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IF

you are a people person the residential gig can be very lucrative. However, if you are great mechanic but don't want to sweet talk your customers then commercial/industrial is probably a better fit. The best technicians can do both.

A lot of different options available in either choice, personaly I would choose the commercial/industrial just for the versatility of equipment and the chance to further my training, an as another poster pointed out fuel oil really leaves a bad taste in your mouth and on your clothes, Question too who expects a service tech to sell equipment and maintenance contracts, I perfer to have the guys who fix it, fix it right without concerning himself with pushing a maintenance contract or other equipment.

I prefer commercial/industrial, have worked on everything between window units to 300 ton recip chillers. Now learning low temp/low pressure as work permits. Will be going to ammonia school sometime in near future if we pick up a meat packing plant we are going after.

I say the bigger, the better and more money in my checking account.

I cannot think of any reason to work oil.
I love working with res customers as long as they are reasonable. But you can run into unreasonable commercial customers just as often.
Equipment wise, I like commercial. Light and heavy.
I like warehouse refr work and market work. Meat plant stuff.
What most here would call industrial, big screws, amonia, huge systems ... I will pass on those. But that is only my personal preferance.

As long as the management is great, the compnay is going to prosper.
Poor management will only bring down good business and good employees.


It all depends on the management.

$20?? Only without added sales!

$20 an hour is upper range for a residential tech, but a good company offers many opportunities to earn much higher salaries. The average tech at a progressive residential HVAC Contractor can make well over $40 an hour if they sell maintenance agreements and IAQ acesories.

In my opinion there is no need to even ask this question. OIL !!! Do you really want to smell like fuel oil for the rest of your life ? Go with the commercial/industrial job. You will learn alot more alot faster. You will also make better $$ . A residential service tech is lucky to see $20 an hour where as a commercial tech is unlucky if he is making $20 an hour .

It really depends on what you want. If you want to remain strictly technical, then commercial is probably a better choice. If you have the ability and desire to sell to homeowners as well, then residentiial will ultimately offer you more earning potential.

The commercial/Industrial will have more potential for growth.Some guys are just not cut out for the work though.Be honest with yourself.

Position one: Well-to-Do, Established(1900's), fuel oil Co., offering position as installation/service tech.

Position two: Small but strong (7 employed), Large commercial/ Industrial Co., offering position as service tech.

which to choose?

not enough info. i've done both. while i enjoyed the challenges of the industrial/commercial. i am happier with the residental/light commercial work i do now. it has nothing to do with one being easier than the other, the difference is in the companys

If offered a tech position working with residential/light commercial, or working mainly with commercial/industrial, what would you choose?