Story · age 38 · Ohio

Derek

A 38-year-old Columbus auto mechanic evaluating an exit from flat-rate dealership work into HVAC, weighing the OCILB contractor track against a UA or SMART apprenticeship

The situation

Derek is 38. He has been an automotive mechanic for 10 years, the last 7 at a Ford dealership on the west side of Columbus. He is ASE-certified. He owns his tools. He is tired of flat-rate.

His brother-in-law is a plumber with UA Local 189 in Columbus and has been telling him for 2 years that mechanical-contractor work pays on a posted schedule, not on how fast he can flag hours. Derek finally started looking at what it would take to switch. He is looking at HVAC specifically because he already knows how to diagnose refrigeration systems on car AC, and the crossover is closer than starting from zero.

What he knows already

He knows diagnostics. He knows pressure-temperature charts. He knows how to recover refrigerant, pull a vacuum, and charge a system. The refrigerants are different and the equipment is larger, but the physics is the same.

He knows he cannot legally buy or handle most refrigerants without EPA Section 608 certification. 40 CFR 82 Subpart F sets the federal rule for anyone who maintains, services, repairs, or disposes of appliances containing regulated refrigerants. Source: https://www.epa.gov/section608. The Type II (high-pressure) test is the one most residential and light-commercial HVAC techs carry. Derek can sit the exam through an EPA-approved proctor; he does not need a sponsor to take it.

What he is comparing

Path A: Hire on with a signatory or open-shop HVAC contractor as a technician. Work under a licensed Ohio HVAC contractor while accumulating the trade experience the state board requires for his own license later. Earn a technician wage from day 1. Use this time to get his EPA 608 and study for the contractor exam.

Path B: Apply to a registered apprenticeship. UA Local 189 in Columbus runs an HVACR/pipefitting program covering service and installation. SMART sheet-metal apprenticeships in Ohio (including Local 24 in the central/southern region) cover HVAC sheet-metal fabrication and installation. Both are DOL-registered, run a posted wage schedule tied to journey-worker scale, and include health and pension. Apprenticeship windows open on a schedule; he would need to watch the opening.

Neither path is faster on paper. Both need the same number of verified hours to sit for the Ohio contractor license later. The difference is the wage curve, the benefits, and whether he wants to end up running his own shop or working for one.

What the rules say

Ohio licenses HVAC contractors, not HVAC technicians, at the state level. The Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB) issues the HVAC Contractor license under ORC 4740.06. A candidate must have 5 years of experience in the trade as a tradesperson, business owner, superintendent, or construction supervisor (or be a registered engineer with 3 years of relevant experience). Source: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4740.06.

ORC 4740.06 also requires the applicant to carry contractor liability coverage of at least $500,000, pass a BCI and FBI criminal background check, and pass the trade exam. Source: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4740.06.

OCILB publishes the fees: a $25 application fee, a $60 examination fee, and a $25 license fee, plus renewal. Source: https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/industrial-compliance/boards/ohio-construction-industry-licensing-board.

At the local level, many Ohio municipalities (Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati) separately register HVAC technicians or journey workers through the city building department. Derek will need to check Columbus's registration in addition to the state contractor license if he goes into business in the city. The state board does not preempt local registration.

What he is leaning toward

Derek is leaning toward Path A in the short term and Path B as a hedge. Here is his logic.

If he gets hired tomorrow as a technician at a Columbus signatory or open-shop HVAC contractor, his 5-year OCILB clock starts and he keeps earning. He is 38. Waiting 6 months for a UA or SMART apprenticeship window to open is 6 months of Ford flat-rate pay he does not want to keep earning.

At the same time, he plans to submit an application to UA Local 189 and SMART Local 24 when their next windows open. If he gets in, he can switch. Apprenticeship pay during years 3 to 5 plus the pension and health benefits may outpace the technician wage at the shop he starts at. Typical range for late-period UA HVACR apprentices in Columbus: 70% to 95% of journey scale. Source: UA Local 189 wage schedule, posted at https://ualocal189.org/. Verify the current percentages on the local's wage sheet before relying on them.

What is on the table

BLS OES reported a May 2024 national median annual wage of $59,620 for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers (SOC 49-9021), with the top 10% above $84,250. Source: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes499021.htm.

The Columbus, OH metro-level OES table for 49-9021 shows a metro-specific median that Derek can pull directly. Source: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_18140.htm. Metro wages vary from the national figure; his take-home will depend on employer, specialty (residential service vs. commercial install vs. controls), overtime, and benefits package.

Business-owner economics are separate. A licensed OCILB HVAC contractor running his own shop carries the $500,000 GL minimum plus workers' comp through the Ohio BWC, vehicle liability, and whatever bond a municipality requires. Source: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4740.06. Solo-operator net income is not the same as wage data; do not compare the 2 directly.

Derek is reading the statute, the EPA rule, the wage tables, and the local's wage sheet before he gives notice. That is the work. The site's job is to keep the licensing page for HVAC in Ohio and the apprenticeship finder for Ohio HVAC 2 clicks away so he does not have to search for them again. See the HVAC licensing page for Ohio and the apprenticeship finder below.

Start your own path

See HVAC in Ohio licensing →HVAC apprenticeships in Ohio →

Sources cited in this story