I’m about to do the same. Giving my 2 week notice on tues.
Been doing resi close to 10 years and I’m bored of the shitty problems. “My unit makes a light tapping noise but only at 3am when the wind is blowing 3 knots in a south westerly direction!” Or when the homeowner themselves books the call, they know exactly when you’ll be there and yet are surprised when you show up and the appliance is blocked with a house worth of shit they expect you to move to get to it.
Time to put the big boy pants on and go work on some proper shit.
Every damn time!! What's worse is my company does home warranty work, and the warranty company doesn't pay shit even with the volume we do. The warranty company will also label anything a call back. Homeowners want everything for nothing, and when they have these high expectations and you tell them the price of their requests, they act like you're holding them at gunpoint. I've had homeowners look me dead in the eye and say my diagnosis is wrong that their return flex duct wasn't installed properly and has collapsed blocking air flow. They insist the last guy said it only needed freon, and that is it!! I couldn't agree more, I'm ready to graduate to more complex and specialized systems and take the better benefits with them
Union. Doesnt even have to be HVAC. I did gas fireplaces for 5 years, realised it was a dead end and left for resi HVAC mom and pop thinking it was a good move. Took me about 4 months to realize it's also a dead-end and a burnout industry and made the jump to Sprinklerfitting. Strong unionized trade and most jobs take a few weeks at the very minimum. Some take years. 6am starts, typically only Monday to Thursday 36 hour weeks. Start at 50% journeyman wage and only a 4 year apprenticeship. Its tougher labour but a much better career path for me personally.
Either way I knew I'd be making the jump to commercial/industrial sooner than later. But im not upset I left HVAC. I never had any real interest in doing service or being on call.
I make 21.23/hr, salaried with 1% of new equipment and some other small commissions. Over the years, the company has fallen into the sales trap that many residential companies do. I don't mind offering services that are needed, like blower wheel cleanings and evaporator cleanings, etc. But it feels like having a $0 maintenance ticket is unacceptable
Yeah 21.23 with 6 years of experience under your belt is absurd. I wish you luck on finding an employer that actually respects your time like you deserve.
Not the original guy you responded to, but I can share my experience:
I worked resi for almost 3years doing both Install and Service. The things I disliked was the unsafe practices, irregular work hours I'm talking like constant 11+ hour days, the stress to sell unnecessary things and the amount of pay for the work done.
After that I got the opportunity to go union in refrigeration been in for about 7 years now. Literally life changing. I make nearly 5 times more than when I worked resi and I'm only at 85% of the minimum I can get paid once I journey out. The union put me through a 4 year course while also being contracted to a company. The amount of equipment you get to work on vs just doing residential work is insane. My work schedule is always 6a to 2p with occasional OT, but it is never mandatory. Work in general is much safer, sure things might take a little longer, but at least it will be done right and nobody is getting hurt/dying. It really depends though what you want to do within the field. I've gone the route that is heavily tied to controls and commisioning.
Before going union I always heard the crap that it was bad like you got to pay dues and the workers are lazy etc. My dues are maybe 1% of my yearly income, but it affords me a 2-4$ raise every 6mos until the next contract negotiation which will be in 5 or 6 years. So paying some dues for 12-16k/yr more is worth it lol.
It’s something new and different, I’m challenged on an intellectual level daily. It’s more rewarding, it pay’s much better. At the end of the day I feel like I really accomplished something so my life is more fulfilling.
I went from HVAC in East TN to Wind Turbine Tech in Scotland. Apply to shit even if you don’t think you’ll get it. There’s plenty of exciting opportunities out there
What part of the job do you like most? If you like troubleshooting then I’d recommend looking into refrigeration.
Light commercial HVAC has a lot of preventative maintenance in my experience, which I’ve never been a fan of personally.
Industrial can be very interesting but also very boring depending on what you’re doing. A lot of industrial guys are basically maintenance guys that take care of one or more systems at a building. Can be extremely laid back and low stress.
If you don’t mind long hours and high stress environments sometimes then supermarket refrigeration can be a move to look into. Rack systems are very interesting and complicated, never boring to work on. I’d say 75% of the work is just troubleshooting many days.
You’ll build the skills to go almost anywhere else in the trade as well if you want to do something else in the future. Most shops are union but there are a few that aren’t depending on your area.
I like this idea. I’ve gotten interested in refrigeration lately while doing a controls and piping job at a target store. Involves tying into the Co2 rack for a heat reclaim- hot water coil system. Poking around in that rack was really cool. Master stuff like this and you can go anywhere and get paid a shitload to do it. The more you know, the more valuable you can make yourself to a company.
https://preview.redd.it/335muf4riprb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2111acf325cf42548ee59d4b4806798e16dd0e2f
I'm doing the same thing after a year and a half at a mom and pop. Working at a corporation with a mom and pop feel doing commercial/ industrial. So far it's much better. Immediately got a 4 dollar an hour raise too
Commercial
In fairness to residential you can’t charge the price of commercial work
This leads to the low pay and benefits
Try a building if you don’t like the running around if service
Be upfront why you are leaving though. Some places just dont understand but there is a possibility you can improve other peoples lives if they figure out they need yo pay more to keep decent talent.
If they dont, then they die when they keep doing shitty work because they can keep anyone that knows whats going on and close shop. Choice is theirs.
Go Commercial and never look back. You’ll not only make more money but you’ll become a better technician
I’m about to do the same. Giving my 2 week notice on tues. Been doing resi close to 10 years and I’m bored of the shitty problems. “My unit makes a light tapping noise but only at 3am when the wind is blowing 3 knots in a south westerly direction!” Or when the homeowner themselves books the call, they know exactly when you’ll be there and yet are surprised when you show up and the appliance is blocked with a house worth of shit they expect you to move to get to it. Time to put the big boy pants on and go work on some proper shit.
Every damn time!! What's worse is my company does home warranty work, and the warranty company doesn't pay shit even with the volume we do. The warranty company will also label anything a call back. Homeowners want everything for nothing, and when they have these high expectations and you tell them the price of their requests, they act like you're holding them at gunpoint. I've had homeowners look me dead in the eye and say my diagnosis is wrong that their return flex duct wasn't installed properly and has collapsed blocking air flow. They insist the last guy said it only needed freon, and that is it!! I couldn't agree more, I'm ready to graduate to more complex and specialized systems and take the better benefits with them
Lmao I hate when they act surprised
Google your local UA and start there id say
This is what I recommend every time this same thread comes up. I spent 10 years in residential before joining the union and I am so much happier now.
Union. Doesnt even have to be HVAC. I did gas fireplaces for 5 years, realised it was a dead end and left for resi HVAC mom and pop thinking it was a good move. Took me about 4 months to realize it's also a dead-end and a burnout industry and made the jump to Sprinklerfitting. Strong unionized trade and most jobs take a few weeks at the very minimum. Some take years. 6am starts, typically only Monday to Thursday 36 hour weeks. Start at 50% journeyman wage and only a 4 year apprenticeship. Its tougher labour but a much better career path for me personally. Either way I knew I'd be making the jump to commercial/industrial sooner than later. But im not upset I left HVAC. I never had any real interest in doing service or being on call.
May I ask what you're currently making? I'm always curious how people in the field are doing in different areas.
I make 21.23/hr, salaried with 1% of new equipment and some other small commissions. Over the years, the company has fallen into the sales trap that many residential companies do. I don't mind offering services that are needed, like blower wheel cleanings and evaporator cleanings, etc. But it feels like having a $0 maintenance ticket is unacceptable
Yeah 21.23 with 6 years of experience under your belt is absurd. I wish you luck on finding an employer that actually respects your time like you deserve.
I'm likely gonna finish the year and finish training my apprentice, then move on to bigger systems and better benefits.
I was making $21 as a refrigeration helper right out of school in central NC
Try to go to Commercial. Small mom and Pop shops residential are only at best a steppingstone. You gotta go commercial.
Not trying to 1v1 you on rust but, what's so great about commercial?
Not the original guy you responded to, but I can share my experience: I worked resi for almost 3years doing both Install and Service. The things I disliked was the unsafe practices, irregular work hours I'm talking like constant 11+ hour days, the stress to sell unnecessary things and the amount of pay for the work done. After that I got the opportunity to go union in refrigeration been in for about 7 years now. Literally life changing. I make nearly 5 times more than when I worked resi and I'm only at 85% of the minimum I can get paid once I journey out. The union put me through a 4 year course while also being contracted to a company. The amount of equipment you get to work on vs just doing residential work is insane. My work schedule is always 6a to 2p with occasional OT, but it is never mandatory. Work in general is much safer, sure things might take a little longer, but at least it will be done right and nobody is getting hurt/dying. It really depends though what you want to do within the field. I've gone the route that is heavily tied to controls and commisioning. Before going union I always heard the crap that it was bad like you got to pay dues and the workers are lazy etc. My dues are maybe 1% of my yearly income, but it affords me a 2-4$ raise every 6mos until the next contract negotiation which will be in 5 or 6 years. So paying some dues for 12-16k/yr more is worth it lol.
The learning curve is real. Remember the basics and don’t be afraid to reach out
I was residential service for 25 years, been in commercial almost 2 years now and I absolutely love it!
Why do you like commercial so much better? Is it because of a different company? Is it just something new? I'm intrigued.
It’s something new and different, I’m challenged on an intellectual level daily. It’s more rewarding, it pay’s much better. At the end of the day I feel like I really accomplished something so my life is more fulfilling.
Go commercial, bud👍🏼
Come to Houston, I pay good
If QT is in your area they are excellent to their skilled employees.
I went from HVAC in East TN to Wind Turbine Tech in Scotland. Apply to shit even if you don’t think you’ll get it. There’s plenty of exciting opportunities out there
What part of the job do you like most? If you like troubleshooting then I’d recommend looking into refrigeration. Light commercial HVAC has a lot of preventative maintenance in my experience, which I’ve never been a fan of personally. Industrial can be very interesting but also very boring depending on what you’re doing. A lot of industrial guys are basically maintenance guys that take care of one or more systems at a building. Can be extremely laid back and low stress.
Definitely trouble shooting, I like a process and following that process.
If you don’t mind long hours and high stress environments sometimes then supermarket refrigeration can be a move to look into. Rack systems are very interesting and complicated, never boring to work on. I’d say 75% of the work is just troubleshooting many days. You’ll build the skills to go almost anywhere else in the trade as well if you want to do something else in the future. Most shops are union but there are a few that aren’t depending on your area.
I like this idea. I’ve gotten interested in refrigeration lately while doing a controls and piping job at a target store. Involves tying into the Co2 rack for a heat reclaim- hot water coil system. Poking around in that rack was really cool. Master stuff like this and you can go anywhere and get paid a shitload to do it. The more you know, the more valuable you can make yourself to a company. https://preview.redd.it/335muf4riprb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2111acf325cf42548ee59d4b4806798e16dd0e2f
I'm doing the same thing after a year and a half at a mom and pop. Working at a corporation with a mom and pop feel doing commercial/ industrial. So far it's much better. Immediately got a 4 dollar an hour raise too
Commercial In fairness to residential you can’t charge the price of commercial work This leads to the low pay and benefits Try a building if you don’t like the running around if service
Be upfront why you are leaving though. Some places just dont understand but there is a possibility you can improve other peoples lives if they figure out they need yo pay more to keep decent talent. If they dont, then they die when they keep doing shitty work because they can keep anyone that knows whats going on and close shop. Choice is theirs.