Christopher Otts

And I said, you know, how many apprentices have you had?

I don't know, 20, 30, like he hadn't kept count.

I said, how many are still in the business today?

And he said, maybe four, five.

Really?

That I can think of.

And I said, Ted, why?

And he said, it's not hard to understand.

It's a really hard job.

That's the reason that there's a shortage.

I mean, you have a physically demanding job that takes a lot of upfront investment to which there are no guarantees about how much you will earn.

I think technicians realize these trade-offs and a lot of them have figured out other things to do.

I heard a lot about, you know, people who get started with it and then an HVAC company hires them.

The flat rate system works incredibly well for a certain few like Ted.

but does not work extremely well for many other people.

So I think it is the realities of this particular job and how it is compensated that's the reason that there's a shortage, as opposed to some great moral failing of the country.