Update from the 40-and-undecided guy. After my first round of ride-alongs I leaned electrical, but Kash said to do a second day in whatever I was least sure about, so last Saturday I went out with an HVAC shop doing boiler and furnace startups.
The HVAC day was the one where I didn't check my phone once. Ten houses, every one different, and the tech explained everything while he worked. My knees were fine in the basements. An attic in August would probably be another story.
For people who picked HVAC: what made you sure? And is the heat-season-then-AC-season thing as brutal as it sounds?
HVAC contractor, owner · 25 years · Middlesex County, NJ
Mentor
From the owner side, what HVAC looks like across a year around here:
- Spring and fall: maintenance, installs, the steady money
- Summer: no-cool calls, long days, attics
- Winter: no-heat calls, on-call rotations
- Heat pumps are blurring that, more year-round install work than when I started
If startup day felt right, most of the year feels like that, just louder.
Master Plumber, second-generation shop owner · 23 years · Hudson County, NJ
Mentor
Not unfair. One hard day on your knees would scare off plenty of people who'd make good plumbers. But you picked the day that felt right, and that counts for something. You can fake liking a job for a week, not for a whole career.
Vo-tech instructor, plumbing & HVAC · 28 years · Passaic County, NJ
Mentor
First, the phone thing is real, I've watched students light up the same way. Second, ask that shop what their July looks like and believe them. Third, look at the night program at your county vo-tech so you're not walking in cold. Ask me how I know that matters.
> ask that shop what their July looks like
The owner said almost the same thing. His words were "come back in July if you still want it." I'd rather not wait that long, honestly.
For anyone wondering about plumbing: the repipe day was good and the guy was great, my knees just weren't. I didn't light up the way I did on startup day. Maybe that's unfair to plumbing.