Trades are a good option if you like figuring things out and if owning your own business sounds good to you. There's tradeoffs to that, but we're always going to need more welders, plumbers, HVAC, electricians.
But even a furnace/fireplace is subject to incomplete combustion, where some portion of the wood is transformed into byproducts that rob some of the energy of the fire. There's actually a big difference in the amount of energy you can get out of a fire, depending on the type of stove that's used.
That's some of what NGOs have tried to do for developing countries - find cheap and easily produceabke stove designs that can reduce the amount of wood needed and improve air quality in the home.
I talked to a tech about it. His advice was that it depends on the type. Heat pump water heater is about sound of a stove exhaust fan, with a higher pitch. No bass.
Heat pump for room heating is lower pitch. Not bassy. But there are regs in some cities about how close to property lines they can be.