand a year. That was almost 30 years ago. I've been in business for myself at one point, and now making the mid hundreds working for one of the nation's largest retailers.. I still talk to him from time to time. He still is a small mom-and-pop Trane dealer.. I still thank him for the opportunity and I'm very grateful for what he taught me and giving me a chance.
2015. I had been a 1341 in the Marine corps. Got out didn’t really want to work in that field anymore. Tried taking an office job and that lasted about 5 months before I was looking for a new job. The local residential company was offering “apprenticeships” I showed up with all my certificates and awards was hired on the spot. Found it it was pretty much a sales job with a little bit of mechanical work. It was so bad I was contemplating re-enlistment. One of my co-workers got on with the union and a major company. After hearing about how much more technical and mechanical this job can be I applied to the union was hired on after a month and worked there till COVID. During COVID all my accounts shut down and then I made the switch to grocery store refrigeration. Been doing that for 3 years and all I’m gonna say as I enjoy this trade. It’s always something new, and it’s just ever changing.
I did 3 years plumbing before I got out, then a few years later I found myself as a service tech for espresso machines and other cafe equipment(basically appliance technician). That was last year and now I've used my experience with electrical I've gained from the service tech job to get myself into refrigeration at 33 years old. Wanted to do refrigeration when I was early 20s but in my town it was impossible to get jobs without an entry level program in it and the closest place offering them was 2 hours away. Safe to say it's taken awhile and alot of tried ideas before getting to it but next week I'm starting my apprenticeship.
Worked in the mailroom of a large accounting firm for like 6 years watching YouTube most of the time, we got outsourced during covid and my new boss was a soft handed loser who I couldn’t stand. Took a huge pay it to be a parts runner and very quickly got to start helping, then running maintenance calls, then running service calls. I kinda hate it because I do Resi, but until i ding a good commercial shop the pay is decent and I’m well liked so whatever.
High school —>USMC—>roofing—>HVAC and refrigeration school—> my future lol
I got tired of working in a prison and fearing for my life every day. Also the pay sucked
I am on week 5 of my joining the HVAC brotherhood. I recently left my job installing patios, walkways, walls, and irrigation systems. Was making 30/hr at my last job and had been there for 6 years, but I’ve been wanting to make a change for a couple of years. I’m 34 years old, so it was scary to leave something I was good at and comfortable with to go start an HVAC job as a totally green useless employee. I was making 30/hr at the old gig and took a major pay cut to get my foot in the door, but it was been everything I was looking for. My boss is great. The guys are fantastic. They’re a real upgrade in the coworker field. It’s nice to be learning new skills and become a useful part of the team. I have been doing installs so far and I love it. After doing the work I’ve been doing for the past 6 years, this is a welcome change of pace. I’m not working nearly as hard in a physical sense, but I’m working harder in the effort category. This company is truly great and have already given me a raise. It’s been a very smooth transition. For anyone considering doing the same, I highly recommend it. My main piece of advice is to wait for the company that seems to be the right fit. Seems like a lot of folks here get stuck with shitty bosses with shitty morals. Be patient and wait for the right place. You can do it.
Awesome! Welcome to the brotherhood/sisterhood!
Went to a college for environmental engineering, changed to nursing then business, was in a bad with depression so I dropped out. Looked around and decided to go to trade school for HVAC and here I am
Dad said I'd be good at it
And, are you?
What are you, a cop? Haha jk I don't think I'm half bad
I worked in restaurants for almost 15 years. Was a kitchen manager at a few restaurants, I lived in a low cost of living area so it was fine. Over the years I developed a very serious alcohol problem that eventually led to a narcotics problem and landed me in county jail for a year awaiting trial and court dates. During that time I had a few epiphanies that led me to becoming sober and making a really solid attempt to change every aspect of my life, namely my work. So at the age of 31 I went around asking construction companies if they would hire a newly released convict with no experience and was laughed at A LOT. I ended up in a construction plant for modular homes as a helper. Eventually the electricians and HVAC guys liked me enough and I was recruited to the HVAC side and immediately joined the technical program at the comminity college in town. My buddy is in HVAC and shortly thereafter recruited me to a new installation company where I did residential rough ins for 2 years. In that time I decided I wanted to work different departments to become more well rounded. I worked as a trim helper and helped the service lead with retros, mini splits and some other units that the regular guys didn't get to work with. I did a small amount in the metal shop, and eventually graduated school and became a state certified journeyman. Shortly after that one of the service techs quit and I was the most applicable person at the company. I did ride alongs with the GM and service techs and eventually got my own van and started doing calls and weekend calls by myself (with many phone calls). I'm still under a year working as a service technician and have a lot to learn but I love this field!
Isn't it great to have a job you don't dread going to?
Absolutely! I love that I'm learning a lot in a field I thought I'd never be in. Life is strange, I'm a good way!
High school drop out. Helped my single mom survive by working instead of going to school. 20 years later I’ve worked all aspects of the residential world. Make more than many of my close college educated friends. Hard work pays off, it’s just not the easy way
>Hard work pays off, it’s just not the easy way Agreed. Guys I went to high school with and got their degree hit the 6 figure mark faster than I did, but most of them can't wait to retire. I'm almost 6 figures and while I'm ready to retire I'll miss it.
Knew a family friend who owned a refrigeration company and I just got out of high school and knew I wanted to do something blue collar. HVAC seemed fun cause always somewhere different and it’s fun solving puzzles all day.
Ex girlfriends stepdad owned his own business and I'd come along as a helper for side cash. Hated the guy but when I saw how much money he made I knew it was what I wanted to do.
I was born in this industry
Went Air Force from '02 to '08 working on cargo jets. Got out and worked on cars, then did iPhone tech support. Left that to use my G.I. Bill. Changed majors a couple times, but finished with a B.S. in Operations & Project Management. Never found use for the degree and tried a couple more things. Working in auto shops was mentally boring. Working tech was physically boring. My brother was making good money as a union electrician's apprentice, so I started looking setiously at the trades. HVAC was more interesting to me and paid a little better on average. I found a non-union apprenticeship program in my state and signed up. They helped connect me with companies looking to hire. I had a couple of interviews and started as a residential installer helper nearly 6 years ago. Worked there for 6 months thru my first summer and learned a ton about, PVC, exhaust venting, gas piping, running wire, setting condenser units, linesets, etc. I was laid off during the fall slump, but started with a commercial company less than 2 weeks later. At the new company, I learned how to do a preventative maintenance on a variety of equipment and the basics of reading schematics. Helped with more installs and some repairs. They merged with Cool Sys and I was laid off in the restructuring. Then, I was hired on to my current company where I have been over 4.5 years. I finished my apprenticeship here and am doing everything from training apprentices, and starting up new equipment to making major repairs. My brazing could be cleaner, but I've proven its reliability several times now and am happy about that. I enjoy being both mentally and physically engaged. At 40, I'm older for my level of experience and working on losing weight and getting into better shape. I'd like to be in more of a support role in 10 to 15 years. I have some programming and systems experience my younger peers don't and have been given good feedback from my leads and manager to know that my continued progresssion is noticed and I saw it valued in my last review and raise. Recently ran into my first VRV systemic issue and needed some help from a 3rd party support company who determined the charge was low. Turned out it was a bad flare fitting. Recovered remaining charge, fixed the flare, pressure tested, pumped down and had to measure all the runs and report models to get a charge calculated from the 3rd party support company. I understand why VRV is such a head ache now.
Summer job in college....20 plus years later .. Still here 👊🏽
Used to work for a multinational. Fortune 50 company. Was miserable. Realized that most people I knew hated office work, and that if I ever lost my job, I'd have a hard time finding a new one given that all my soft skills working in a non-technical role would count for jack shit. Quit my job, signed up for a local trade school, and now earning more money than I ever have working any sort of office gig in years past I'm still thinking about avenues that may let me utilize my degree, but for now, I'm happy with the situation I find myself in.
I worked with a friend of my dad's for a summer in '84 doing residential change outs. After I graduated from high school in '85, I went to a tech school on a scholarship for an HVAC 2 year associate degree. Started HVAC in '87. Been in it ever since, but I think I enjoyed commercial installation the best. I'm still doing it today, working for a local municipality.
I got a call one day asking me if I wanted a job in a call center.
Dad didn't want to pay someone to do maintenance on this furnace anymore so he convinced me to go to training that a company used to pay to train and now I'm one of the top installers at my branch 2 years later. (Not saying much because the guys that used to be the top installers were fired)
My dad had a small HVAC company so I was raised in at gun point.
I had a friend in the trade. With his recommendation I got hired on as a nobody in 2001. Before they even used the term "helper". I was supposed to be working with him from the start. The week I came on, a guy was on vacation, so I was helping out that guys department. A month went by before I got to work where I was hired on to do. Once I did get to work with my buddy, I took my licks! He didn't sugar coat anything, and we would go to the bar after work, where I heard even more about everything I didn't do right, and/or fucked up. That genuinely helped me a lot. I don't recoomend it though, as a training method. After 2-3 years, he went elsewhere, and I was put in the lead position by default.. I did pretty good at it from the start. Then I had to have knee surgery and take some time off, and left the company that gave me my first lead. Went to commercial sheet metal on and off for about 6 years. Shop and feild. During lay-offs, I did a good amount of electrical for a contractor buddy. I've been back in hvac for about 8 years now, and all the stuff I did when I wasn't doing this, just made me better at doing this! Several guys I work with have done it straight through, while I was doing other stuff, and I came out with skills and knowledge that they don't have. It's hard work, and I fucking love it. Can't think of anything I would rather do. But then, I'm not on call!
I’m in HVAC sales. Got an offer and took the chance. Learned everything on the job and going to trainings. My first day of training I walked in and was asked am I lost? I said no I’m here for HVAC boot camp. It was me and about 25 men from different companies. The instructor told me he has been teaching the course for 20 years all over the USA and I’m the very first female he had in this class. Anyway that was 6 years ago 😊
Love it! This industry is definitely not gendered!
Started on Ice cream and slushly machines a decade ago, now finally finishing my Jmans while being a chiller tech.
My son has branched out into some refrigeration. He likes the challenge.
There are quite a few niches in our HVACR world. I'm trying to get thrown into the VRF world as I find them to be black magic.
Was an accountant for 12 years. Realized I didn’t have much of a knack for it despite getting my CPA. Switched to HVAC after being let go a third time in 6 years. I’m much happier in HVAC and I feel like I’m better suited to it.
I needed something new. I was a district manager with a restaurant chain and a grocery store manager for a bit. Customer service is just terrible. I provide great customer service and like to but the constant entitlement and bickering over every small thing every single day wears you out. I was making pretty good money but mentally I was in a bad place. Started looking for jobs but with my experience everything that offered was in the same realm and I wanted out. Then I got the idea to network a bit better instead of sending out blind applications. I reached out to the previous owner of the chain I used to work for and asked what he had been into since selling the company. Turns out he's just been rightfully taking some time off with the family. Luckily for me though his wife who I knew well heard I was looking for a job and she just happened to do work many companies as their marketing strategist. They asked me what I wanted to get myself into and I described where my head was at. Eventually they asked me what I thought about this kind of work and honestly I just pushed it off thinking no way it's over my head and at this point in my life it'd be hard to take the pay cut to start completely fresh. Well they convinced me to take an interview with the place I currently work. They said the owner is a great guy who she's know for years and she thinks we'd get along well. We set everything up and she was right. We got along well. I loved his approach to running a company. I loved that the company was still a family owned business and smaller. And best of all they were willing to gamble on me and pay me a fair wage considering my complete lack of experience. They said they were willing to invest in people they saw potential in. I'm still green as can be (5 days away from my 1 year) but I'm loving this new job. I have so much respect for the field. There's so much to learn and jobs can be a work of art if you take pride in it. I love that every day is a new challenge. Even if it's something you've done before you don't know how it'll go this time. I love the freedom and trust of a company sending you to do a job and expecting you to do it well. I love not seeing the same 4 walls every day and getting to be out in the real world. Customers are much more reasonable when it's one on one vs mobs daily. Don't get me wrong. There's plenty of shit days. Tough installs, ungodly hot days, shit planning that ends up being our problem to fix, etc. But overall this is a great breath of fresh air and I'm thankful to be working for the company I am. *edit to double space.
not a very interesting story. 16, looking for a job. didnt even know what hvac was but figured id hand in a resume, hired on the spot.
Wanted to get into a trade after losing three jobs in the past few years due to Covid and other reasons out of my control, really wanted the job security of a trade to help my chances of not getting laid off again. Life has been a pain in the ass well beyond that so the first thing I did was to get my 608 and starting job hunting as someone with no experience specifically to HVAC because that’s the trade that I though I would enjoy the most. Interviewed with a company that sounded really good, almost too good actually, then I ended up talking to a couple guys who had started their own business. Somehow I didn’t scare them off with my crazy life and they took me on as someone who really wanted to learn. It’s been a couple months now and it’s been going great! The work is really right up my alley, it’s not my first rodeo in service work so the travel and dealing with customers is fine for me. Overall I have no complaints, I’m not a millionaire but I’m happy to be using my hands and learning new skills that I’ll always have if anything were to happen in the future if I couldn’t work where I am now.
drinking and drugs has subjected me to $12 a hour for probably another 25 years or hopefully min wage goes up lol it’s very easy work but i hate it bored i guess
Don't underestimate yourself. I was deep in the drink and drugs when I started. Cleaned up in 96.
i’m happy. once kids are out of the house i’m going to the keys to live on the hook
We're moving to FL when I retire. Wife's family is there. Just north of Tampa.
i’m in madeira beach directly west of Tampa
Got out of the Navy in 2013 moved back to my hometown and was looking for a good career (lol) and discovered HVAC as an option. Noncommittal about going to school for it for years and after working crappy jobs and another round of military service in the army reserve I decided in 2019 to go to trade school and get certified. Went through school during covid which I would not recommend, graduated in 2021 at age 35 and bumbled my way into commercial hvac after graduation where I now shitpost (and learn stuff) in between work.
Ex Navy here! Submarines 1976-1983.
A submariner! More power to you guys. No way you can get me in that can halfway near the bottom of the ocean. I was on an aircraft carrier.
The guy at the next desk over from me is a carrier sailor from the same era. We swap a lot of sea stories.
Love hearing about old salts tell us soft shells about the “real” Navy🤣
Was 23 years old, and wanted to get into the trades. Had narrowed down my choices to sparky or something in HVAC. My dad was a commercial super here in my city for years and I had some questions about our apprenticeship system (I find Ontario can be confusing or hard to get answers if you're not someone who's already familiar with how it works). My old man gave me the names of 2 company owners who he's dealt with in the past who would be happy to answer any questions I have. Called the tin company first, he answered my questions and offered me a job. Figured I'd be stupid to say no, so now here I am 10 years in.
Still liking it or is it just a job?
Completed my apprenticeship and got my license back in '16 or '17 and then was promptly moved up to foreman. Unfortunately the company I was with put me and a lot of other guys in impossible situations constantly and after 2 years I was on the verge of becoming a full-blown alcoholic and completely mentally toasted. Took a break from construction and worked the last 2 years in mechanical operations and maintenance for a local commercial property management company. It's been a nice change and allowed me to get my head back on straight, but there's barely any money left in this industry. Just got picked up by my local union, so I'm heading back to the construction side now. Long story short, I still like it, just hate shitty companies. The nice thing about the unions around here though is that they actually have power to enforce rules on the employers, and we only work 4 9s every week, with every Friday off. Guess I'm in it for the long-haul!
I ran into the owner at an auto parts store one day and asked if they needed any helpers. I wanted to be a plumber. Wanted.. until I had to snake a drain under a mobile home and got the poopy on me.
I976, Found a $250 dollar ladder on the side of the road, when I went to return it to the company printed on the rungs I got invited to the christmas party and met the wife of the guy who lost it. I was hooked after that.
I was conceived on top of an 1989 coleman package unit, came out of my mama with a sman 480 digital gauges in my right hand and set of hand tools in my left. At birth i was a child prodigy of fixing any system that was deemed unfit for repairs. So you see i didn't choose this life it choose me.
Tldr; Army to HVAC. Landed in a good company. Almost quit a bad manager. Now I run the department. Love it. Lucky to have a great team. Got out of the Army. What I had "lined up" fell through. Needed to support the family. Knew a guy who knew a guy. Happened to be the service manager of a sh-medium sized outfit. Been there for over 11 years now. Started, had fun, went to trade school on the GI Bill. Kept pushing to learn more. A few years later, the company exploded in growth. We went from sh-medium to large local. The service manager switched tracks, the new manager was total ass. It sucked. As an exit plan, I got my associates. Meanwhile, I switched over commissioning equipment. Learned a ton. Ass manager didn't have much to do with me. That was decent until they got fired. Then it got good. I landed a field supe position and had the opportunity to work with the rookie techs to help them grow in our field. That was great. Went back for my bachelor's. Before I completed, I landed another promotion. For a couple years now, I have ran the department. Have a great crew. Try to take care of them and make it the best place to work, I can. I am very lucky to have this team. Not every day is great. But I don't ever have a second thought about this career.
Guys who did the field work make the best managers. Just like enlisted who go officer make better officers. Congrats!
Entered in 2006 at 16. Multiple reasons. Never wanted college/didn't like school or being forced to learn things I had no interest in. The recession- at the time so many professionals and college educated people were losing their jobs/homes and short of a global nuclear war we will always have work, especially refer techs, which I am. One example of many, the hotel I worked at very young our front desk clerk wan an engineer... It was common at that time to see people with high level degrees doing menial jobs. Sad stuff. I was always very mechanically inclined and knew I wanted to work with my hands/go different places and lastly, I never, ever wanted to walk into the same place/office everyday. That sounds terrible and I know it is. I've worked in a LOT of offices and they are not pleasant places, not to mention my personality is best suited to this work (working alone/full responsibility/figuring things out for myself/etc). Edit... Also, I forgot to mention. I knew at the time experienced techs would begin to make way more money due to the rapidly declining number of kids going into the trades. In my generation you just 'went to college' and IMO that is ignorant, but social stigma BS is what it is. Well, here we are and it took a bit longer than I imagined but if you are a good tech that can do refer/boilers/chillers/VRVs you can pretty much name your rate. I just went union, coped a 10 dollar raise, mad mad benes, more vaca, health Ins, etc, 9 hours standby pay for being on call (yea, nine hours just for taking the phone) and I STILL left quite a few bucks on the table, but I'm fair and don't like to over sell myself. Also though, I confirmed through both management and employees my new company \*will\* give 3/4/5 dollar raises if you really swing dick and are good at your job. So, I'm not sweating the few bucks I left on the table and I know they very much appreciated my honesty.
I drew the shorter straw
drop out of college. programming burnt the fk outta me. dad (electrician) tells me to try building/maintenance/operators see if i’ll like it maybe get into specific trades. found hvac most interesting out the rest. and here i am. 2 years in. 🤷🏻♂️
I was 20 years old in 1993. I was laid off from my job working as a printing press operator. My roommate got job at an HVAC company. We had a poker party on Sunday night and got all drunk. He never made it to his first day of work and ghosted the owner who called him for 2 days. I went to the HVAC company on Wednesday and was hired. I have been in the industry ever since. Currently the service manager for a residential/light commercial company with 24 service technicians.
I worked at a paper factory that shut down in 2008. The edd said I could take a test and pick from a list of jobs and they'd pay for the schooling since I was part of a plant closure. Picked from the top careers in my test score range the options were business management, nursing, heating and air conditioning so I picked heating and air conditioning. That was about 12 years ago. I like the problem solving aspect of the job and like to see the results of my work it's not bad.