[officeboy]

Will make it brief

- 6 months into apprenticeship, working for residential/light commercial (furnaces,water heaters,duct work, gas lines)
- small 5 man crew (g2 certified, working towards 313d hours)
-25 yrs old, used to work as a caregiver now made the switch to HVAC months ago in the hopes of making an income to support a family

Questions: 1)is there a future (demand) as a gas fitter as the change to electrical is increasing? Should i switch to electrical? i feel as if i picked a trade that will be obsolete :/
2) Not sure if i picked up right trade as the only way to make money is by having a 313d/a or G1 (or going pure commercial/industry) is that true?
3)is it true you cannot make good money in residential unless you own a company?
4) How does the wage increase look like over the months/years (e.g., $1 raise every 6 months?) (p.s, i make $15 currently)

Thanks

 

[ch4man]

i wish i got a $1 raise every 6 months, i'd be over $80/hr.

who ever told you electric was taking over gas is either lying or a fool.

dont want minimum wages, dont have minimum skills

 

[CircusEnvy]

Pay your dues!

I work in residential and I started at $11/hour 5 years ago. Now I'm pushing six figures, but I bust my butt for it and didn't fall into becoming a sales tech like so many resi guys are. Work hard with your brain and hands and you'll earn more money, but it all comes with experience, time, and the right opportunities.

Not sure where you got the idea the trade is becoming obsolete. HVAC/R and gas fitting is where the money is at and will be until we're knocked back into the Stone Age. It's absolutely vital to human civilization and always will be.

 

[BALloyd]

Natural gas prices are pretty low right now.....electric rates are only going up....all I ever hear out of Ontario is *****ing about how expensive electricity is there. NG is not going away, especially in commercial.

6 months is nothing. As mentioned you need to pay your dues. Work on getting your HVACR red seal. I make 6 figures but that took time.....apprentices don't make 6 figures. Look into getting into the union if you want defined pay increases as an apprentice.

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[MT1]

I dont live in canada, so I cant really answer #2. But for the others:
1) here in California for residential 90% is gas heating in some form. Electricity is too expensive to have everything be heat pumps or strip heaters. That goes for the the entire state. So I'd say its gonna be around for a while. Even in commercial there are lots of buildings with gas packs.

3)You can make good money in residential if you are a good salesman. Mainly because that's all residential is. When I started I worked for a large residential company and all they pushed was sales of accessories or just replacing units. I hated it as I suuuuuck ar selling people stuff they dont need.

4)I cant speak for how other companies work or how non union companies work. We get a raise every year. As an apprentice technically I get two raises every year. One when I advance and the yearly one. The only issue is they are usually within a few days of each other so it's really only one. My company wont pay above scale because they are cheap, but have no problem paying plumbers more than than us because their scale is higher. Though when I asked for above scale because I've been taking more classes and learning about different equipment they said no. So I'm currently looking for a new place to work for that and other reasons.

Good luck man it's a though trade to get started in, at least for me it was. I remember being promised the world in how much money I'd make, but 4 years in I've only recently started making decent money.

 

[mikel7829]

One reason I got into this is because people will always need heat and air conditioning..

 

[timebuilder]

With the use of flex for replacements, a knowledgeable gas fitter will be more valuable, not less, because fewer guys will have the skillset. Most commercial buildings are constructed with hard piping, and not flex.

Hang in there, eh.

 

[pecmsg]

Appreciateship programs generally are 4 or 5 years on the job and school.

Put your time in
Work for all the OT you can
Pay your dues and the $ will come!

 

[Sooty]

You can count on being at about $25/h after a couple of years maybe a couple dollars more with your 313d. If I could do it over again I'd have been an electrician but HVAC isn't going anywhere. Six months is nothing and $15/h is about right for starting out since you don't really know anything. The thing about the trades is you do get paid based on what you know and you can do and the money will come with time.

 

[technocratic]

Natural gas prices are pretty low right now.....electric rates are only going up....all I ever hear out of Ontario is *****ing about how expensive electricity is there. NG is not going away, especially in commercial.

6 months is nothing. As mentioned you need to pay your dues. Work on getting your HVACR red seal. I make 6 figures but that took time.....apprentices don't make 6 figures. Look into getting into the union if you want defined pay increases as an apprentice.

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Oh man, I am glad I re read your post, I missed the not! I agree with Lloyd, nat gas isn't going away soon, and nobody wants to be a pipe fitter. As you get older, you get fatter. And nobody wants to grease up a fat guy to get to the pipes to wrench away. Take yoga, stay thin, and you will be rich in no time!

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[Lahrs]

You can count on being at about $25/h after a couple of years maybe a couple dollars more with your 313d. If I could do it over again I'd have been an electrician but HVAC isn't going anywhere. Six months is nothing and $15/h is about right for starting out since you don't really know anything. The thing about the trades is you do get paid based on what you know and you can do and the money will come with time.

Why do you say that about electrical Sooty? I started out as a sparky, but I couldn't imagine going back now. Mind you, having both is a huge advantage.

OP, as per everyone else. Stay hungry. Learn everything. Wage is relative to what you make the company you work for. Not just how long you've been there.

 

[Sooty]

Why do you say that about electrical Sooty? I started out as a sparky, but I couldn't imagine going back now. Mind you, having both is a huge advantage.

OP, as per everyone else. Stay hungry. Learn everything. Wage is relative to what you make the company you work for. Not just how long you've been there.

HVAC is overrun with door knocking scammers maybe I'd feel differently if I did commercial but here in resi land everyone is convinced every quote is a ripoff and every repair is a scam. Some days I really like what I do but every time I get somebody trying to tell me $300 for a motor can't be right I just imagine myself quietly pulling wire in new construction.

 

[technocratic]

HVAC is overrun with door knocking scammers maybe I'd feel differently if I did commercial but here in resi land everyone is convinced every quote is a ripoff and every repair is a scam. Some days I really like what I do but every time I get somebody trying to tell me $300 for a motor can't be right I just imagine myself quietly pulling wire in new construction.

Funny, but ropers ie resi new construction at least here in ptown is piece work. You get paid by the number of feet of wire and recepticals installed. Unless you are IBEW, you make low wages. I agree though that resiland sucks.

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[blitz]

go union, but don't work for Black and Mac... they'll nickel and dime you. limited overtime... at least my shop is. Go union in the oilfield. move your butt out of ontario. G2 is dime a dozen. trademark used to pump them out like it's going out of style

I cracked 6 figures in the past, but won't be this year....

If you're not afraid of working on old volcano boiler the size of a school bus then you're in demand.... lol. that thing is scary each time it fire up.... like looking into the gate of hell.