If you want to learn how to do something well, you have to start by doing it poorly.
In other words, don’t expect to be good at something the first time you do it.
Success comes from failure. When you do something wrong, it helps you figure out how to do it right. Nothing is a substitute for experience! It doesn’t matter what line of work you are in, or even when it comes to a hobby, you just have to do it, have fun with it, and hope to get better over time. When it comes to technical precision, as with A/C repair, it can be very expensive to do something wrong. If you are learning how to hammer nails into wood, you can practice all day, but fixing the circuit boards of a smart thermostat is a different matter! HVAC equipment is usually delicate, and almost always expensive, so the best way to learn on this job is to watch carefully and take a lot of notes. When my senior HVAC tech is showing me how to do something, I will often whip out my phone and video the entire process. This way I can rewatch it later, to make sure I understand every part of the process for fixing that HVAC component. A single mistake on my part can cost the customer, or the HVAC contractor, hundreds or thousands of dollars, so being cautious is essential! At home and on the weekend I do have a few old air conditioners I got from the city dump, and I can practice on those all I want.