It’s not always easy working as a heating and cooling technician

Over the past 10 years, I’ve worked a variety of strange and eclectic jobs.

My first job was working at a fishing shop that was right along a busy waterway.

We often had customers come into the shop from their boats. There was a large dock right outside the back door and whenever there was room to dock, new customers flocked in at all hours during the daytime. Aside from working the cash register, I also gathered the shrimp from the tank for the customers looking for live bait. We also had a lot of frozen bait like calamari and pin fish. When I left that job I went to work for a box office at an art gallery downtown. My job went from hauling bait into boats to selling tickets to yuppies in the city burroughs. After three years of this monotony, I was eager to find a job where I could work with my hands. My cousin was working as a heating and cooling technician and told me how much money he made a year. With a little bit of patience and perseverance, I could become an HVAC professional just like my cousin. It wasn’t the easiest process in the world, but I’ll never forget the day when I received my certification and became an office air conditioner repairman and installation specialist. For the first time in my life I felt like I had reached financial independence. It’s difficult work, especially when I’m climbing through hot attics in the middle of summer. But it gives me a sense of pride and purpose in the world. I perform an essential service and I’m paid well for it.

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