I am a residential service tech with more than 7 years in the field. I do not mind schooling (went to four years of apprenticeship, NATE, journeyman licence, CFC, and some others) nor do I mind long hours, on call duty, horrible traffic, (DC area) or mean customers.

What bothers me is how seasonal this field is, and sometimes you get less than 40 hours a week. And at the end of the year you realize you didn't make what you wanted to make (especially when you're trying to support a family). So I've decided to break into a different field. Would you recommend commerical service or refrigeration?

I'm not very familiar with either field - their hours, seasonality, overtime?, etc. I assume that refrigeration might be more steady year-round work, but maybe not. If any of you fellows has any insight or advice, I'd appreciate it.