My friend Kenny and I were very close growing up, and after high school we went in two wildly different directions.
We are now working together, after not seeing each other for close to a decade, but it wasn’t the happiest of reunions.
Kenny had left town to go to college, and wound up a hundred thousand dollars in debt with a degree in classical literature that was not getting him a job. With bill collectors pounding on his door he moved back to town, and came to my HVAC dealership to ask if I was hiring. It had taken him that long to figure out what I ten years ago, that HVAC work had a constant demand, which meant there would always be a market for it. He pursued classical literature because he loved it, and I salute him for following his passion, but there is not a constant demand of people willing to pay to learn about classical literature, and there are always people ready to pay for air conditioning. When it comes to their comfort levels at home, people will spare no expense to keep their HVAC system working, no matter what. Kenny and I talked, and he wasn’t just looking for a temporary job, he wanted to learn the skills of HVAC work so he could build a career from it. He was sincere about it, so I hired him on as an apprentice HVAC tech, took him under my wing, and started teaching him the basics of the business. We still have a long way to go.