unemployed and thinking of doing something drastic

[wolfstrike]

:)

thinking about ripping out my air conditioner and installing a new one for the heck of it.

:D


never know... it could go out unexpectedly in 10 years or so ...better safe than sorry.


..let's see , i got a propane torch ...solder ...



i've alreayd calibrated my thermostat 3 times :D

[isitfixedyet]

u should be on techs worst nightmares!
, im in the same boat,, good timing right before , x-mas
some a hole said i was whining, but he can pay his bills and give his kids a x-mas, and feed them, im just stuck waiting till after the holidays, to hear from a resort job, if it comes through, if not i will go somewhere local, and get one for the time being, unless somthing good comes, up,
maybe i can break something, and repair it?
13-15 yrs exp. and cant find a forty hr work week plus? yr round,,, and a service vehicle and weekly pay, imagine that, thats all i care about! damn just the basics!

[cg2]

IFY, if your for real, you need to work for yourself.

[neophytes serendipity]

Originally posted by wolfstrike
..let's see , i got a propane torch ...solder ...


Hope you're gonna use StayBrite #8 and not plumbers solder :) :D

[isitfixedyet]

then the 8, then he'll use 15, and then 45
just in canse he cant work himself out of a job fast enough

[neophytes serendipity]

That would be plenty of practice reclaiming and recharging.

Hope there is enough lineset sticking outside for that... unless a new one will be installed each time :)

[2hot2coolme]

Propane torch?

[wolfstrike]

hey if it breaks i can fix it again right? i have the time.

i can also try out my ideas for a compressor-less air conditioner :D

[Roncool]

Wolfstrike/ isitfixedyet. now i'am not saying it's you guys that are the problem. Far from that Ok.I don't know you personal and your problems, now I have this company in California it's not all that big and I'am about as easy going a boss you could find. Now this is my experence with some of these hot shot tech I have interviewed. none are as good as they say. Some look good on paper but far short of being confindent to do a income making call. I pay about this, 10 bucks a hour. now I know it's not enought to live on, but this is the kicker I also pay 15% of the net ticket. That means I don't have to lay anyone off in the slow season. I can eat the 10 for awhile. Any of the good tec's I have interviewed turn that down. I have been stuck getting new guys out of school. I have 2 now. they love it and you know what I have to write some pretty big pay checks 15% of a $7000 install can be big number, doing 1 $1800 per day in repairs at $10 + 15% can be pretty good. Perhaps when interviewing in your area you mighy suggest it to your interviewer. it's kind of saying I can do this work and let me prove it to you.

[wolfstrike]

my problem is i can't get past the red tape and the games these companies play.


the first company i got hired at , the senior tech who i thought i got along with , told the company that i didn't know how to do a PM.

i have no clue why he said that.

they gave me a truck anyways , i was so worried about what he said that i made sure i did everything on the checklist while other techs were accused of leaving too fast.

not only did i do PMs , but i was doing repairs and i had a very low call-back rate, i was also scoring near perfect on the company tests.


to make a long story short , my supervisor forced me to quit.



i drop in applications , and it's like they try to make game of finding some chickensht reason not to hire me.



the last company i applied at, last week, not only did they ask for 3 references, but the whole next page was 5 boxes that said "list people who you have worked with that can verify you do a good job"

is this some kind of joke?
i don't have 8 references.




By-the-way , i can be in California , ready for work , in a jiffy :)

[bruce campbell]

You live in Las Vegas. Is it really that hard to find a job there? As hot as it gets there and as many people that move there every month, I would think there would be a high demand for HVAC techs.

[wolfstrike]

there's currently 11 AC jobs in a the paper and a few "jack-of-all-trades" apartment maintenace jobs.

this is the most AC jobs there's been in a few months.



the majority require 3 to 5 years experience for techs, and no one wants to train for install.

they just want to hire install techs and forget about it.


i think the big problem in vegas is , there's 3 AC trade schools pumping out techs every month , and the longest one is 6 months.
:)


i went to california to get better training.

[bruce campbell]

Have you ever looked into some of the maintenance jobs at all the different hotel and casinos? If you did, what kind of experience do they want and what kind of pay do they offer?

[isitfixedyet]

Hey, there wolf
theres a new company opened up there called ontario refrigeration and a few new ones each year, lol
hi9t the supply houses, check the boards, and try to stay away from the sweat shopps,and the mom and pop shops,and the forien exchange russian,and arabain shops,and any chinese shops too if at all possible!
if ur interested there's
two unions u can join, stay away from the 501
go to the 88, and the plumbers and pipe/steamfitters union
they handle the service for commercial, its gravy groovy pay and good companies, out there,,,,
I know first hand,,,
if u dont want that then i wont recommend the other good things ,,,
cause what i just told u is the best out there!
good luck..

[markettech]

Wolf

Why did your supervisor force you to quit? Just curious.

[isitfixedyet]

ancient chinese secret, getting a job around here?
i thought that hot shots use 416-a
the compressor blow-her-upper!

I heard a lot of companies look good at the supply houses , topless bars,and in the winter time with all the vans parked around their place, and the bosses in their offices,,
and in the casinos gambeling or cat houses/ or companies just look good in the yellow pages lol
blah blah blah
it gets to sound the same after awhile!
Im going back to commercial or in house!
and probably just refrigeration!
maybe,,
I will re-invent the wheel?
oh thats been done by the chinese,
and then maybe i'll just go on strike, eh wolf? lol
they try to screen u out for pay or soe other reason, that they dont want to pay u for, becasue theres to many pet kissing hacks that cant charge what their really worth, lol
so the boss of these companies gotta try to do what they usually do best,,
but its better to find out in the beginning than waste ur time,, no offense to anyone!
just share the profits!
and soon u can really see what ur company can do and grow!
if not dont, simple as that!
tick -tock, after the holidays, its going to ring off the hook, im getting a few straglers,,,
tommorow is the big interview day locally , one big inter view, and two other places im going to go, for some temp work, until i get a good job solid offer,and im gone!

[R12rules]

wolf, I dont read you as being a know it all. but sometimes a guy can come across that way during an interview when he is trying so hard to impress the person sitting in front of them.

I would stay away from apartment maint jobs. unless I had a broken arm or leg and could not work in the trade! Seriously!

there is NO respect for your knowledge when you work for apartment managers. Your just a "resource" to most of them.

to them, fixing an a/c problem is equal to fixing a leaky faucet... and what is that worth? to them ... not that much.
Although, if they had to call a licensed plumber, it would cost them as much as calling a pro for an a/c problem.

only dif is ... they got you by the paycheck. Your there. THEY OWN YOU...

[wolfstrike]

_____________________
Why did your supervisor force you to quit? Just curious.
_____________________


i posted my whole horror story if you havn't read it already.

http://hvac-talk.com/vbb/showthread.php?threadid=123606




thanks for all the advice , hopefully tomorrow i might get something.

[isitfixedyet]

did u get ur job back?
I hope so, i hate to see a poor white man suffer without a job!
If i was a business owner Id give you a job and train you,
but Im not! so there u have it!
you will get one , im sure of it u seem smart,,
and theres alot of jerks running companies out there, and u just have to rise above that get to whats more important!
making cash , and customers happy!

[wolfstrike]

get my job back? from what?

no.


i'll get back in the business sooner or later , but i might have to move first.

[MikeJ]

Originally posted by wolfstrike
my problem is i can't get past the red tape and the games these companies play.



In order to play the game you gotta know the rules. All I can say is sit down and make a list of 5 places to interview and spend the time doing it and 'see' what they ask and want. Then make up your playbook for a job you really want.


the first company i got hired at , the senior tech who i thought i got along with , told the company that i didn't know how to do a PM.
i have no clue why he said that.

There is an asswhole behind every door. Put it behind you.




i drop in applications , and it's like they try to make game of finding some chickensht reason not to hire me.

Years ago I worked as a manager for a cleaning company. The son ran the place, the old man worked at a Ford plant and sat in the office in the evenings drinking a 12 pack and pretending to be a dispatcher.
We had lead people doing cleaning jobs rather than supervising. I found a stack of applications on his shelf and called several and found work for three of them. Son had a hissy fit--they weren't suitable to him. (The reason? They had mexican names!) They were legal, their info on the applications checked out. Two stayed for over a year I heard. I left two weeks after that issue.

It' their ballpark and they have the rule book. Learn to live with it. Polish yourself by playing with them. You will get better.


the last company i applied at, last week, not only did they ask for 3 references, but the whole next page was 5 boxes that said "list people who you have worked with that can verify you do a good job"

is this some kind of joke?
i don't have 8 references.


Yes you do. You probably know a couple of people from work that you can trust to give you a reference. A counter person at a supply house that knows you? You also may have someone from school that will also take a phone call and say you did very well in class. No previous employment? How about former coworkers in Security? Residents who you may have known? If you have anything like this, put their names down. Be sure to check with anyone who you put down and let them know why you want to put them on the application.

A close neighbor? A relative? Ask them if they will help. Once you tell them how chicken**** some companies are, they may be willing to say you did odd jobs for them as you were growing up. Chances are, no company will call all of them anyway. They may look them up on the net to see if the names and addresses match tho.

By-the-way , i can be in California , ready for work , in a jiffy :)



I'm going to re-read your 'horror story' now. \But keep trying. Post more of what you find at interviews. And, if you can latch on to some company as an install helper, you can learn a lot about that side of the trade. I got a bunch of experience during slow times by doing that. Learned too.

I posted on that thread on the first page. I suggested you go back to school and become a manager. Skip the hands on work. Most of the a-holes you are meeting probably did too.

[Edited by MikeJ on 12-21-2006 at 06:21 AM]

[wolfstrike]

mike , you have like 4 people in that quote