HVAC skills allow me to put food on the table, keep a roof over my family’s heads, and still have my weekends free to enjoy life
First of all, I don’t want this to sound like I am bashing retail workers. Of course I am not! A lot of my friends work retail jobs, and I myself have worked in many different stores over the years. God bless the retail workers, especially in the era of the pandemic! That said, I encourage you to get out of retail work as soon as possible. It is great to have work, ANY kind of work, sometimes, but you need to use it as a stepping stone and nothing more. I spent a few months working retail full time while I took night classes for my HVAC certification, and y’all, I am so glad I did! The main problem with retail work, in my humble opinion, is that it makes people feel replaceable, whereas a trade like HVAC makes people feel valuable. I know the time I spent working retail was sort of soul-crushing, and I could be fired at any time, but now that I am an HVAC technician I have confidence, and a firm belief in my worth as a worker. HVAC skills allow me to put food on the table, keep a roof over my family’s heads, and still have my weekends free to enjoy life. I no longer worry about work, nor do I hate my job, I enjoy working in the HVAC industry, and I love the freedom it gives me. I’m not trying to tell you that everyone should get into HVAC work, but I would tell you to at least consider learning a trade.