Rex is the oldest guy at work.
He rarely goes out in the field anymore, usually he handles the incoming shipments and manages the front office.
Rex has paid his dues, so we take our orders from him and he stays behind. He once told me “learn everything you can, but find one thing that you can specialize in.” I took heed of his words, and while I kept my mind open to learning as much as I could about the HVAC industry, I also looked for that one area in which I could specialize and excel. For me that ended up being air ductwork, and after several years of honing my craft, my efforts are really paying off. Rex explained to me that a lot of new people were getting into the HVAC industry, but everyone was too busy trying to learn everything. The old expression is “jack of all trades, master of none” and this is true of HVAC work too. When I finished my training I could custom make my own ductwork to order, which wasn’t that useful for your standard HVAC inspections, but did appeal to a higher level of clientele. There are people out there who would pay thousands of extra dollars just to have ductwork that is completely hidden. Some folks want a special HVAC system for a walk-in humidor, or a wine cellar. Now I am in a position to take these kinds of HVAC jobs, as a custom contractor with his own company, and only one employee. Why hire anyone when I can do it all myself?