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Gone are the days when a mediocre piano technician could make an easy living working three drays a week.

I talk to many different technicians every day. Some are very successful, others are not. You will have to put in the time to first learn the craft to get the knowledge. This will take some time depending on how much effort you can put in to this endeavor. Being in a major metro area is a plus. Very few people step in to a new profession and start to make a comfortable living right off the bat. There seems to be a lot of older technicians out there so IMHO there is room for younger ones to make a good living for themselves given that they work very hard at it. No one is going to give you anything if you don't put in max effort.

Excellent advice Frank. But may I make one very important clarification. When you say, "This will take some time depending on how much effort you can put in to this endeavour" I worry that some may think time is the only ingredient.

In this new internet age, as Hakki has already inferred, there are tons of free resources for anyone to use to learn this craft. But that is the danger. Just taking the time to learn tuning is not enough. You need to spend that time wisely, not just watching youtube videos. And the wiser you are with your time, the better skilled you will become, and faster.

Good uses of your time:
Buying an old piano and rebuilding it. I mean everything you can think of; new hammers, dampers, strings, tuning pins, repair soundboard, refinish case and soundboard, regulation, keyboard felts and paper, key tops, new key bushings, etc. I did that and made a whopping $2.50/hr.
Volunteer at a rebuilding shop.
Join an association.
Attend classes and conventions.
Read.
Pay for instruction and resources.

One negative thing as far as future which has not been mentioned is that many well established piano technicians don't simply quit at age 65 and pack it in. Instead they "wind it down" slowely and maintain a steady income based on their ability to physically keep up. it is not unusual to see some tuners over 70, heck we even have one "tooner" over 80.....I figure if I asked him how work is he would likely answer "Depends". (Some Europeans will likely not get that).

One negative thing as far as future which has not been mentioned is that many well established piano technicians don't simply quit at age 65 and pack it in. Instead they "wind it down" slowely and maintain a steady income based on their ability to physically keep up. it is not unusual to see some tuners over 70, heck we even have one "tooner" over 80.....I figure if I asked him how work is he would likely answer "Depends". (Some Europeans will likely not get that).

As a piano technician, I can no other than encourage people to become a piano technician. If I thought otherwise I should follow my own advice and take another job, shouldn't I?

It is a wonderful job. It's your own business. You can start with a very little investment, only a few tools and from there you can grow as you wish.

You are your own boss. You decide on your time. You decide what jobs you accept and refuse. You have plenty of ways and places to learn. Usually big companies as WNG, Pianodisc, Dampp-Chaser, Yamaha and many others are willing to train you for free to know, install and use their products and services which makes you a better technician. You decide on your work hours. You choose your clients, your colleagues, your vendors and your employes.

You know lots of interesting people. You have the oportunity of playing wonderful pianos. You need to buy no piano! I always have a nice piano in my home without paying for it.

You can help others to get the instrument of their dreams!

It's always rewarding when you finish a tuning and your customer says his piano has never sounded so good!

This is a wonderful job.