new to the industry

[hvacstudentsteve]

Hi everyone in HVACland, I am a student at a trade school in Georgia. I will be graduating early 2006 and looking for a job in HVAC. I have been told that there are many options for me once I get my HVAC diploma, including service, installation, equipment testing, new construction, parts counter and maintenance. It seems pretty clear, though, that going to work as a residential seervice tech is the most likely choice. I already have my EPA card and have loved every minute of school (I am on Manual J, load calculation now and I don't love that so much), but I realize school is totally different from the field. Obviously my knowledge is limited and my experience nonexistent, so my question is, what should I do after school? If you were just starting out what kind of job would you look for? How can I spot a lousy company or crooked boss? Please understand I am not asking anyone for a job, just need guidance as this is now going to be my life's work. I am 28 years old. Any ideas or wisdom would be welcome.

[crab master]

I would try to get on with a company that does light commercial and commercial work. Altough you'll learn alot with a residential company the first few years, but much after that it will flatten out. If you get on with a light commercial/commercial company the learning curve will not flatten out for a long, long time. Light commercial work is basically residential equipment in a business.
As in who to work for and how to check out a boss, talk to his/her employees. Just by talking to the employees you'll get an idea of the type of people the employer hires and from that you can make a pretty good decision on the type of person the boss is. I would talk to at least 3 employees though and the employees that would be doing the same type of work that you would be. I did an internship for a company that was close to home and most employees there were there to get their paycheck and that was it. No dedication or loyalty. After meeting the boss who was to busy to even acknowledge my existence when introduced face to face I understood why. Anyway I finished my internship to get the grade at school and before I was done I had another job with the company I am currently at. Anyway good luck to you.

[hvacstudentsteve]

Crab Master:
I know it's been a while but I wanted to thank you for responding to my post. You were the only one in over three months, you know. I just took a final and will soon be starting my second-to-last class (introduction to gas heat) so I am looking at graduating in March or April. It turns out my local chapter of RSES is a fantastic resource. I met one of the bosses from Ingersoll Rand and gave him my resume (this is Hussmann Commercial I am talking about). I pretty much decided I want to do commercial service, I know myself well enough to know I would not enjoy residential as much. So anyway I talked to this guy a couple times and now I am doing an internship with the senior tech at his shop. It's awesome because this guy loves his job and he loves to quiz me, teach me what he can and listen to my questions. Of course there is no guarantee of employment but now I have an "in" and I will be learning about systems that most of my classmates will never get to see. All it took was a little bit of initiative + patience, and of course your suggestion about a residential/light commercial outfit was helpful. Happy Thanksgiving to you and I hope you and yours are doing well.

[crab master]

Thanks for the update and best of luck to you in the trade. I am really glad to hear you found such a guy to work with. The experience will be invaluable and put you far ahead of many. Any other ?'s feel free to ask.

[hvacstudentsteve]

Hello crabmaster + anyone else who might be reading this. I am pleased to announce that I am getting hired by Hussmann. I'll be doing the PMs for a chain of grocery stores here in metro Atlanta. This is the fulfillment of everything I've done over the past year in school, and also the beginning of my career. I am thrilled and I don't think anyone is more surprised about this than I am. My mentor tells me that my greatest days wil be those "I don't know" moments when I throw up my hands in disgust; those are the times I can learn the most. I imagine I'll be using this forum a lot more with real questions and I might even change my screen name since I won't be a student much longer.

[amigo]

good to hear from you steve.
H is a good company.
When you get big and famous just remember how you started and don't forget to give back.

[crab master]

Congratulations!

[Edited by Crab Master on 11-22-2005 at 09:44 PM]

[allwayslearning]

I worked for Hussmann in Seattle, they have been around for a long time, use to be a even better company but ingersol rand bought them out.

They stopped manufacturing in Seattle and almost closed shop here completely.

Good experience as long as their dispatch people do not send you to a call 100 miles away at 3:30pm.

If you could learn amonia you will never be out of work.

[osiyo]

Originally posted by hvacstudentsteve
Hello crabmaster + anyone else who might be reading this. I am pleased to announce that I am getting hired by Hussmann.

Congratulations


My mentor tells me that my greatest days wil be those "I don't know" moments when I throw up my hands in disgust; those are the times I can learn the most.

I think he's right.

[hvacstudentsteve]

Just wanted to update... Hussmann does all their hiring through a temp agency for the first ninety days. Before Thanksgiving I went and filled out the paperwork and now (after nine days) they have gotten my pee test results and I will be starting Monday. I have been combing old threads and here are a few things I learned:
1. I gave my new boss a list of all the tools I have
2. I better ask plenty of questions; the last guy didn't work out because he failed to learn anything during his training
3. I will not ask for time off until I've been there a while
4. I have (2) notebooks to write down things I learn
5. have a good attitude
6. have a good attitude
7. have a good attitude.
Have I missed anything? Also I asked my boss about working for thermo king at some point (they do tractor trailer refrigeration and are also owned by Ingersoll Rand)). He said yes, but couldn't imagine why I'd want to; tractor trailers are dirty, the working conditions are poor and the units are all the same so there's not much challenge. I never thought of that. Is there anyone on this forum who has ever worked on these systems?