Everybody's always going to want and need air conditioning, depending on the climate and whether it's
air conditioning or heating.
I mean, that job is pretty stable.
With all this experience I have now, I do consider myself an experienced tech.
I take pride in having an excellent reputation online.
My Yelp reviews are through the roof.
I actually get a lot of referrals through customers.
My name is Roger Cuadra.
I live in Corona, California.
I'm an HVAC technician at NEXGEN Heating and Air Conditioning.
I make anywhere from $80,000 to $120,000 a year.
Roger installs and repairs, air conditioning, heating and air purification systems in homes.
From diagnosing unusual problems to fixing older systems that need repairs to long hours in 110 degree
attics, the job can be tough.
The majority of the time I work six days a week
On a typical day, Roger makes about $336 in commission.
The most difficult day, customer had no power to their unit.
They're pretty frustrated they couldn't turn it on.
You check the whole system and you just can't find the problem.
And so you start questioning, you know, like, oh, my gosh, start questioning your life.
It's like, what am I doing here?
Oh, my gosh, I'm on hour number four at this point.
Had to go through all the low voltage wiring that connect to the outside unit and found some rodents
there, alive, nesting.
They chewed through all the wiring.
And it wasn't until my seventh hour 'til I found it, I couldn't get it off my mind for like the following a
week. That was my mistake that day for not starting there in the first place,
because it is a fairly common problem where rodents, you know, chew away at those wires and
ruin systems.
That's one of the biggest things customers do not understand in this industry.
It's skilled labor.
Skilled labor is not cheap.
You're not necessarily paying for the part.
You're paying for my knowledge and my service.
Plain and simple.
Roger's been working in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning or HVAC industry for about 12 years.
Today, he's one of the top requested technicians for his company, NEXGEN Air and Heat in Anaheim,
California. But for Roger, getting to this point wasn't easy.
I grew up in Whittier, California.
I was actually born in Nicaragua, was brought over to southeast L.A.
County area, Santa Fe Springs, Whittier.
One of my first jobs out of high school was at a Food 4 Less, i was a bag boy and making about $7.25 an hour.
High school was an adventure.
I didn't take it serious, to be completely honest, even though I was trying to stay on the right track.
You know, my family did sacrifice a lot to, you know, bring us all to the United States.
Being the oldest, my dad would sometimes take me to his job, and he encouraged me to get into mechanics.
You know, he was a mechanic all our life, to this day, he's a mechanic.
I think about him a lot sometimes when I'm actually working just those moments that we shared when he would
take me to his job. I joined the workforce after high school and,
you know, started doing, you know, little construction jobs and really dead end jobs, to be completely honest.
Things turned around for Roger in 2009 when he found an HVAC distribution center looking for a driver.
I went in there, talked to the front desk guy, which the Ismael Valdez, and
asked for an application.
I actually came in every single day for the next five days.
His persistence paid off.
Roger got the job as the driver.
There he met HVAC techs who helped him reach the next level of his career.
I started getting a lot of guys like, "Hey, man, why don't you come over here to help us out on Saturday?
Start learning the ropes and whatnot." Until eventually I got the opportunity to join a crew and be
the third, the helper.
When he started as a helper, Roger was making about $55,000 a year.
He worked hard and rose from third helper to second helper to lead installer to technician in a matter of
years. He's hoping to break the $100,000 mark this year.
Even while working full time as a tech.
Roger continued to improve his skills.
So I dedicate myself.
I would go home, watch YouTube videos.
I actually enrolled myself into some classes that the city of Downey provides at the gas company for NAIT
certifications, having to do with air distribution, heat pump units, different types of systems
that we use in the industry.
Along the way, Roger stayed connected to Ismael Valdez, who eventually branched off and started NEXGEN, where
Roger is currently employed as a technician.
Since then, Roger's experience has helped him increase his income.
Part of the pay structure, it is fully commission.
You know, when you become a tech, sometimes there is those options to have an hourly wage and
partial commission. So, by the way, I missed two months of last year.
I feel confident I would have broke that $100k mark last year.
But, you know, I went out on maternity leave.
Another benefit, actually, that I think a lot of us take for granted is company vans.
You know, we got the gas card, company trucks, so, you know, less wear and tear on our own personal vehicles.
Ten muy bonita su dia, guys.
All right. All right, guys.
All right, bro. Well, I usually wake up at 5:30 in the morning.
I sometimes try to get a little jog.
I like to keep myself fit.
I feel with that it helps me have the energy to last all day and to deal with these
110 degree attics that we're in sometimes.
I drive out to our main shop in Anaheim.
I usually arrive around 6:30, 7:00, before a lot of our guys, I go through my bins, restock my
van with, you know, any parts necessary that I used the day prior.
I usually have my first call around 9:00 a.m.
in the morning. I usually call my customer, give them an ETA.
I usually have about three to four calls a day.
I average about 12 to 14 hours a day.
I usually get home around 8:30, 9:30 at night.
Summer is Roger's busiest season, so he can't take time off to spend with family until December.
So my girls know summertime's no vacations.
Summertime is all about work for me.
It's my money-making time.
That's when I make my majority of my yearly income.
What that money means for me and my family is like, I have more freedom, more options.
I have more of a sense of security for my family, my family's future.
My bills, of course.
You know, I get to spoil my girls.
One of the things I love is being able to provide.
The majority of the time, I work six days a week.
I do have an option to work on Sunday, which I take sometimes, but having the seniority that I have now
and, you know, having a lot of new guys, I kind of hold back on Sundays now and let the new guys take care
of it. One of the most rewarding things about this is not
only the money, of course, but, you know, just the satisfaction I get when I help these people out.
We have like little friendly competitions here at the company where, you know, we set goals for the week,
for the month, for the year amongst the technicians, have friendly competitions to kind of reach those goals
and improve.
At the beginning of his HVAC career, Roger started off making $55,000 a year.
This year, he's closer to breaking the $100,000 mark, a goal he says contributes to his family's
happiness.
I obviously want to provide my daughters a way different life than I had.
So, you know, not only is it a motivation, but it's very rewarding knowing
that I am able to do that for my girls.
My advice to anybody that's looking to get into this industry would be stop thinking about it and just do
it. Take that chance.
Whatever you got going on in your life, I'm pretty certain it's going to be more beneficial to your
longevity, your future, your your financials.
So do it immediately.
Don't be afraid. Take chances.