re: Career as a HVAC guy

Worked HVAC for 4 years, first as a training technician for a small company that did residential/light commercial, then for a much larger company that did everything from light residential to large commercial chiller work.

If you're willing to do some grunt work for a couple years for a larger company, and learn the ropes, and if you have any kind of business sense and sales ability, you can run your own business, and with the right business environment (I.E., anywhere south of the Mason Dixon), you can reasonably expect a 6 figure income.

You have to have the drive to run your own business and the ability to train the right helpers.

I mean this with all sincerity - despite the 150 degree attics, I miss the work. I know I would have been successful if I had stuck with it, but I incorrectly believed finishing school would have led me down a more successful career path.