My oldest kid just graduated from high school, and was very upset that I couldn’t afford to send her away to college.
All of her friends, including her boyfriend Chad, are all going away to attend the university, but my kid can’t go with them. Even if she had good enough grades to get a partial scholarship (which she doesn’t), I simply can’t afford to pay the ludicrous tuition fees at the state school. Instead I offered her something else – I would pay 100% for her trade school so she could earn her HVAC certification. She didn’t like that idea at all, until I started explaining to her how in-demand HVAC techs were, and how much money they could make. She has always been motivated by money, so once she started to research careers in the HVAC industry she became very interested. Compared to the time it takes to get a college degree, achieving HVAC certification is significantly shorter and cheaper. HVAC techs start with a very good base salary, and most times secure a very good benefits package. Moreover, she learned that the HVAC industry was actively pursuing young female technicians. Because the industry has long been dominated by the “Old Boys Club” there has been a recent push to entice more female employees into the HVAC field. My daughter realized there was a lot of money to be made in the heating and cooling industry, and immediately started researching the best schools to study HVAC repair. Not only will I not have to pay for college, but I will also get free air conditioning repairs!