Career Advice: Getting a Career as an HVAC Technician
The HVAC Field is Hot. (Or, is it Way Cool?)
AN OVERVIEW
All types of buildings require heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration systems. An HVAC technician is the skilled professional charged with installing, maintaining and repairing these systems.
HVAC-R systems are complicated, which means training is necessary before entering the field. These units are made up of electrical and mechanical parts, such as ducts, fans, motors, thermostats and pipes. There are warm-air units, gas and oil units, centralized heating and/or air units and all types of refrigeration units.
DEMAND
The need for heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration is needed everywhere, all the time. In cold temperatures, people need to be kept warm. In warm and hot weather, people need to be kept cool. And since everyone needs to eat, refrigeration is needed year-round. Public places, which require climate control, such as doctor's offices and retail stores, will have HVAV techs stopping by. Plus, in areas where there is a spurt in residential and business construction, the installation side of HVAC is booming.
The US Department of Labor states that the HVAC field will grow up to 17-percent over the next few years.
VARIETY
HVAC technicians can work in a variety of aspects within the industry, such as installation, service and repair. HVAC technicians with more experience can also get into design.
HVAC technicians can work for contractors, wholesalers, retailers or work on-site for a particular company. An example of the latter would be an HVAC tech for a hospital or resort, which have heating unites, air-conditioning units and multiple commercial refrigeration units.
Those HVAC technicians working for a smaller company may take part in installation and repair, as well as routine maintained on those companies that have a service contract. Some HVAC technicians decided to specialize in one type of unit.
HVAC technicians can work inside or outside, and may sometimes have to crawl into small spaces.
PAY
Like many skilled trades, pay is decent. In 2002, the United States Department of Labor reported that the average hourly wage for HVAC technicians was $16.78. The middle 50-percent ranged from $12.95 to $21.37. The highest 10-percent made $26.20. On the lower end, techs made just over $10 per hour.
Further statistics show that the average entry-level annual income is $27,100 with the US average at $38,410. Union workers are likely to earn more.
TRAINING & QUALIFICATIONS
Since HVAC-R systems are complex, most employers prefer technicians with formal education from a technical school. Most HVAC training programs are under a year. The curriculum usually includes theory, design, electronics, installation, maintenance, repair and more. Also, those who will be handling refrigerants will need to obtain EPA certification.
Those entering the HVAC field should be physically fit and comfortable working with hands and perhaps getting dirty. Fundamental knowledge of electronics is a plus as well.
SAFETY
HVAC technicians must take special care while working, as they will have to handle refrigerants like CFC and HCFC. Also, since many units are electrical in nature, precautions must be taken to avoid any injuries or death. Safety is a major aspect of training programs at schools that offer HVAC.
(DST is an admissions representative at a school that offers an HVAC program)
Published by D. S. Ploshay
Since 2000, Donna Ploshay has contributed to alternative weeklies, newspapers, magazines and puzzle books including "The Times Leader," "The Weekender," "Games" and "Wilkes." Her expertise includes SEO, blog... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentHelpful and nice article about getting a career as an HVAC Technician. There is also a site I know which is a good source of HVAC jobs. The site http://www.hvaccrossing.com has more jobs than any other website and it only shows you jobs from employer websites and every other job board. And as the site http://www.hvaccrossing.com emphasizes mainly on HVAC jobs, you can easily track down jobs from the large pool of jobs listed.
Capt Dallas ... you seem to be a bit, um, off-balance. She's explaining the career as a repair tech!
Thanks T.H! ; )
Also, the curriculum I mentioned was taken straight from the school catalog of where I work-- I did not list the actual class names, as the may differ from school to school. The ideas of where people can work were both listed on the bls.gov site, as well in the literature we give to students, as well as what I learned in training, as well as where are placement director places people... again, I cannot stress enough why you think I should not have written this article. In fact, my boss printed this out and it is one of the lit hand-outs we give to students.
Don't sweat it. This article is fine for what it is.
This article is meant for the layman. Also- I cited my sources for this article, meaning much of my research was based on Dept. of Labor stats for this career field, including career options and the type of training required. I talk to people all day about this. I don't know what part of this article made you write your comment. If something is clearly wrong, please point that out to me.
I work at a school that teachers HVAC.
Written like someone that has not clue what they are talking about. It is interesting that some writer select subject so beyond their field of expertise it is rediculous. As a former test and balance engineer for both Associated Air Balance Council and the the National Environmental Balancing Beareau, I highly reccommend you stick to subjects that you have some experience in.