What are the real work hours like for a new HVAC tech?
New HVAC technicians face brutal summer schedules with shifts stretching from 10 to 14 hours until the last job is completed, followed by a sharp drop to 6 to 10 hours a day in the winter. This extreme fluctuation leaves beginners unable to predict their weekly income or free time, making it difficult to establish a sustainable routine.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- This comes up 12.8× more often in r/hvacadvice than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Working until the job is completed regardless of scheduled end timesDid this help you?
- 2Transitioning between seasonal workloads like maintenance and service callsDid this help you?
- 3Using traditional job boardsDid this help you?
- 4Improving resume presentationDid this help you?
- 5Practicing interview communication skillsDid this help you?
- 6Opening up general availabilityDid this help you?
- 7making jokes to students to diffuse frustrationDid this help you?
- 8tuning out adult incompetence if it does not directly affect classDid this help you?
- 9relying heavily on colleagues for accommodations and supportDid this help you?
- 10disclosing neurodivergence selectively to colleagues or students to foster understandingDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Service in the summers 10-14 hour days till winter then typically 6-10 hours a day pending on the size of the company”source ↗
“What hours can you expect? Is it like any other field where the new people get the worst shifts ?”source ↗
“Whenever the shop opens until the last job is done”source ↗
“My schedule is Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:15 AM to 5:15 PM, Saturday off by 1pm and I’m off Tuesday, and Sunday.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2Why do service schedules always get backed up?
- 2Why is team member availability and production always a guess?
- 3Why do people get fired from accounting jobs so fast?
- 7How to avoid getting sick when everyone at work is sick
- 40Why are teachers expected to be available 24/7?
- 36Why are clients suddenly ghosting contracts and sales slowing down?