HVAC or A Plumber?

[dekare]

I'm a Dislocated Worker, 48 years old and looking to go back to school. I have a choice between HVAC or Plumbing. I'm looking for advice from seasoned HVAC pro's. If you had a choice to do it over again, which would you be and why?

[HVACJOEK]

There is an old Buddy Hacket joke that goes like this... A doctor calls a plumber for a sink with a dripping faucet, the plumber looks at it and goes into his tool box ten minutes later (changed washers and seats) water back on no more drip, he gives the bill to the doctor. the doctor reads it? "$175.00 I don't even charge that much", the plumber replies " I couldn't either when I was a Doctor".

Good luck with your choice.

[dodge]

If you choose plumbing I suggest getting your license, currently in nj you don't need any type of hvac license just your 609 epa to handle refrigerant,they are talking about one just like the other trades though.try both fields out see which you like and make your choice,there are quite a few companies that offer all three hvac,plumbing and electric if you could work for one of them you would be exposed to all three, I got out of the automotive field and into a/c by doing it part time for four years first

[michigan1]

i mean, seriously?

[Dowadudda]

There is an old Buddy Hacket joke that goes like this... A doctor calls a plumber for a sink with a dripping faucet, the plumber looks at it and goes into his tool box ten minutes later (changed washers and seats) water back on no more drip, he gives the bill to the doctor. the doctor reads it? "$175.00 I don't even charge that much", the plumber replies " I couldn't either when I was a Doctor".

Good luck with your choice.

How do you make a million dollars in the HVAC/r business? Start with 2 million.

[jdavis72]

If you had a choice to do it over again, which would you be and why?

Chip 'n Dales dancer: why not? If I had to go up against , I'd be fine...maybe. Or a politician: you can make great money without really affecting anyone's life.

[Paul Bee]

If you like solving problems and fixing things Hvac is for you. I enjoy electrical and mechanical trouble shooting. It is challenging. I can honestly say I still enjoy going to work. It is different every day. I have been a repairman since 1973. There is my two cents.

[hivacer]

plumbing and pipefitting, more money, less tools, less stress.

[neophytes serendipity]

I'm a Dislocated Worker, 48 years old and looking to go back to school. I have a choice between HVAC or Plumbing. I'm looking for advice from seasoned HVAC pro's. If you had a choice to do it over again, which would you be and why?

I think you will be lucky to work consistently in either of those fields at your age.

You would be better off trying to roll your own than start fresh as an almost 50 year old employee.

Unless you know someone... are exceptionally gifted... etc.

Not to be doom and gloom, but that's reality.

Lots of luck.

To answer the question, I would probably persue the pipefitter trade before having anything to do with sheet metal... but pipefitters are usually union, so I suspect that the same politics exists there.

No shortage of unemployed or underemployed HVAC people or plumbing people in my neck of the woods. No apprenticeship classes starting at the fitters hall. Lots of freshly minted HVAC people looking for jobs on this board.

[michigan1]

plumbing and pipefitting, more money, less tools, less stress.

that is completely false on all levels

[ROYAL1]

At your age HVAC is probably the way to go. Plumbing can be quite physically demanding...Both are honest livings.

[wolfstrike]

in Los Angeles plumbing is barely a decent job anymore

[Wolfer]

I have done a little plumbing here and there for a few years. I just got out of school for HVAC/R. Whats cool, in some states is you can work under the owners license for plumbing. Here in Arizona there are alot of companies that do both plumbing and ac. I feel this is my best bet because I can do both. I dont know how much plumbing experience you have but if you get HVAC certified and your state allows you to work under owners plumbing license then you have a bit of an advantage over others in the company.

I would also like to mention plumbing is obviously a damn dirty nasty job. I went to a back up call once to a house full of frats. The main drain line was crushed in the backyard. The lower half of the house was below ground level and everything backed up in the bathroom downstairs. Turds, pee, cig butts, puke, paper you name it. One of the guys wakes up upstairs and takes his morning piss when everything started rising again. NASTY. Keep this in mind.