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 sleepy
zZzZzZzZz
 
Registered: 01/17/05
Posts: 3,888
Loc: 
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 specific HVAC question 
#10185402 - 04/17/09 03:14 PM (15 years, 2 days ago) |
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so i'm thinking of getting my HVAC licence and i'm wondering what the job is like, and also if it's dirty (like hazardous materials dirty). does anyone here do this?
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 Windmiller
Stranger
Registered: 12/25/08
Posts: 136
Last seen: 13 years, 7 months
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 Re: specific HVAC question [Re: sleepy]
#10185834 - 04/17/09 04:37 PM (15 years, 2 days ago) |
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im not certified or anything but i did work a maintenance job and some of the other dudes there were certified. i think its mostly just fixing a/c and stuff for specific buildings or u might work on an on call basis. i doubt you would come in contact with much hazardous material. the pay is better if ur certified and the stuff that needs taking care of shouldnt be to complicated, mostly just handy-man type jobs. that was my situation but it could be different.
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grewya
Gone Fishin'
Registered: 10/18/08
Posts: 4,258
Loc: Arlen Gun Club
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Re: specific HVAC question [Re: Windmiller]
#10186275 - 04/17/09 06:17 PM (15 years, 2 days ago) |
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It depends on what field of HVAC you plan on getting into. I installed HVAC for 3 years until I got laid off. I installed new systems in new residential homes. It wasn't really dirty. It felt too much like a construction job for me. I didnt hate it, but I wouldn't have wanted to do that for the rest of my life. Within our company we had a retrofit division, which is replacing systems in existing homes. Now this can be a dirty job. I didn't do a whole lot of this, only when new construction was slow. Some of those old duct systems have literally 2-3 inches of nasty, nasty shit inside them. Retrofitting can be a very dirty job, but not always.
I am currently going to college to become a HVAC service technician. This is the highest paying of the HVAC jobs. It seemed like the right choice for me. I really like HVAC, it's just that installation wasn't challenging enough for me. In service, 90% of your service calls are electrical problems. So you must have a good understanding of electrical circuits, diagrams, and components. And you must know how to use a multimeter. Most employers will not hire you for this job unless you have a degree in HVAC. It's basically problem solving with a lot of windshield time.
Commercial HVAC is going to pay a little more than residential. If you get into installation, your job is going to depend alot on the economy and how much building is going on. This is part of the reason I decided to get into service, as old equipment is always going to need servicing regardless of the housing/commercial market. I would say go for it, get your license. But I kinda have a biased opinion  . It is a decent paying job, with good benefits, even better if you can get into a union shop. Good luck.
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Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids. - Joe Biden
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PyroBurns
душа кофе
Registered: 10/14/07
Posts: 4,343
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Re: specific HVAC question [Re: grewya]
#10186679 - 04/17/09 07:37 PM (15 years, 2 days ago) |
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I'm type two certified and the job isn't so bad. Personally I didn't really have a good time but my boss was an asshole and I ended up getting frostbite on my hand during the beginning of my employment making the next few weeks much more unbearable than they should have been.
I only worked in the actual field for like two months so I didn't get so see much but what I did wasn't my cup of tea.
Be prepared to:
Work loooooong ass hours if you plan on supporting yourself with your own business. Not just on jobs, but putting your shop together and constantly shopping for refrigerant, tools, sheet metal, etc..
Lay down with the spiders.
Work in nasty ass homes, or nasty ass businesses.
Have cut fingers at all times.
Battle bees.
Try to look busy so as to not piss your customer off when you're simply pumping in new refrigerant.
Deal with jaded old men in the field who think they know it all and/or steal all your business.
Break people's shit and feel really super paranoid.
Learn plumbing, basic electrical work, masonry, carpentry, welding, and maintenance for all kinds of old ass machines.
The good news is that trades aren't TOO difficult to learn but they aren't very good as a career IMO.
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Remember to cut your nails regularly.
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RobMarley420
LSD Enthusiast
Registered: 05/01/05
Posts: 12,554
Loc: Mushroom Mountain
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Re: specific HVAC question [Re: grewya]
#10186819 - 04/17/09 08:05 PM (15 years, 2 days ago) |
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Quote:
grewya20 said:
I am currently going to college to become a HVAC service technician.
I'm going to school for the same thing. I graduate in like 3 weeks with my associates degree. Then I'm trying to get into a 5 year refrigeration apprenticeship, start off at $16 an hour, end at $36 an hour. It's a good field to get into. I like working with the sheet metal for duct-work, and brazing and soldering copper tubing for the refrigerant lines.
And to sleepy, grewya20 is right, it does depend which field of HVAC you get into. Some jobs are alot dirtier than others, and some jobs will include alot more hard work that others. But for the most part it's not really a dirty hazardous job. I hope to get into the refrigeration part of it and work on the commercial level, but I wouldn't mind doing residential repair and/or installs either.
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sleepy
zZzZzZzZz
Registered: 01/17/05
Posts: 3,888
Loc:
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 Re: specific HVAC question [Re: sleepy]
#10188525 - 04/18/09 07:40 AM (15 years, 2 days ago) |
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thank u ev1 i'm research and find out mo. i can't seem to find a good research website with like a HVAC faq. does anyone know?
where did you all learn about it, from like a college guidance chancellor?
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RobMarley420
LSD Enthusiast
Registered: 05/01/05
Posts: 12,554
Loc: Mushroom Mountain
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Re: specific HVAC question [Re: sleepy]
#10188606 - 04/18/09 08:23 AM (15 years, 1 day ago) |
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I found out about HVAC trough my technical college. I knew that I didn't want to do bullshit factory work for the rest of my life so I decided I was gonna go back to school. I went and checked out all the programs that they had to offer and only 2 of them interested me, CNC operator and HVAC/R technition. But if I would have went into CNC then I would've ended up back in a factory, exactly where I don't want to be. So I went with HVAC/R and I'm glad I did, I like it.
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