Apprenticeship is the new unknown calling for some!

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Trust me. NOBODY likes crawling around in 120 degree attics. Or outside When it’s 10 below  working on a heat pump.
I didn’t say these were bad jobs. They are good paying jobs If you want to recommend that for your child Then so be it. I do call it settling for a 17 year old that can do anything they set their minds to.

  I'd have to disagree, there are people who like the challenges that come with the trades. HVAC takes a great deal of thought and a knowledge base that helps in other trades. Do they always love ending up super cold or hot ? Probably not, but I don't always enjoy staring at numbers all day from a chair at a desk. Having the ambition to pursue HVAC at 17 is awesome and should be applauded, not deemed "settling for." That mind set being spread to young people is what has gotten us to the place we are now, with a deficit of people in the trades. It's not some slug job that is a dead end. My nephew, who went to CC for HVAC, got his cert for...Freon (I think that's what it is...) BUT did not finish the associate degree. It was a challenge for him to slog through some of the classes when his mind is geared for hands on work. He's worked in the HVAC off and on all along, but it led to a job as an apartment maintenance tech and he now is a maintenance engineer at a large hotel making more than most people he knows that have degrees and have worked more than 10 years. He did this in under 6-7 years. A degree of some sort might be nice to frame on the wall, but isn't a necessity for skilled people who learn with their hands.
  Another example : My neighbor ( we'll call him Fred ) is 84 and quit school in the 9th grade to help his family on their small farm because his father was getting on in years. His brother went to college.  ( We'll call him Bob) Fred went on to work for the state in the heavy equipment maintenance division, later ended up with the city taking care of the grounds, building maintenance and turf at the large coliseums, was sought out by the state to come back to their equipment division, retired from the state and city, came out of retirement to work with the city again for 5 years, was asked to join the teaching faculty at a nearby community college in the mechanic classes and asked to work for a company that restores old tractors. He can make any part or piece for a tractor or other heavy equipment from scrap laying around and can figure out how to build or create anything he wants to. He can tear apart and put back together anything that runs, knows electrical, HVAC, plumbing and is known as one of the best welders in our area, with the ability to weld things together that are not supposed to be able to be done. Bob on the other hand, got his 4 yr degree, worked a job and retired. Having grown up on the farm, he too had picked up a few skills but wasn't sought after for any of his knowledge. He always went to Fred for help with anything he needed. There was a stretch of time where Fred was made to feel like a social outcast because he had quit school. Bob's degree was lauded as the Hail Mary. The reality however is that Fred was by far, more successful and hands down is the most intelligent person I know. I believe he is something of a genius and clearly others thought so too or he wouldn't have been sought out so often. He would have NEVER been able to get through a degree program. Why? He's likely dyslexic and has always had trouble reading. He can read a letter well enough and for some reason he can't explain, can read the Old Testament, but forget reading instructions or a textbook. No dice. 
  The loan officer at my bank told me another story. ( His daughter has been a college student for 7 years, having changed her mind about her major several times. I'm certain they are piling on the debt. ) Anyway, he had a young man, 18, show up one day right after graduating high school , asking for a large loan for the purchase of a work van. His mom was with him to co-sign the loan. The banker kept his composure, but inwardly wondered what in the world this kid thought, asking for a large loan at 18. Turns out the kid had made $45,000 part time the year before, working as an appliance repair helper and doing simple repairs on the side. He was getting his cert for the refrigerant, was going to work with the appliance repair company and have his own side business. Needless to say, the boy got the loan and the banker was left feeling amazed. He later told his daughter the money train was over, she had to finish school, get off the stick and find a job. 
  I point these stories out because anyone with ambition should be applauded. This kid going into HVAC may end up owning a business that manufactures the next best HVAC unit that saves a ton of energy. He may invent it. He may become the HVAC architect that makes hospital units more efficient. He may go on to teach HVAC to newer up and coming entrepreneurs. We short change people when we put them in a box, and this forum is not full of square boxes.
  While getting an associate in business or even a bachelors in business might be great for some and work in their favor, as a long time business owner who may end up with a degree in business, it is hardly necessary for entrepreneurs. Accounting programs do all the work for you and accountants or bookkeepers take care of the rest. I have yet to learn anything in the gen eds or business classes I've taken that are actually utilized in our business practices. Managerial Theories may help in multi-billion dollar companies but they really don't amount to much for the average small business.
  If a 17 yr old is intrigued by, excited by and is driven to become a HVAC technician, then bravo to him. He's miles ahead of many of his counterparts who have no clue what they're doing or want to do with their lives at the moment.