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| John R. Hall
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I’ve met many HVAC service techs in my days as a
NEWS’
editor, by traveling to visit contractors, listening in on conversations during
weekly meetings, and going on some ridealongs with techs as they handle routine
service calls. I recall some of the techs I have met as being very young
(twenties) to the more “mature” (fifties). But I don’t recall meeting any who
were in their sixties and beyond.
I’ve met some owners who are in their sixties who used to be
service techs and maybe they do, on occasion, grab a wrench and make a service
call “for old times’ sake.” So I can’t say on any real authority that there are
very many service techs still working beyond their fifties. It’s not that techs
can’t work into their sixties — some probably do because of their financial
positions, and they may need to be earning an income beyond Social Security
benefits (or lack thereof).
I just think that time and working conditions have probably
taken their toll on techs’ bodies, and it is doubtful that too many feel they
can roll out of bed every morning to work in a hot attic or a tight crawlspace.
Heck, many are just happy to be able to roll out of bed. It beats the
alternative.
It’s no secret that there is a definite graying of the
service tech position. I recall reading somewhere — and my lack of gray matter
may have something to do with my memory — that the average age for service
techs was 41 years. But that was something I read several years ago, and I was
recently reminded that this number might have risen into the 50s. That may seem
shocking when you do the math.
DO THE MATH
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Let’s say you have 10 service technicians. You just brought
on a new apprentice who is fresh out of votech training. He is 21 years old and
ready to rumble. He joins a staff that includes three techs in their twenties,
ages 23, 27, and 29. There are two techs in their thirties, ages 31 and 37. Two
techs are in their forties, ages 41 and 46. And two are in their fifties, ages
50 and 54. That seems like a fairly typical age range, unless a contractor
really loads up on young people. But I doubt that — there just aren’t as many
young people interested in the HVAC service trade as there was 20-30 years ago.
So we have 10 techs with an average age of 35.9. Let’s round
it up to 36. That’s not too bad. At age 36 a service tech might have spent at
least one-half of his or her life in the service trade, or maybe several years
in the trade after switching from another profession. The chances are slimmer
for finding someone who is 36 and just starting out as a tech — although I
acknowledge that it does happen. Jobs lost to downsizing, outsourcing, or plant
closings have forced a lot of 36-year-old workers into new careers. More power
to them.
In fact, if the average age of a service tech is 50 years
old, that makes an even stronger argument for starting a new career at 36. It
means he or she is not starting out at a time when others are already at the
primes of their careers. Maybe 50 is the new prime.
In any case, if your techs average 36 years of age you are pretty
lucky. That means they have a lot of good “shelf life” left in them. If your
techs average 50 years of age, it may be time to start a youth movement.
