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6 REASONS WHY HVAC TECH WORK SUITS SINGLE PARENTS WELL

websitebuilder • Dec 05, 2019

If you’re a single parent, you need a career that allows you to support and family and allows enough flexibility to accommodate your kids’ schedules. Here are six ways HVAC tech work meets these two criteria and is an excellent choice for a single-parent career.

1. RESPECTABLE AVERAGE WAGES

When it comes to pay, most HVAC technicians earn a salary that can adequately cover a family’s expenses. You won’t become instantly rich overnight in this line of work, but you can earn a respectable and comfortable salary for you and your children.

The 50th percentile of HVAC technicians earn $47,610 per year, and half of all technicians make somewhere between $36,520 and $60,900 annually. There is opportunity to earn even more, though, as the 90th percentile makes over $76,000 in a year.

Although you might not be at the high end of this range when you first start out, you also won’t be broke in an entry-level position. As you gain experience and additional skills, you can potentially increase your income and give your children more.

Single Parent With Child — Chicago, IL — HVAC Technical Institute

2. POSSIBILITY TO EARN COMMISSIONS

In addition to base pay, some HVAC companies also offer their technicians a performance-based incentive. This normally comes in the form of a commission, and the amount is tied to the cost of a service or appliance that’s sold. However large or small an earned commission is, it’s additional money on the technician’s paycheck.

As a single parent, a compensation that includes base pay and commissions is perhaps the best pay setup you could wish for. The base pay that’s guaranteed ensures you can feed your family no matter how service and sales calls go, while the compensation affords you the opportunity to earn some extra income. If you’re a skilled salesperson, the extra income may be substantial.

3. OPPORTUNITIES FOR SPECIALIZATION

Once you’re an HVAC technician and have experience in the field, you have the opportunity to specialize. To start with, you can choose to work only with heat, air conditioning, or refrigeration systems. After this initial specialization, you can further specialize in areas like:

  • Water-based heating systems
  • Commercial refrigeration systems
  • Solar technology systems

While this level of specialization doesn’t necessarily guarantee you a higher wage, it might lead to greater earning potential if you choose a focus that’s in demand in your region. If you have knowledge that general HVAC technicians don’t and businesses need, businesses may be willing to pay you more than they would pay generalized technicians.

4. JOBS OPENINGS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY

The flexibility that HVAC work offers begins with how many jobs are available in the field. There were 367,900 HVAC jobs in 2018, and that number is expected to increase through 2028. With so many positions to fill, you can gain employment in a number of places.

Moreover, places of potential employment are spread all over the United States. Most homes and buildings have furnaces and air conditioners, so technicians are needed in all states. Whether you live in the Northeast or Southwest, whether you’re in a rural or urban setting, likely one nearby business — if not several — will hire technicians.

If you’re a newly single parent, this level of geographical flexibility is especially helpful. Should you need to move closer to family for help with childcare, you can trust that there will be jobs available in your field no matter where you might live.

5. WORK DURING IRREGULAR HOURS

Within the HVAC industry, many technicians work irregular hours that are outside the standard 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday shifts. While this may be a disadvantage for some, the irregular hours can actually help if you’re a single parent.

Because irregular hours are the norm, you can seek out hours that accommodate your child’s schedule. If they’re at an ex-spouse’s for the weekend, you may be able to pick up extra shifts during these days. If your children participate in a Saturday morning activity, you might be able to get work then.

In some situations, you might even find that shifts outside of normal business hours are easy to get. If other workers prefer to work during business hours when possible, you may be able to trade any standard shifts that you do have for non-standard ones that better suit your situation.

6. ABILITY TO BECOME SELF-EMPLOYED

To get the ultimate in flexibility, you can pursue a self-employed career as an owner of an HVAC-related business. An air duct cleaning business is an easy business to start once you’re an HVAC technician, and a residential once can be opened only a few thousand dollars in some cases. With your own business, you can truly set the hours that you work.

If you want to become an HVAC technician, contact HVAC Technical Institute to learn more about their training program.

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